pomorskie paciorki

i'm in gdańsk right now, typing these words from my very ''blogger-like'' position on a hotel bed.

first mention of gdańsk in ''vita prima sancti adalbertii in the 10th century

in pendolino (a fast train going from warsaw to gdańsk, and other places) there are these screens showing cool things in different cities. right there i read about the archeological museum and their jewellery exhibition.

view from the tower of the museum

~~~

''craftsmen or artists?'' is a small but very packed exhibit centered around jewellery made by pomeranian tribes in the first centuries ad. most of these where found in women's graves during excavations a couple of years ago. the premise of this whole thing is to, obviously, think about the difference and line between a craftsman and an artist.

even though the exhibit fills only one room, there is quite a number of pieces and a lot of information. mostly, you can find out what kind of jewellery making techniques where there 20 centuries ago, see the exquisite craftsmanship and attention to detail. and they did all this by hand, without any magnifying glass or anything!

remanences of a small workshop

examples of where the jewellery was worn, 

a lot of brooches served a practical purpose  

since we are on the amber trail, 

these are naturally found ambers,

 also used in jewellery

this is one of my favourites.

a necklace made of a mediterranean sea shell 

(brought over by trading)

and a bronze casing, very high fashion

~~~

now let's talk about the topic.

first of all let me say that i believe that craftsmen, workers in handmade objects, are also artists. these things were designed by them, they took hours and hours to make it. let's not even begin to talk about the effort it took to figure out the methods of forming and decorating every piece. all by hand. all in a freaking hot workshop. 

i, myself, always say that i do what i do because i'm first and foremost a craftsman (or a woman rather). i'm mostly interested in getting to know new techniques of making stuff, figuring out any improvements, making thing by hand by myself.

for me knowing the workshop is much more important than having a split of inspiration, jotting it down and not knowing what to do with it.

ultimately, i want to create for myself but doing things which require a lot of skill for somebody is also very rewarding. another thing is the need for highly specialised craftsmen in today's day and age. recently my cousin linked me to a post about a new college in the uk, a part of a ballet school i think, and their main goal is to train people to renew and make new costumes for ballet. the tutus are in terrible shape apparently and it turns out it's quite hard to just repair or make a new one.

~~~

i can't recommend the exhibition enough and i want to hear your thoughts, are craftsmen artists? what is even the difference?

~~~ 

this has been your additional dose of creative thinking.

love,

qofr

maria naucza

ok, this is major. i'm like tottaly awe-struck.

since i'm in warsaw, i might as well treat myself to a ticket for a play with a famous brilliant actress, right? good choice, good choice.

~~~

''maria callas. master class'' in och-teatr.

as the title would suggest, this play is about maria callas, a very famous opera singer in her times and until today. she is one of the most important artists, her voice was unique and she was truly an actress on stage.

she was born in america but moved to athens quite early in her life, greek decent. maria started off as a ''hippopotamus'' on stage, with pimples too. fortunately, her artistry was more important than looks, which greatly improved once she lost weight, btw.

la traviata, as violetta

the really sad thing is that her hard and heavy temper affected a lot of her life, thus her talent. even though she was an international star, in 1965, she got kicked out of her opera environment, after years and years of quarrels with her millionaire husband (he didn't want her to sing, she got in trouble with basically everybody because of that).

but... what about the play!

we meet her in 1971, at julliard school of music in new york. callas tried teaching a master class there. the whole performance is centered and played as a lecture with students presenting their works. maria listens but frequently interrupts. there are only 3 students, yet we are watching the stage, from both sides, for nearly 2 hours. it doesn't feel like it.

krystyna janda, a very famous polish film and theatre actress, plays the main role. she's in her 60s but that's not a problem, i feel like if she was younger (even though she already played callas, in a similar play, 10 years ago), you wouldn't see the truth.

i can actually believe she is callas, that's her, with jet black, pulled back hair, and short legs. the actual singer had a very difficult childhood, during war, she was very self conscious, needed love and hate. janda portraits that very well. her monologues are the most moving, her feelings towards her husband, her desperate need to act but not act. even if it is set in a class room, with students actually performing opera, her persona is so sharp that even when she leaves the stage for a break, callas is still there.

one of the most elegant posters i have ever seen

~~~

i know that you probably want to hear about costumes... but there really isn't that much to say. imagine an old diva with a very classy presence, a school accompanist, students who really don't know how to dress themselves and a grumpy janitor. that's it really. but it plays so nicely. 

~~~

i'm really sorry this is late, but the play... it was soooooo goooood. go see it if you have the chance, please. you'll thank me in unicorn tears.

this has been your monday (wednesday) dose of culture vulture.

love,

qofr

into the woods

at first i didn't intend to make scenography and set design for this project. i'm not really into that domain of theatre so i just wanted to go with raw industrial. un/fortunately, my tutor thought of a whole stage set when she heard about the costumes, told me about it, so, since i'm the type that if something is stuck in my head it's for good (gonna stay there till i realise it), i got to work.

since the most important things on stage were the lit costumes, i focused on the lighting.

this is the finished product. to be fair it actually came out almost just like i imagined (the temperature of lights could be more alike but you can't have it all)

the whole set is basically just 3 paper screens and lights, but what an effect!

this is the raw set, no light. looks bare and not really interesting but the scale is quite big. each screen is about 3 meters in hight and 2.5 in width. it was an exhausting task, thank you jagoda for helping me, i still have a bit of scarring on my hands (i had to lift like a 60kg roll of paper). each piece is hung from the celling in two places, held together with a wooden bar. the one thing i need to remember in the future is to make them a bit longer, so they don't slide that much.

behind the screens there was a spot light and on the sides two slide projectors. and i mean those old ones, with single frames and film.

the shapes are inspired by the same things as the costumes, i just simplified them a bit, to make things more clear.

you would think i'll use digital projectors with scans of my inspirations, right? well, first thing, there weren't that many just available since ''light day'' is a school thing and there were many other performances. second thing that it actually didn't work that well in practice. i did a lot of monotype designs with different motifs but the scan wasn't good enough and i would have to clean all of them by hand, no way...

luckily, my teacher suggested just drawing the needed shapes on see-through foil and putting it in film frames, worked great and it was easy to copy for two screens. an even better thing was that since the actual image wasn't visible, the audience couldn't see the imperfections.

~~~

ok, that's it. listen to this and enjoy the photos (taken by jagoda as well):

this has been your monday dose of pure coolness

love,

qofr

so, śródświetlne

the name means, in loose translation, amongst light. the whole thing was prepared for my schools 'day of light', but not for them, for myself. the event is centered around light related projects made by students at my school.

i had this idea for a while, the play of light and shadow is fascinating when observed in movement, and i love the idea of semi-transparency and all that.

the whole concept is based on cloth with printed, contrasting template. i got really interested in artistic graphics last year, i'm a craftsman so doing stuff by hand is definitely my thing, and making molds was really cool. since this year i don't have that subject anymore i wanted to do something my myself, for myself this once. plus i really wanted to have something big, new for my portfolio.

i like doing stuff on my own so this was a real pleasure even though it was so time and work consuming.

i started of with some loose sketches of the cloths and the patterns i wanted. i love the idea of octopus tentacles in graphics (i have no idea why, it has been a running theme in my art) so i started with that (curse this, the suction things were a bitch to make). i was struggling to think of other nature inspired patterns but it worked out.

i have an octopus, trees, coral and fern. each made twice, mirrored for both sides of the model.

and for good measure i did some model sketches

i wasn't sure about the last one 

and i want to use my pad more so:

this is the beginning, my inspirations. the making is coming.

this has been your monday dose of artistic motivation, you can do it!

love,

qofr

happy new year!

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

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

on inspiration

hi,

so you know that feeling when you have that moment to clear inspiration, luck and you just know you can do it. solve this equation, write that short story, draw that perfect picture. for me, that's one of the best feelings in the world. i feel so powerful and later so accomplished and happy. because i'm a big procrastinator and have some issues, it feels even better to have done something and actually be satisfied with it.

that's how i felt about the sockabrate series. even though i was late for most of the posts, let's be honest, and i didn't like some of the designs, i really felt like i was creating something new. i know that there are countless designs of the market, in fact i own loads, but i've never seen my ideas, obvs.

unfortunately, that wonderful feeling of creating didn't last the test of research. by accident really. my cousin/sister is getting married this august and her fiance needs socks. the wedding is going to be forest/rustic themed so the socks are going to match, little trees or forest animals. so i looked for those online. ehhh... and there i was on websites that have basically every possible thing on socks. including designs that were almost identical to mine.

self-esteem minus 9000.

that's why i wasn't posting a while back. it really ruined my inspiration. i still don't feel too good, thinking about it. i'll still try to think of something original and probably not do any research cause that just brings me down but it takes time.

do any of you struggle with that? it's probably easier if you're painting a nature mort or sketching, cause you're trying to be realistic but when creating something new...

do you have any tips or tricks to stay creative and sure when you have to inspiration?

i don't know, really.

hope you enjoyed nonetheless.

love,

qofr

p.s. real sockabrate is coming, i have some designs.

bug girl

bonjour!

today, let's go back to december, london, csm course.

as i said here and here, it was all a lot of fun but we had a project to make in the end.

so here is a summary of mine.

here is what i started with. we did some drawings, ''sculptures'', thingamajigs...

 i especially like that one.

we also explored more inspirations, used more drawings.

my wall.

back at the dormitory i did some more experimenting, focusing more on the bug theme.

those are glue strings, it was a nightmare to do.

next we did some yarn wrappings, it's more about the colour palette, textures that can be used. i was mostly inspired by the iridescent bugs.

 bug colours.

 sock colours.

 all together.

so, then i moved on to other parts, such as the screen print. i'm very proud of those designs, imagine using them for silk ties, blazers, scarfs...

i'm feeling especially good about this one:

maybe i'll do something with it in the future...

and that's mostly it. there are a few more things, but i'll drop them later. some of the techniques were very interesting as i said again and again. i would love to do more of mechanical knitting, maybe i'll try to track down a machine for that...

i'm kinda happy with how it turned out but if there is one thing i found out on this course is that the speciality in textiles is not for me. there is no actual final product, you can always add more. i would prefer to make use of the fabric, make costumes, sew with them... i guess i'll do everything :].

i hope you enjoyed that, let me know what you think.

love,

qofr.

btw: socks are coming tomorrow, i can't find the notebook.