Written by AnnaDenise on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 23:17
Many of you have heard me praise Uppercase Magazine before (in Dutch) and I'm therefore happy to help promote the latest issue that's come out: Issue 6! Buy it! (how's that for mad marketing skills, eh?)
And although I'm usually already pretty excited to hear another issue has come out, this time I'm even more thrilled, as there's a six page (!) article in there THAT I WROTE!!! (OMGOMGOMG) Oh, and yes, I took most of the pictures as well.
I know. I am pretty cool. *looks at nails*
Click on the image for a preview of the magazine (p.62-67 for the article about Nina)
Early last April I took the train from Brussels to Den Bosch (which is in the south of The Netherlands) to meet up with designer and artist Nina van de Goor, who goes by 'Nina in Vorm' and designs amazing ceramics and prints. I had a very lovely afternoon with her during which she was kind enough to show me around her beautifully decorated house and talk to me about her work and life.
I won't say anything else, because you'll have to check out the magazine yourself (you have to), but I'd definitely recommend checking out Nina's work over on her blog and Etsy store. She's madly talented.
Also, a big thanks to Janine Vangool, founder, publisher, editor and designer of Uppercase Magazine for taking a chance on me and my writing!
A picture I took in Nina's studio that I don't think was published.
Written by AnnaDenise on Monday, June 28, 2010 at 09:00
One of my favorite artists, Sandra Dieckmann, started a new project called 'Haus Stories' and of course I was thrilled and honored when she asked me to participate. For this project Sandra is building an illustrated house, and I was able draw the first floor!
Here's my entry:
And here's a screenshot of the house so far:
Sandra is taking submissions, so check out the Flickr group for instructions and join in!
Written by AnnaDenise on Friday, June 25, 2010 at 21:01
I sent in this drawing as an entry for the They Draw and Cook website.
I think it's just a lovely idea, asking illustrators to draw their favorite recipe. I picked a simple dish, which is nevertheless a favorite in our house: chicken pesto. Mainly, it's a favorite because it's one of the few (and when I saw few I mean three) dishes my boyfriend has managed to master (so far). I hope they'll feature my drawing to go on the website, but if not, this way at least you'll benefit a little bit from my awesome-magic-recipe skills.
Also, sorry for the crappy image. The drawing turned out to be larger than my (a4) scanner, so I tried to photograph it, which, obviously I need more practice at!
Have a great Friday-evening!
UPDATE: They placed my entry! Yay!
Written by AnnaDenise on Monday, June 21, 2010 at 09:00
Last week, I had a week of experimentation when it comes to art journalling. Although I often feel like I need to create nothing but 'pretty pages', it's so important to try new things and new techniques.
So, I tried some mixed-media collage...
Some graphic-novel style drawings...
And I tried to draw my cat, which I completely suck at!
(And OK, I drew a pretty picture as well, but look, the background is kind of experimental, right? Right...)
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a lovely father's day or a special day of remembering your dads if they're no longer with you. I had a great inspirational day with my dad, which I'll try to blog about later this week!
Written by AnnaDenise on Friday, June 18, 2010 at 09:00
Some Flickr-love for your inspiration! Have a great Friday!
1. 'Polaroid Pictures June 2010' Amy Blackwell.
2. 'The Spring PikaPackage zine' by Pikaland.
3. 'M's Room 6' by Studio Fludd.
4. 'Allison Cole' by Pikaland.
5. 'Untitled' by Sandra Juto.
6. 'Polaroid Land Camera' by Elsie Cake.
7. 'You & me tree...' by Ivy Style 33.
8. 'Untitled' by Sandra Juto.
9. 'Crunch some numbers' by Perfectbound.
10. 'Camilla Book' by Uppercase.
11. 'Notebook' by Notebookdoodles.
12. 'Blog quote - E.M. Forster' by Caitidid Designs.
13. 'Day Sixty Nine' by Bird in the Hand.
Written by AnnaDenise on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 23:00
Recently, I wrote an article for our alumni magazine about mood boards (they are the best things since shoelaces, I believe!). Now that this year's issue is finally up up and away (I did the design this year, just like last year), I am very pleased to share the article with you as well.
You can read it here.
So today I was in the mood for mood boards, and after doing some bricolage on our apartment with the boyfriend (we. have. real. curtains. omg. I didn't think I would live to see the day), I worked on a new board for my studio. I based this board around my two staple colors: yellow and turquoise and added the pink, because, hey, pink is awesome.
♥♥♥ My cork board is now ready for the summer!
(Wait, it's summer already? Really? What's with all the rain and the cold then?)
For good measure, here's what the mood board looked like before:
And here's what it looked before that:
Have a great weekend everyone and show me your mood board if you have one up in your house or studio!
Written by AnnaDenise on Thursday, June 10, 2010 at 20:24
A few years back I wrote (in Dutch) about my love for the work of artist Hérnan Paganini, aka Puloverchito. I own this print by him and somewhere in a lost mailbag there's an original drawing by him for me still waiting to be found. But somewhere along the way I lost track of Hérnan and his work, so I was glad to see this wonderful series over on Design For Mankind, reminding me of Hérnan's absolute brilliance! (In general I can highly recommend Erin Loechner's blog 'Design For Mankind', it never fails to inspire!)
© Hérnan Paganini
And I noticed he now has a website too! Yay!
© Hérnan Paganini
Written by AnnaDenise on Tuesday, June 08, 2010 at 23:09
Inspired by the Happy Journey Collective whom* I wrote earlier about, I drew my 'own' coffin and urn. It actually was a lot of fun!
* Whom? Who? That? Eh?
Written by AnnaDenise on Saturday, June 05, 2010 at 22:54
Just another quick update for today, showing off this commissioned piece I did for returning customer Helene, who's brother and sister in law recently got a new baby girl.
I love doing commissions and this one was especially fun because of the little anecdotes Helene included in her description of the kids.
I shot some video of the process of creating the work but haven't gotten around to actually editing the footage, but stay tuned and keep an eye on my YouTube channel.
Written by AnnaDenise on Saturday, June 05, 2010 at 22:00
When I met my sweet friend Nuria 8 years ago, her idea of good food started with an 'M' and ended on 'acDonalds'.
Things have changed.
Nuria is now quite the little chef and keeps a daily food blog over on NuriaMariaRosa. Definitely worth the click if you're into food, food-porn, Jamie Oliver recipes, orrr if you just need a virtual kick underneath your cooking-bum. Which is what Nuria's blog did to me today. It, however, being too hot to cook today I made myself this little summer dinner:
A spinach, pine nut and salmon salad, with a avocado filled with yoghurt-herb filling (both were kind of an experiment). Toasted flatbread and crackers with artichoke dip, black olive tapenade, and cheese (fourme and beaufort). And for desert strawberries with minced mint, yoghurt, and sugar.
I know, nothing spectacular, but delicious. Thanks Nuria, for inspiring me!
Written by AnnaDenise on Thursday, June 03, 2010 at 16:00
As some (or very few) of you know, I wrote my master's thesis on the concept of authenticity in Internet art (in relation to Walter Benjamin's ideas on authenticity) and in this thesis I also loosely touch upon the relation between authenticity and copyright law. Not surprisingly, this is mostly due to my boyfriend, who happens to be a lawyer specialized in intellectual property law (applied to computer programs, which a lot of internet artworks are as well).
Being a creative person with ideas she considers somewhat original, it's always fascinated me how there seems to be a gap between what's protected under copyright law (function) and what we as a society seem to value (ideas).
Therefore, I was thrilled to see this TED-video and discussion on copyright (and on copycats more specifically) up on Pikaland]. Johanna Blakely makes a strong point, although I am not sure if I completely agree with all the conclusions she draws from her analysis. I do agree with Johanna Blakely and Amy that this is an issue that concerns not just lawyers, but is something we can all think about and reflect on. Especially if you're an artist working with or on the Internet.
For those interested in the subject, my thesis on authenticity in Internet art (including a cover by Internet artist Mark Napier) can be downloaded on the Utrecht University website, [right over here] (Click on 'full text').
Written by AnnaDenise on Tuesday, June 01, 2010 at 23:00
Last weekend was an eventful weekend for me. Not only did I find out I now have asthma too (on top of my allergies - yay), but I also underwent a certain degree of pain out of my own free will: I got a new tattoo!
I've been wanting to get this tattoo for a while and I've been thinking and talking about it ever since I got my last tattoo (on my lower back, six years ago). Finally a good friend of mine told me "I think you've thought about it for long enough now. You've been wanting this forever, what's holding you back?"
What was holding me back was the fear of being judged by others. Of expressions like 'tramp stamps' and people drawing conclusions before even talking to me. But then, I listed all the people I knew with tattoos and how stylish most of them are. How I admire them for being who they are. How they are not afraid of being judged by others. And I thought 'ef it'.
This tattoo therefore feels (even) more like a statement to me. Because of the placement and because of its meaning to me. It stands for my personal creativity, for my love of drawing, designing and the arts. And I love it.
