Joy Bronsveld
artist &
Course creator
My name is Joy and I am an artist, storyteller and course creator.
I graduated from the University of the Arts as a theatre director and have since loved expanding my creative practice with photography, animation, graphic design, film, music and writing.
Stories always know how to find me. Maybe they have an internal compass to navigate towards the curious and courageous. Those who dare to venture into worlds unknown and welcome transformational journeys.
Curiosity and wonder are the main fuels of my creative life. They open my heart and mind for inspiration to come through and feel in awe of this world. I feel most inspired by the many landscapes of nature and stories that radiate kindness and magic.
When inspiration finds me I dive into the research-phase.
A time of passionately reading, collecting, designing, experimenting and experiencing.
My passion for reseach was rewarded with ‘de Pluijm’ award by the University of the Arts Utrecht for my graduation thesis.
Apart from creating art, I also love to design arts education for both children and adults. I believe it enriches your life profoundly to express yourself creatively.
In my courses I like to create bridges between the visual arts, theatre and nature.
In my 6 years as a qualified art educator I have created, performed and given:
- Puppetry and shadow theatre workshops for theatre companies
- Collage-art and miniature building ateliers for schools
- Storytelling masterclasses for both adults and children
- Photography courses in collaboration with a centre for nature and environment education.
I love to help other creatives and sensitive souls to share their stories and art with the world.
But, as an artist and highly sensitive person myself, I know all too well that it isn’t always easy to live a creative life. Creating art can feel extremely vulnerable and challenging.
I have struggled with perfectionism and imposter syndrome for a very long time.
For a few years I hid my true artistic dreams, because I felt so overwhelmed and stuck in my creative blocks. My perfectionism was killing the joy of creating. Nothing I created was ever good enough to satisfy my inner critic.
But I didn’t want to give up on my artistic dreams. So, I obsessively researched everything there was to learn about healing creative blocks. Something I was never taught at the University of the Arts or while working in the creative field for 6+ years.
I was determined to overcome my inner doubts and change my limited beliefs.
After all, my soul begged me to create the stories and artworks living inside of me.
I see many creatives and sensitive souls struggling with similar themes. Feeling overwhelmed and lost in the sea of endless stimuli, distraction, comparison and overwhelm.
In this journey of creative healing, I have learned the hard way how difficult it can be to stay true to your authentic creative self. It is so easy to lose your focus in this fast-paced age with lots of distractions. Or to doubt your work/artistry when you are constantly comparing yourself to others on Social Media.
That is why I created my first online course Visionary, to help you create clarity in your own artistic vision.
I have learned how to navigate my creative life and stay true to my inner artist in a healthy (and magical) way. Through this course I hope to help and inspire many others to overcome their challenges and share their stories and art with the world.
I believe our stories are what makes life meaningful.
Storytelling helps me to recognize the beauty and magic in everything around me. I believe stories can move inner mountains. They lift your spirit and fuel hope. Broaden or challenge your worldview. Make you grow and shift while the plot unfolds.
That is why you often find me with my nose pressed into a book, creating paper-cut-outs for shadowtheatre or daydreaming creating stories in my mind.
Work
Experience
2021-2023 Photographer
2019-2023 Writer
2017-2023 Theatre Director
2017-2023 Arts Educator
Future
Joy is currently creating a new online storytelling course diving into the character arc of the heroine. In her own artistic practice she is currently researching how to combine her love for storytelling in her fine art photography and self-portraits.
Awards
2017 - De Pluijm - the prize for the most innovative, meticulous and erudite research document of The University of the Arts Utrecht, faculty Theatre.
Passion
Storytelling
Wildflowers
Theatre & Film
Photography
Puppetry & Shadowplay
Reading
Making Music
My Story
by Joy

A bookish beginning
My parents called me Joy on a hot summer afternoon in June. Ever since I can remember I’ve collected stories and curiosities. First came feathers, shells and shiny crystals. Carefully curated in a wooden box with paper tags. Later I started collecting stories resulting in tiny scribblings and drawings in faded notebooks.
Stories always know how to find me. Maybe they have an internal compass to navigate towards the curious and courageous. I imagine their longing to be charmed, captivated and manifested. Stories find me in crowded train compartments, mysterious old buildings, but especially in the quiet shade of the forest.
I grew up on the outskirts of a big city in the south of the Netherlands. This is where my imagination was first sparked by the magic of words. The neighbourhood was called ’thunderwood’ because the lightning often struck on the former wet arable land. During the storms I pressed my nose against my attic window and stared in disbelief at the brightening sky.
Surrounded by streets named after fairytales and forest lanes filled with wildflowers, the storyteller in me arose.
My love for reading was first introduced to me by my grandmother in Spain. It was a hot summersday and I had just turned 8 years old. The air was dry and the tiles were too hot to walk on, so we found ourselves cozied up on the garden sofa in the shade while she read ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ to me. That is when I learned I wanted to become a witch or a writer.
I had never felt so captivated by a book before. The excitement and wonder of entering this magical world entranced me. She read to me for hours, but when her voice started to sound hoarse and her legs became stiff she said: ‘Tomorrow we will continue this story’.
I remember the insatiable need and desperate urge to know how the story would continue. Just like most children I didn’t have the patience to wait. Tomorrow was a whole day away! I craved the magic of that world right now! So, determined and dedicated, 8 year old me picked up the book and continued reading.
I remember dissecting the long sentences and difficult words. Reading out loud to make sense out of the letters on the page. That summer I properly learned how to read. And this is where my love for stories was born.
Fast forward to the future, I have assembled a fine collection of books. Many books were gifted to me, others I gifted to myself, and most of them I found while browsing thrift stores. I can honestly say that my books are my dearest possessions. Books can turn a house into a home.
Did you know that I am writing my first book right now? It is a Dutch picture book called ‘De Bergwachter’ (‘The Mountainwatch’), created in collaboration with my partner Ralph Zabel who is an illustrator.
A theatrical Tale
My love for stories lead me to the stage. From a very early age I’d convince my siblings and friends to engage in my many theatrical adventures. I have directed many plays in my attic room and the school playgrounds.
I fell in love with getting into the skin of different characters and expressing myself in various ways. But most of all I loved directing and bringing all the aspects of storytelling together: story, text, actors, design, music, light. The theatre represented a place where everything was possible. A literal stage where all my wildest dreams could come true.
This utter love for the craft and the determination of becoming a great storyteller is what drove me to the University of the Arts Utrecht. I graduated as a theatre director and educator in 2017. During my time at drama school I felt inspired and encouraged to develop my own theatrical language. I started cutting out shadow figures and building miniature worlds. I learned the magic and mastery of puppetry and object theatre.
I longed for the space and curiosity of the studio/atelier to integrate in the theatre space. And I found this in ‘Figurentheater’, which uses puppetry, shadowtheater, miniature worlds and live-film on stage. I felt very ambitious about telling stories that mattered. To myself, but mostly to the protection of the natural world. And I felt that the best way to reach the audience is by stimulating their imagination and opening their hearts.
To bring to life the wondrous worlds and stories I had dreamt of and tell meaningful stories at the same time.
I wrote my final research about this subject, and was rewarded with ‘De Pluijm’ award, the prize for the most innovative, meticulous and erudite graduation research of the University of the Arts Utrecht.
After graduating I was very fortunate to work as a director’s assistant at my favorite theatre company: Het Filiaal theatermakers. I tried to soak up all the information and inspiration during these years. I felt very privileged to work with these talented people, and at this company that tours all over the world: from Sydney to Shanghai.
During my studies and theatrework my life was mostly spend in rehearsal rooms and theaters. Dark inside spaces lit only with theater lights. And even though I loved that everything could arise in that magical space, I started to lose an important part of myself.
My heart yearned for the forest and wildflowerfields. For sunsets and morning swims. Inside the theater I could not be amazed by the smell of flowers, the song of birds, and the aliveness of the seasons. I felt stuck in a forgery of the natural world. A place where theatre lights imitated the sun.
So I spent my weekends wandering the woods with my camera, trying to capture nature’s beauty and wonders. And that is how my love for photography was born.



Poetry & Photography
A small forest path close to my childhood home leads to my refuge in nature. Here I started my photography journey. But more importantly: here I dared to be my full high-sensitive self.
This little strip of nature became my sanctuary, my dreamer’s escape.
Honestly, it was only a small piece of woodland. But even though it was narrow, and later crowded with people and dogs, I still experienced the most magical encounters with plants and animals here.
Surrounded by flower meadows and birdsong I reconnected to my truest self. Occasionally I encountered foxes, playfully running in the soft hours of the early morning. And one time I stood eye to eye with a deer.
Amidst the green colors of trees and shrubs, grasses and ferns, my thoughts became quiet and my heart softened. And to top it all off, in summer the meadow would turn purple with loosestrife; an image out of a fairytale. Visiting this place again and again gave me a deep feeling of connecting to the natural world. I always returned home feeling recharged and inspired. Running wildly through the fields, spinning circles and watching the sun rise over the dew-topped grass made me feel in awe of life.
It all sounds very dreamy and picturesque, but nature also has other sides. Legs punctured by mosquito bites, sunburned shoulders and trips through hail, snow and downpour. But despite of the challenges, my hunger for the beauty and poetry of nature always won me over.
Wandering through nature with my camera I felt like I travelled to the Otherworld, a mythological place described in Celtic lore. I first read the Celtic myths in the Sevenwaters-bookseries by Juliette Marillier. Inspired and curious about the old tales, I started researching the Celtic wheel of the year and festivals like the solstices and equinoxes.
Celebrating these special moments in the year, made me feel even more connected to the earth’s cycle and seasons. It taught me to notice nature’s subtle changes and the stories that they inspire. Snowdrops around Imbolc, planting seeds on the Spring Equinox, making a crown out of blossom and lilacs at Beltane.
I love how the wheel of the year is celebrating nature, harvest and life on earth. To me it feels very accessible and open for all of the earth’s inhabitants (no matter what your religious beliefs are). Celebrating the sun’s return feels universal. But more importantly: it creates a special space to express our gratefulness for all the earth offers us.
For a while I wandered with the old stories by my side, celebrating and honouring the earth. But while learning to master photography, I had almost forgotten that I am a storyteller above all else.
My photos were whimsical and captured nature’s beauty, but I found it hard to express the depth of the stories I wanted to tell.
Journey of the Heroine
Just like in every story, there comes a moment where the heroine suddenly has a big pivotal insight. A revelation of sorts. I remember sitting in my little atelier looking around. I saw the crowded bookshelves containing my book collections, the many project notebooks on my desk and various moodboards on the wall. That’s when I suddenly remembered: I am a storyteller before all else.
I love chasing sunsets with my camera and creating whimsical photos, but for me the real power lies in the story the image embodies. The journey of the character is what truly moves me and why I am so in love with certain books and films.
I have always been a deep thinker and sensitive soul, and I wanted my creative work to mirror that depth.
To capture the many intricate yet wonderful aspects of the experience of being alive.
I started writing again and experimenting with more conceptual/narrative photography. I also rediscovered my love for film. In film I could combine my love for words and images, and thus I started studying my favourite films and the art of filmmaking. I had worked with live-cinema techniques in theatre before. We would use live-streaming cameras to film close-ups of miniature worlds which we projected on a big screen or wall. However I discovered there is so much more to learn and discover in the world of cinematography.
At the core of all my stories is my study of the art of storytelling itself. Before and while writing my first picture book ‘De Bergwachter‘ I spend years researching and studying various plotting methods and writing techniques. I love teaching the art of storytelling to both adults and children, and have given masterclasses and courses over the years.
Now, after nearly 11 years of dedicating my love for storytelling and worldbuilding, I feel inspired and motivated to help others tell their stories and navigate their creative processes. It is my dream to help other creatives and sensitive souls to share their stories and art with the world.
I believe our stories are what makes life meaningful.
Storytelling helps me to recognize the beauty and magic in everything around me. I believe stories can move inner mountains. They lift your spirit and fuel hope. Broaden or challenge your worldview.
Make you grow and shift while the plot unfolds.
I hope to help you discover your own inner worlds of imagination. To initiate you in finding your own sacred well of storytelling while entering the deepest parts of your soul.
Thank you for taking the time to read my life’s story unfold. I am so glad you are here and I hope you feel inspired and curious to discover my online courses and stories.
Warm wishes,
Joy



Soon
Joy's Courses
Discover VISIONARY, for creatives and sensitive souls
who long for clarity and focus in their creative pursuits.