kinda here, kinda there

hi, sorry for the slight hiatus, i'm going through some tough times and the last thing i wanted was to exist in cyber space.

śródświetlne was a grand success, thank you everyone who came and helped me, even if there were tiny mishaps. i want to do more but right now i have to focus on education more, the non-artistic kind.

not a lot of things happened through out christmas here, i have been eating a lot though, just like every holiday haha! oh, and i wore some christmas socks and earrings, to get into the spirit you know.

oh, but something happened before christmas! i went to see the new star wars! it's amazing, highly recommend. the production value of this film is just so great, i really wish i could visit their set or wardrobes cause the costumes and makeup were so well made, it probably took hours to make some prosthetics. btw, does anybody know a good brand of oil based face paints? cause now i only have water based but they don't work on latex and i can't decide which ones to get.

i want to get back to sending letters, it's so nice and i really miss it. in 2016 i would like to open a tumblr related to postcrossing and mail art, would you be interested? anybody wants to send me something, haha?

how are you planning to spend your new years? i want to draw more, but my room is such a mess a a4 paper doesn't fit anywhere. i was making christmas gifts for my family, little illustrations of celtic birth calendar of trees (i don't know how to call it), and i had to stack it all.

other news, i got a new parka and i think that it might be one of my favourite buy ever. i look good in it. i, with my low self esteem and a high key hatred of my body, can say i look good, so it's bloody good, i'll show you on instagram.

i guess this post is all over the place, i just wanted to get things out of my system and into your brain, forever, ha ha ha! ok, i'll stop now.

śródświetlne posts are coming up, 3 at most really, i want to show you how i made this shizz cause i'm for once proud of it.

enjoy your life, you're worth it.

this has been your new dose of fluff.

love,

qofr

śródświetlne

i am excited to invite you to a magnificent showing. tomorrow i will hold a costume display with models and hand-made set design.

i'm very proud of this project, it's my biggest to date and it was a massive process for me. never have i ever imagined how much work would it require but i'm very glad that it worked out like so.

there will be much more information about this, i want to show you the cool behind the scenes. 

~~~

the event will be held at:

autorskie licea artystyczne ALA

ul. robotnicza 36

wroclaw

ckp

~

22:15

~~~

hope to see you there!

love,

qofr

place by place

i went to an author's tour and talk. to an art gallery. very social of me, right?

it was surprisingly scary but when it began, totally different story. the exhibit is called ''feedback loops'' and is made of 14 pieces (13 photos and a video). all of it was made by a lovely couple, lena dobrowolska and teo ormond-skeaping, polish/british.

for me, the most wonderful thing was the actual place where the photos were taken, tibetan plateau. how cool is that? even though the political situating of the region is in a horrible situation, it is also beautiful, nature is unique and so different from our usual european scenery. i really want to see it for myself but for now, photos will have to do.

the event started at 6pm and i stayed till almost half 10. the artists are very interesting young people, they love to travel, hence the place, and are really into geological issues, ecology and climate change. actually the whole exhibit represents that as well, titles and captions about such stuff being a big part of the whole. they touched on lots of different subjects actually, my favourite being the melting of glaciers. even if it's a very slow process it still is gigantic and visible.

and the photos are amazing. i don't really know anything about professional photography but even i can see they're great. it turns out that because of the elevation and climate the sky is almost always clear or at least light enough for you to use the smallest littlest hole to let the light touch the film. the photos are very vibrant and sharp.

most of the works are scenery but there are a few portraits of local people. the way the photographers shoot, since it was all analog film, is very planned out and particular, you have to space out the film usage. all that i got from their talk, i haven't even thought about such stuff.

but! apart from the quality of the photos, the theme is also interesting. as i said, they tried to incorporate a lot of topics on ecology, geology, climate change. actually the name of the exhibit, ''feedback loops'', is a scientific term used in studies of environments. the way ecosystems all around work is based upon mutual relations not only between each species but also considering the natural environment. those relations are sometimes so close and specific that if you change a tiny part the whole system has to rearrange. even if we, as humans, don't want to admit it, we are a massive part of how the world works and since we affect for example climate change, our impact is enormous.

sometimes, the artists use the similarity between legends and real life to make a point or the way the landscape shows how humanity changed nature, fascinating to say the least, and it's just 13 photos!

let's see some photos of my own, from the event, not nepal!

my favourite piece

i'm not an art critic, just go see it. and regret that you weren't there.

~~~

the exhibition is on till 9th of january at miejsce przy miejscu gallery, open mon, wed, fri 12am-6pm, tue, thurs 2pm-8pm.

~~~

this has been your monday dose of beautiful education.

love,

qofr

on youth and future

i'm sorry this post is late, i went to the cinema and lost track of time last night. btw, ''youth'' with michael caine is great but be prepared to be surprised. i know it sounds absurd but i'll just say, i never wanted it to end. the plot is so moving, the stories intertwine beautifully and it's worth a watch on the big screen if you still have the chance. oh, and the cinematography is stunning, the alps and sunshine is all i need tbh.

but today i won't dwell on another review, i don't think i'm that good at that. i want to talk about the future, maybe.

i'm in my final year, matura is in may and i'll be finished with general education forever, how scary is that?

getting into an university or a college was always obvious for me. i'm quite intellectual and my grades are good, i love to learn and ever since i can remember i wanted to go to csm. fashion was first, than i went through a weird phase of fabric and working on details but it's not for me. ready-to-wear is where it's all at and i want to create haute couture, pretty exclusively. that's why i sort of shifted to costume design and theatre. i've been doing makeup and stage faces for a while now, it's not what i really want to do but i gave me a lot to think about and i feel like it's gonna come in handy, prosthetics and all that. costume sprung naturally, it's way more dramatic than fashion and i like to exaggerate my projects (to my horror at the amount work more often than not, oh well).

right now, my year has just started their first year, since my school is a year longer (artsy fartsy). a lot of my friends finished the ib programme and went into stuff i'm totally not about. i'm a craftsman, i don't do pr, business and maths. everything interests me but i have to create something by hand to be happy. the unfortunate thing is that here craftsmanship is not so well appreciated as it is in the west. studies are limited, especially ba diplomas part-time.

i thought that i'll be going to london first thing after matura but the harsh reality hit hard and i can't. shit right? well, life is life but don't think i'm over it. masters has to be in london. have you seen how many specialties are there in costume!?

ba in poland it is. it turns out that i pretty much have 3-4 options. two in warsaw and two in łódź. costume in general, on this stage, is not exactly popular so i'm not really surprised. i'm limited by the part-time thing, i want to start working to get started on my personal finances (like the responsible, blue-haired, adult that i am).

the one school i'm most interested in is the one in warsaw, mskpu. it's international, the diploma is also in english, subjects are in english as well. i'm quite good at that, if i do say so myself (the cae grade a also thinks so). plus, have you seen the lecturers? names and their accomplishments talk for themselves. another thing, my favourite costume designer, katarzyna konieczka, studied there. i'll write about her some day too, her work is breathtaking.

the only thing is... i'm scared. even if i know i have the power to get in and all, i'm scared. i don't believe myself or in myself. my abilities kind of disappear in my mind and i feel really worthless. why should i write matura well if i have problems getting out of bed in the morning, every morning? i'm not creating when i should and could be. there are a million other people, why would anyone choose me. it sort of spreads into other parts of my life, it's quite worrisome.

i'm not a winner, i don't have the drive to be famous. as i said, my pr is weak as hell, social abilities are not better. it's hard to get work as a normal person and i'm not exactly that tbh.

and why i'm writing all that exactly? part of me wants your compassion, although who would pity the white, quite wealthy girl that just really wants to be a fucking artist. the other wants some sort of support. i don't feel like i have a good example in my real life, help a sister out.

a question of this week, what do you do for a living and how did you get here? why and how have you chosen that path?

that's enough, honey.

this has been your monday (tuesday) dose of future reality.

love,

qofr

en garde!

yesterday i had the pleasure of seeing ''the three musketeers'' play in the musical theatre here. it's a mega production, comes in at just under 4 hours and has lights, costumes and fire. very well then.

as you know i'm very interested in the costumes and characterisations in this whole theatre thing, but before i dive into that, i'll tell you more about the play.

the official poster

the three musketeers is a book written by alexander dumas in 1844. the action takes place in the XVIIth century in france under the rule of louis XIII. it's full of history, love, fights and intrigues. good read, only the language can be challenging sometimes.

the play is based entirely on the book and is very faithful, not a modern telling. there are two acts and definitely the first one rules. the action is well presented, even if the love stories and songs are a bit soppy. and i loooove the fight scenes, big fan of historical reconstructions. 

on the technical side of things, the stage is so well prepared. the capitol has a fantastic stage in itself, it has 3 or 4 moving parts and can be two-storey. additionally, they made 3 or 4 columns, two-storey as well, that could move and twist around. the coordination of changing the scenery was amazing, i wandered how long they've practiced all that. 

in the second part there was a lot more tension, i feel like it was dragged out a bit. the only thing that really hold it all together was milady de winter, the main culprit of all the intrigues. justyna szafran, the actress behind milady, has a great chemistry and sexual energy with the rest of the cast, and i love me some erotism on stage.  

it took me a while to warm up to d'artagnan in this production, mostly because the last time i saw this story the role was played by logan lerman in the ridiculous 2011 film with orlando bloom as prince buckingham, and this guy doesn't resemble him one bit. 

~~~

now, let's get down to the good stuff, clothes! 

in general, i'm very content with their interpretation of historical wear. it can be hard, and i personally prefer a bit of a traditional approach. the only big thing i really don't like are the bare arms on women, other than milady de winter, cause with her it looks gorgeous. 

like look at this, of course it's beautiful but it's not XVIIth century france! there was another scene on the ball (which, to my disappointment, wasn't really that big) where the queen was dancing in some sort of eastern dress with lots of flowy fabric, it's just not the right atmosphere. but the rest of the ball was devine.

the musketeers looked great, even poor d'artagnan. 

atos, portos and, my favourite, aramis where so manly, just like a soldier should be. i'm not really into muscles but i'm a sucker for a man in a military wear.

 atos

portos

aramis

the leather is very nice, i wasn't close to the stage but even i could tell they paid attention to the details. anna chadaj, did a great job.

~~~

do you like historical plays or other works? on the 5th i'm going to see a retransmission of 'hamlet' from national theatre, we'll see how this works.

this has been you monday dose of bravery.

love,

qofr

ps. watch the trailer here.

glass is there to...

a couple of days ago i went to a beautiful exhibition, i'd like to tell you about it.


currently, we are in the middle of the european glass festival. i strongly advise you to take a look at the page and find an exhibit near you. i went to the wroclaw one. and it was great.

i can clearly remember being interested in glass since i was about 7 years old, about the same time i became interested in venice. murano glass became one of the most wonderful art forms for me. now, even though i'm not making it myself, i love to check out some new and old artists.

and that's just what i did. this is the 4th edition of the festival, this years theme was love.

the exhibit is tiny but very diverse, as the name would suggest, there are works by artists from all over europe.

i'm no critic but let me show you my favourite pieces:

~~~

kocham cię by dagmara bielecka

8 i love you's in different techniques. very delicate but you can feel the statement. this artist is fascinated in old glass making techniques and uses traditional materials.

dagmara bielecka

~~~

torso XI by latchezar boyadjiev

this is so much better in person to be honest but it looks great here as well. the thing with glass, especially full dimension works, is that it shows it's true beauty with the presence of light. this piece is quite big and combines clear and matte surfaces and truly dances in the light. i don't know how you would experience it but i see it as two figures melting and un-melting together, love.

latchezar boyadjiev

~~~

hatifnat aktywny by małgorzata dajewska

this, even though it doesn't turn heads, is quite sentimental for me. you see a hatifnat (or hattifattener as you apparently call it in english) is a character from one of my favourite childhood series, the moomins. it's written by a finish writer, and i has made way to the very essence of my early years. it's just very cute and cuddly and i feel great when i think about those books and the tv series, highly recommend it.

małgorzata dajewska

~~~

faces of love by pert stacho

this is just pure amazeballs. it looks like a freaking frozen wave. imagine a print like this, or anything really, i just want to dive into this icy-glass water. 

pert stacho

~~~

to end it all, or begin really:

perception VIII by peter bremers

~~~

i hope you enjoyed this bit of glass, let me know what you think.

this has been your monday dose of culture.

love,

qofr

hmxbalmain

today, i'm going to be a real fashion blogger and, for a change, gonna write something current.

the new hm x balmain collection

out 5th november, all the rage for a while. personally, i'm not a big fan of balmain, i stopped being interested in these collaborations when marni went on sale and i snatched a pencil skirt, silk scarf and two pairs of earring which would knock you of your feet. but i'll save that for another time.

back to balmain. some facts for you;

the balmain house was founded by pierre balmain in 1946.
the house suffered rationed fabric during the II world war period but after that balmain followed in the steps of dior and took on ''the new look''. the house was and still is famous for extravagant haute couture looks with some retro vibes. just this year hm announced that the brand, currently under the head designer olivier rousteing, will be their 11th collaboration.

personally, i'm not a big fan of balmain, just as i wasn't a versace fan. the fashion is a bit too much for me, the chains, dark colours. i don't really dress that way and prefer that kind of style only on stage. being the professional that i am, i haven't really noticed any signs of the next collection (the hm near me doesn't carry it) so i didn't really care, only czuch told me.

the collection is a huge success, for hm especially. the clothes are really popular, kylie jenner on the ads probably also helped, every self-respecting fashionista wanted her dress.

the clothes are definitely not reasonably priced, c'mon it's hm. the promo shots are so cliche, they my photographer friend told me they are not even properly framed. but the light is good. 

it's all important, of course, but the real thing i wanted to write about is the ridiculous ''crowd'' reaction! all i can say is to do with poland and i sincerely hope it wasn't like that elsewhere. 

and it was madness. the vip event in the capital was just bizarre and laughable. you would think that if you're a fashion blogger or a writer for a well known magazine, you are used to such events, and know how to behave properly, right? wrong. here is a great article, if you can read it (it's in polish) but the photos speak for themselves. everybody wanted a piece and people even took wrong sizes and tried to steal from others. the exchanges and not really legal trade was just unbelievable. 

the clothes weren't supposed to come out for everybody for a couple of days after that night. imagine that you could buy those on ebay for double the price just a couple of hours after closing. that's just pure nasty. 

the premiere was just as crazy if not more. even people who didn't know who balmain is were waiting pressed to the glass in the morning. the website was down, for a couple of hours at least. i would hate to be the sales assistants then. i cant's even contain the disgust for this event, i'm genuinely mad at those people! you're just plain embarrassing...

why?? why?? i get that you want to feel the luxury of a faux fur with an itchy label or the heavy sequins on a dress that wasn't even touched by the head designer but behave your self!

the crowd is mindless, horrid and grotesque. the collection is not worth any broken ribs or purses, in my opinion.

it's not the fashion week sales, it's not primark on oxford street, it's not boxing day in selfridges. calm down. even if it's all out of stock.

this has been your monday dose of common sense.

love,

qofr

ad - redy - ad - greeny

hi

today we're going back in time, to holidays, cause i don't want to show you the other post i'm working on yet, sozz.

as tradition states, i have to go to london right? 

so i did, with my mum and it was well fun. 

the original reason was the mcqueen exhibit in v&a. 

i'm a massive fan of his works, have been for years so i couldn't waste the opportunity to see the biggest retrospect yet. 

t'was the end of july, beautiful weather. we went to bath, one of my favourite towns in britain. if you have the opportunity, get a train ticket and go. it's very picturesque and there are a few things well worth seeing. my favourite is probably the fashion museum and the roman baths. the museum has some iconic pieces, and lots of additional info on the audio guide, if you're interested in historic wear it's a must. they had a tiny exhibit focusing on georgian times, i never knew there were so many trends back then!

every time i'm in the uk i go on a quest for cool makeup. there are some brands that are not available here but there, they're super popular. sleek, makeup revolution, collection - just to name a few. i should do a makeup collection post someday... since i can say i do this 'professionally', i have quite a lot of weird stuffs. this time i went for a sleek palette with greens, and i immediately had to try it out, of course.

finally, mcqueen. and to my both dismay and pleasure, photography and sketching was forbidden, so all i have is my memory and the two 3 lbs albums sneaked through airport security. just know i spent nearly 2 hours in a seven room exhibition and it was magnificent.

and i got butterflies for my green hair

australian art was next. here, we don't really have that much of foreign art, even if, it's european. i've never been to australia, it's so far away, but the native culture seems fascinating. the british museum exhibit was so interesting! i never knew there were so many different tribes and traditions, the mythology is fascinating. that's one thing that definitely sets apart a culture, the mythology and mysticism. i wish there was a way to bring them all to life. the exhibit also showed the awful reality of the natives in todays world. the fact that they couldn't vote when i was a little kid makes me nauseous, it's a civilised country, right?

the last big thing was zuza's visit! we haven't seen each other in months and it was all so spontaneous! we went to see the sonia delaunay exhibit in tate modern, one of the best things ever. i'm sure i've heard of her husband, robert delaunay, a famous cubist. but it turns out that sonia was just as good as he was, if not better! she opened her own fashion house, introduced cubic patterns and inventions into garments, did costumes and textiles! it's just a shame that there weren't any postcards (they couldn't get the permission, how??? it's tate freaking modern!). what i'm saying is that i plan to look into her works more in the future so next year i'll probably come back to her.

that is us, shot from the most flattering angle, i know

this was written on a door in a bathroom, very poetic

to sum it up, i had so much fun, great, 10 out of 10, would recommend ;)

i hope you enjoyed this little travelog as much as i did.

this has been your monday pick-me-up.

love,

qofr

delicje

hi,

today i come to you dressed in my floral apron. why do you ask? i've been going about this idea in my head that i could show you some of my baking. those who know me in real life for sure noticed my sweet tooth and kitchen 'talents', i like to give treats as presents, that sort of thing. i've heard that they are quite good and there are even some people who are willing to pay me to do that... but let's not get ahead of ourselves,

today, for absolutely free, i'll show you my recipe for cocoa cupcakes.

what you'll need

- 40g of cocoa powder (i use m&s brand)
- 100ml of milk
- 2 eggs
- 80ml of sunflower seed oil
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 200g of caster sugar
- 100g of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda

- 12 piece cupcake tin
- cupcake liners
- 2 bowls
and some other stuff

let's get down to business

1. get all the ingredients to room temperature and heat up your oven to 180* C
2. heat up the milk and slowly start adding the cocoa powder, try to not get any lumps because later on it's a pain
3. measure out all of your 'wet' ingredients (eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar) and mix
4. once the cocoa mixture is ready, let it cool down and mix it in

5. measure out the 'dry' stuff (flour, soda, baking powder) and mix

6. add the dry to the wet, use a whisk, easy-peasy

7. liners to the tin! hop! fill'em up! (get a cup with a pourer, trust me)

8. burn babies, burn (or at least rise, 23-25 minutes are perfect, check with a stick)

let cool and enjoy!

or

...

if you want

- 100g of softened butter

- 200g of powdered sugar

- as many sprinkles etc. as you want! or fresh fruit!

beat the butter and sugar until smooth (use a stand mixer or prepare for a long process)

decorate as you want! here are some of mine:

i'm really proud of this post, first time making gifs and all that. i hope you liked it, even if you don't bake, let me know :]

this was your monday sweetness 

love,

qofr

what i did

i miss this thing lately so here i am, new kicks and all.

i'm working on a couple of projects, for myself, school and others. costumes for theatre (hopefully) will guest star here eventually, light day project is definitely staring and here as a feature till december, socks are in the archive for now, i feel like i should just wait these couple of weeks and start from the correct date to avoid confusion (for myself mostly).

i'm 19 now, in my final year of school, preparing for the bigger future. i really want to post more photos but i don't really have the time for my dslr... my phone will have to do, it's quite good.

i was wondering.... would you like to see more looks or tutorials (diy and makeup), cause i want to focus on one but i don't know which one!

i've been listening to this on repeat:

missy elliott's part is so addicting.

hope you still like me

cause i love you a lot

qofr

głupiaś

cracow part 2. this time with my dear dear bae ami. it turns out that she has never seen the great mariacki church so i had to fix that. i feel like such a nerd, but it is one of the most beautiful examples of european gothic architecture with the colourful interior and wit stwosz's famous altarpiece.

 some more food followed our visit to the mysterious underground and then the skies opened, spilling its contents over the whole city and, most importantly, us. it's a running thing in our travels, first day has to include a storm apparently. despite our best efforts, we stayed home, had some quality syrenka+sarenka wine-time and went to sleep.

 you know that feeling you get when your bedmate starts singing in her sleep?

 i now know ;)

more food

 the best pictures are the weirdest pictures.

sorry for your eye, asia. 

i hope you enjoyed this thing. last leftover stop is london but i feel like it's going to be a freaking essay.

hugs and kisses,

love,

qofr