#its also my first time doing art noveau in years

[enter-the-performapals]

Happy MerMay! After almost a full month, my big project is complete! Im super happy with this one, and put a lot of time into it!

Thanks to everyone for the support! Alternate versions under the cut:

[belladonna-behold]

Fire in His Throat

In which fire ignites in Chuuya's throat. It is an omen.

Or

Soukoku assassin fic WIP.

------

The charity is simultaneously everything that Chuuya has seen before and yet nothing like them at all.

That is a lie. That is a horrible, blatant lie because Chuuya sees this type of charity at least five times a year, and there is only one singular difference that sets this party apart from the others. One, single difference, and nothing more. One that puts all sensibility upside its head with its feet in its mouth, and he can only rationalize it as some sort of crude joke Mori decided to play on him. Or maybe god had. Maybe both. He is convinced that he'd spited them in a previous life.

And now his mouth stings of wine and gasoline. Paranoia burns.

In a perfect world, one that Chuuya can whittle to his whims and his needs, that is where it ends. That is all there is to it and Chuuya's paranoia is nothing but sleeplessness weeding through his bones and airway, nothing but water leaving his throat, an overreaction. But overreactions-be-damned, the mere thought of that one difference sets fire to his spine like a fuse sewn tightly to the skin of his back, dynamite in his stomach. An invocation of his name and Chuuya finds himself wary of every breath he takes lest it flicks the metaphorical match and blazes his lifeline flat. He might not have the best restraint on his nerves, but fire only ever comes to his throat when something terrible is bound to happen, and Chuuya's gut has never failed him before.

The flame in his throat is all but an omen. He can only pray that it will not come to fruition.

The party itself is common at best. Chuuya has seen prettier things, but it is not mud in a kaleidoscope. Marble under tacky, gilded seats—flecks of gold on creme-colored walls—tapestries fashioned from (what is likely overpriced) lace and silver silk—velvet curtains framing the south of Yokohama's cityscape: appallingly grand, yes, and a horrendous display of wealth. But not what he would call a picture of taste and aesthetic.

Creativity is not a trait of old money, Chuuya had learned, for creativity is partial to those who lack and old money never lacked anything. And though Chuuya would rather nothing to do with the noveau riche, one would presume that those born suckling on silver spoons would take at least a modicum after their forefathers— the old pioneers, the eccentrics. Alas, they never do. He once mused that all their creative inclinations were sucked dry from the womb to further inflate their parents' wallets. He wouldn't put it past them. He was witness to stranger phenomena.

It's not exactly a fair battle, per se. Galas, parties, charities– Chuuya's already seen it all, he thinks. And it's difficult to impress someone who's seen everything. What are gilded chandeliers when Chuuya's seen elaborate light shows on the rivers of Peru? What are the lights of Yokohama if not child's play compared to Las Vegas at midnight? Akutagawa says that Chuuya's always been stingy with compliments, more so with trainees. And maybe this party is not as dreadful as he sees it to be. But the one single difference burning holes through the back of his skull renders all of that musing moot.

His target is staring at him.

He curses. Why is he staring at him?

Why is The Dazai Osamu staring at him when he thinks he's not looking?

He snaps his head, swiftly, to catch the man amid the crowd. Only to see him mingling and smiling and fake-laughing at a joke he was told by a faceless suck-up as if he had not been staring at him for the last ten minutes. And for a moment, all he can think about is the audacity.

Chuuya is not going insane, he is sure of it. He knows the sensation of being watched more intimately than he knows incaution. Knows it better than he could any lover. Dazai is watching him, and that alone is dangerous. Dangerous, because Chuuya is not supposed to be noticed. Not by a lesser man.

So Dazai must not be such a man.

But that's the thing, he can't be noticed. He has no reason to be noticed. Maybe he is going insane and sleep deprivation is starting to creep up his bones and neck and brewing unbid paranoia—

Chuuya only has half the sense to look away when Dazai, the damned bastard, looks to meet his gaze, and then he smirks.

He smirks.

Dazai Osamu is audacious, and he's never even met the man.

Calm down, Chuuya. Breathe deeply. So he does and he profiles.

Dazai Osamu, aged 25, 181 cm, weighs 67 kilograms.

Dazai Osamu, proficient in Judo, Eskrima, mixed martial arts, and other forms of combat.

Dazai Osamu, an upstart socialite from the Armed Detective's Agency after appearing from thin air almost four years ago.

Dazai Osamu, the bane of the underground who has solved 136 major cases in his entire four-year run at the ADA, and counting.

Dazai Osamu, intelligent, dangerous, enemy—an enigma that even the head of the underground wants dead, his target.

Dazai Osamu, the one difference.

—And then the bastard winks.

He squints and pinches the bridge of his nose, stifling a groan with his lips. God, he needs another drink.

Chuuya calls Dazai the one difference because that is exactly what he is: a system error, an irregularity. He has never seen a man so coveted in all his years of mafia work (and that includes his newbie espionage missions). And someone so social too, though Chuuya can tell, from his eyes and in how he walks through the room with practiced composure strapped to his back, Dazai is guarded. More than others know. It is dangerous because Dazai is familiar when he shouldn't be.

Not to a mafia executive.

Chuuya has never been one for poetry or prose, but nothing defines Dazai better than oxymoron.

---------

Hey, it's a WIP!

So I'm thinking of making this blog a personal diary of sorts. I'm only ever articulate when I write things down, and I also frequently forget ideas, so might as well.

So about this WIP. This is supposed to be either the first or second part of a short-ish story: the Cendrillon AU, or, Assassin Cinderella. This is most of what I've accomplished for this particular project, but I do want to see this fic come to completion. Unfortunately, I frequently lose interest in most things I write because I don't have anyone to speak to about this stuff, and I'm not the type to join online communities (I'm an introvert, see?). But, that's only because I crave validation. So uh, validate me pretty please?

(^^ That's a joke. I'm working on that. >_<)

So, Soukoku. Chuuya's a real firecracker, at least when it comes to Osamu. And the first draft I made for this fic (currently untitled because I'm hopeless?) was quite a bit different from this. It focused more on personality (while this one focuses on pretty prose.) I wasn't that satisfied with it because it was mostly streams of thought in paragraph form, with angry Chuuya as the voice. My friend preferred that type of style, but what can I say, I like pretty prose better. I reworked it until I was decently satisfied, and ended up with this.

The thing about my writing is that I only have vague ideas of the beginning, middle, and ends (and sometimes not even that), with specific details I resolved to include somewhere somehow. So this is definitely going somewhere. I think.

[scoundrels-in-love]

Aries, for the ask meme?

Thank you for asking, darling!

aries: when have you felt the most confident in your writing? when have you felt the least confident? 

I was most confident when I was 13 to 16 or so years old. I started using Internet more right after my 13th birthday and English was abysmal, but I was not exactly aware of it and I very actively Role Played on various forums as I grew, three sites/people groups marking my growth and its stages. The last, while definitely finally being place where I finally procured something readable and taught me a lot, ended up also instilling some insecurity in me eventually and overall, ended with a horrible crash and burn on every front. It didn’t help that in real life writing, I had never been confident in my writing in the first place.

As for when I am most insecure - every time I open a document, notes, basically anything and try to write. I manage to bypass it only rarely. And usually what I write in such frenzy isn’t quite that good, either.

But overall, the time immediately after my most productive and confident time was very wrought with “I can never write that good again or that much again”. It took me, I think, 5 whole years to meet someone with whom I realized, well, would you look at that, you’ve grown and you can write and you are doing it better than ever. Sadly, even then my insecurity held me back a lot and strained our friendship, but I am thankful to that person and that they’re still in my life, despite everything. 

Still, it did overwhelm me and take me out of writing commission again for few years, especially put together with mental health issues and real life things, so my experience in Braime fandom is a sort of Art Noveau style revival of confidence (even if it’s not a lot and standing on very wobbly legs) and actual ability to put something completed out for people to see. I am very thankful to the kind people that I’ve met through this fandom and the older friends that pushed me into actually starting writing for this pair and publishing my work on AO3.

Send me horoscope-writing ask?

[dahntei]

hi I’m dante and this is my first studyblr post!! I hope you enjoy!!

INTRODUCTION:

Art History was hands down my favorite class I took last year and I’m going to miss it dearly this upcoming year :’v It’s a very rewarding and fun class, but prepared to work a lot if you’re looking for that 5 (or a 3 or 4, actually). I really wouldn’t recommend this class to you if you

a) don’t like art

b) just want an “easy” AP under your belt

c) are just looking for an AP art credit

because the universe will make you pay for it later!

TIPS:

I was one of the 11% of the people who got a 5, so I feel like I know how to study pretty well. Here’s how I recommend you study (and hopefully it’ll turn out well for you, too!):

1- ART CARDS + MINI FLASHCARDS

The College Board requires 250 pieces for you to know (and a bunch of additional sub-pieces tied to those works). As you pass through a unit of history, I recommend that you do two things for each piece you cover--- make an art card and a mini flashcard for you to accompany it.

The art card will serve as a place for you to take comprehensive notes on the piece, while the flashcard is a condensed version of what you had on the art card. I know it sounds tedious to copy the information down twice, but I promise it’s worth it. If you do it as you go along instead of waiting until the last minute, it’ll be less painful.

2- MINDMAPS

This is where flashcards are super important. I regret not doing this at the beginning of the semester, but oh well. After you start accumulating flash cards, you should start arranging them on your floor/desk into big piles by theme/similarities you find in pieces. The College Board is really into cross-cultural comparisons (especially for the FRQs) , so I highly recommend that you go out of your way and try to connect pieces (e.g. putting Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and the Micronesian Nan Madol in the same stack because they’re both architecture pieces tied to water).

3- DON’T BOTHER MEMORIZING EVERYTHING

In a perfect world, you would be able to memorize the five key identifiers for each piece: name of piece, artist, culture of origin, year/time period, materials. Unfortunately, you’re probably not going to be able to do so.

Thankfully, you don’t need to know all of the identifiers for full credit��on most FRQs, 3-4 should do, meaning you don’t need to press yourself to know all the dates. On the other hand, you should know the context/history behind each piece, because that’s the “meat” of both the FRQs and the multiple choice section.

4- THEN AGAIN, HAVE A GENERAL IDEA OF THE ART MOVEMENT + CENTURY A PIECE IS FROM

Some of the FRQs require you to write about pieces from a certain time period, meaning that you should be familiar with the general time period of when a piece is from (e.g. you should know that you shouldn’t be writing about Manet in a FRQ about Pre-Historic art). If you know when the art movement occurred (and you can identify what characteristics of that art movement are), you’ll be set for the attribution section, which brings me to my next tip….

5- LEARN THE ART MOVEMENTS

The attribution section of the test is (arguably) the hardest, especially if you aren’t that familiar with art. This section asks you to identify a piece (that was not in the 250), and label its artist, movement, etc. This means for all major art movements (Cubism, Impressionism, Modern, Postmodern, etc) you should have a little sheet of key characteristics that’ll help you identify what movement a piece is from (e.g. fractured shapes = Cubism). This is especially important with architecture!!!! A lot of the European architectural movements (Gothic, Romanesque, Art Noveau, etc) look super similar so if you don’t know what distinguishes each from the other you’ll be greatly confused.

The flashcards also help with this, as well: you can arrange pieces from the same movements in a pile and find similar attributes.

6- START REVIEWING EARLY

You should start reviewing for the test at the end of February-beginning of March because there’s lots of stuff you need to know. You should be reviewing your art cards throughout the year, but now’s the time to start picking up the pace. You should also start taking practice tests now. The more the better, honestly. I used the Barron’s AP book and the Collegeboard tests I found online to practice. (Don’t skimp on the FRQs!!)

7- PICK SOME CHILDREN

By children, I mean some of your favorite art pieces. You should know 7-10 pieces especially well (like forwards and backwards) so that you’ll never get stuck on any FRQs. I recommend that you pick a variety of pieces (both architecture and art, Western and non-Western, etc) that cover a variety of themes. It’s especially helpful if you have pairs of pieces that are similar together—for instance, I learned Mary Cassatt’s The Coiffure and Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas together. That way, you’ll have pieces to compare/contrast.

Some of my “children” I memorized for the 2017 AP test included: The Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson, Templo Mayor, Nan Madol, House in New Castle County, Luncheon in Furs, Les Desmoiselles de Avignon, Great Stupa at Sanchi, etc… but these were all pieces I thoroughly enjoyed, though. Don’t pick these because I picked these: pick some you actually like and find interest in. It’s definitely more enjoyable that way.

Now all that’s left of you is hard work! If you have any questions, feel free to message me!! I love art history dearly so it’s always a pleasure.

(Picture credits: Aquarium by Zhou Hongbin)

[mjstruckdesign124-blog]

Week 3-History of Design Part 1

 Being an Architecture student, I must learn the basis on design, and how I can develop my thoughts from one piece to another. I picked a scan of my first few desktop organizer designs form the first day of school, a lot of my designs are basic, I just took geometric shapes and replaced them in different ways to create a type of language. Each of my organizers had some sort of drawers, paper filers, and cubbies. I didn’t try very hard with my first design, it just popped into my head and that’s what I stuck with. And my final still has these basic components but “more is less.” One day I went to Union Concourse and sketched out the stairwell that’s in there, ever since I toured Milwaukee the Union has been one of my favorite buildings. The layout of the stairs is so creative and modern, that even though the Union has a sort of bland coloring to it, the stairs create a kind of distraction from the colors. The stairs are a sort of optical allusion, it’s as if the left stairs reach all the way across from the right and vice versa, without touching. But in fact, they meet in the middle giving users the option of a different path each time. One of my modules in my drawing book is called “Other,” and the basis of the idea of showing movement and value with just lines. We often practice showing three-dimensional quality with shading and highlight within our drawings, these drawings are not only helping us improve our drawings skills, but they’re also helping us think about different forms and colors for our future designs. Another module I picked out was called “Media,” once again we were practicing shading and highlight, but this time we played with different media to improve our spectrum. Although the drawing may just be a simple farmhouse the idea is much broader. This last drawing is my final colored charrette desktop organizer, it’s small and simplistic but like I said earlier “more is less.” For my materials, I went with a mixture of wood and plastic, I like to mix different types of woods form dark to light with just one plain color. I think it gives it a very sleek look, along with that I had some basic organizer in my design, but I chose to extend my design horizontally with the side cup holders. Something to help give it a little more pop. 

After my drawings I looked at my notes from Architectual thinking 104, this is beyond my favorite class I have ever taken, go through all the different stylistic movements, and discussing how they influenced architecture is so amazing to me. On Monday, we talked about the significance of the Art Noveau movement and who was large influencer during the time. Of course, as “Graphic Design: A New History,” talked about Le Duc we had to as well, are professor taught us about he was greatly inspired by the Gothic style of the 12th century. She also taught us about the difference between ornament and ornamentation, being that one was simply for decoration or something that was “attached,” while the other was a revealing style that showed the functional identity of the design. On that day as well, we talked about the Arts and Crafts movement, a time where people were so disgusted by mass production that they started building firms where people would hand craft objects like furniture. By having items be handcrafted, builders were able to promise buyer their attention to detail and a simple respect for nature in one item. A building that I chose was the Milwaukee Art museum, this building design is amazing. The shape of the wings and the fact that they do flap, is my favorite part and was a big highlight of my first trip to Milwaukee. The Art museum is very sleek looking, and the inside has a lot of ornamentation. One thing though that has always bothered me about the building shape if that one side is longer than the other, I think they should’ve tried to either even them out, or to cut the right side off. Other than that, I love the building, the slanted glass windows give the building itself a winged look to it. Another building that’s on campus and is obviously my favorite would be the School of Architecture and Urban Planning building. The mixture of textures from brick, concrete, and glass helps it stick out from the other rustic red brick buildings. Every day I sit inside and while I do my homework, I admire the openness all the way up to the ceiling. I think it’s important for the buildings inner working to be exposed for students, so that they can understand how the building they’ve grown in for over four years stands tall. My final building would have to be the North West Quad, whenever I walk into the building, I swear I find new areas that I’ve never seen before. I really like the NWQ because even though it’s creepy that the building was and old hospital, the outside has so much going for it. Just like the other old buildings on campus, the NWQ also is covered in the red brick but the build creates texture and pattern with some light colored and offset bricks. The addition of the children center brings some life and color to the building through the colorful playground on Hartford. One thing I take for granted though is the buildings size, when walking at the base the NWQ is small, but when looking at from Sanburg, you can see all the Quadrants stacked on top of each other like Jenga.  

 Citations: 

Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic Design: a New History. Yale University Press, 2012.

[recentanimenews]

My Favorite Art Books of 2017

2017 has been a pretty great year for art books, and I’ve managed to review some 20 titles more than last year, with the final count at 82 books. As we welcome 2018 here’s the round up of my favorite art books of 2017; I hope you’ll find something of interest in the list. ( do note that not all the books listed here were published in 2017. ) Enjoy ! – 1) Things From The Flood – Simon Stålenhag

Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag’s follow-up to his previous art book Tales From The Loop ( one of my fav art books from 2016 ) is an equally spellbinding sci-fi journey through hypnotic and surreal images masterfully illustrated by the artist. A fascinating read from cover to cover.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

2) Katsuya Terada + Kim JungGi Illustrations

Two world renowned illustration maestros ( Katsuya Terada and Kim JungGi ) pool their sublime draftsmanship powers together in this collaborative volume featuring some of their very latest works.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

3) Otomo – A Global Tribute To The Mind Behind Akira

Top comic artists and illustrators from Europe and Japan pay creative tribute to the films of Akira creator Otomo Katsuhiro in this amazing volume featuring pieces from over 80 artists, with close to 200 pieces of art work. A tour de force of Otomo inspired goodness.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

4) Rakugaki Note – Eisaku Kubonouchi Art Works

Japanese comic artist/illustrator Eisaku Kubonouchi has been in the creative spotlight this year after designing the characters for Nissin Cup Noodle’s Kiki’s Delivery Service and Sazae-san anime commercials. This may be his first proper art book, but his recognition is long overdue.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

5) The Last Odyssey – Ohrai Noriyoshi 1985-2015

The Last Odyssey is an expansive retrospective art book for the late Ohrai Noriyoshi, who sadly passed away in 2015. The artist was a prolific painter who has worked on countless movie posters, including a commission by George Lucas to paint the poster for The Empire Strikes back.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

6) The World Of Ice & Fire – Game Of Thrones

A sumptuous volume to revel in the rich mythology of George R. R. Martin‘s fantasy world, complemented by some exceptional art work and illustrations; particularly those of Targaryen Kings and dragons.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

7) Hellboy In Hell Library Edition

This much awaited hardcover volume marks the narrative end ( or is it ? ) to Mike Mignola’s iconic comic character Hellboy, with all chapters of the Hellboy In Hell arc collected for a satisfying read.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

8) 20 Posters – Otomo Katsuhiro Posters Collection

Ok this isn’t really an art book, but I was compelled to add it to the list because of its great beauty and substantial movie culture significance – a collection of stunning 20 posters from Akira creator Otomo Katsuhiro films, hand picked by the man himself. Any of these will make a wall prettier immediately.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

9) The Art Of Rogue One – A Starwars Story

Rogue One was one of my favourite films of 2016 ( and also among Starwars films ). The concept team led by Academy Award winning artist/production designer Doug Chiang created a huge volume of amazing concept art, many of which are showcased here. This book was published in late December last year and narrowly missed the deadline for my 2016’s favourite list.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

10) All About Saul Leiter

I was lucky enough to attend Saul Leiter’s retrospective exhibition during my time in Tokyo this summer, a photography giant that I had little knowledge of prior to my visit. Starting his career as a fashion photographer for magazines like Elle and Vogue, Saul Leiter had an amazing eye for composition and aesthetically pleasing images. His photographs from the exhibition are beautifully reproduced in this catalog.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

11) Paprika – Kon Satoshi Storyboard Book

The full collection of the late Kon Satoshi’s production storyboards ( over 600 pages ) for his final animated film Paprika, meticulously drawn by the artist himself. Akin to his mentor Otomo Katsuhiro, Kon Satoshi’s visual approach to his anime films are always highly cinematic, and this book is a great way to sturdy the master’s work. This is one of the top purchased items on my blog this year.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

12) Mucha Slav Exhibition 2017 Catalogue

Some 600 thousand people visited the Mucha Slav exhibition held in Tokyo this summer, the first time the entire collection has ever left its home country Prague. Mucha was an astounding artist ahead of his time, and a fitting champion of the Art Noveau movement. This catalog collects all the paintings and art work from the exhibition.

Read the full book review | Buy From Amazon.com | Buy From Amazon UK | Buy From Amazon Japan

A few other notable mentions include the background art book for Shinkai Makoto’s Your Name, Gregory Manchess’s Above The Timberline, Ikeda Manabu’s The Pen and Peter Lindbergh’s A Different Vision Of Photography; you can take a look at the full list of 2017’s art book reviews here, and I also recommend my favorite art books of 2016/2015/2014/2013/2012.

If you need help with ordering on Amazon Japan, the FAQs below will guide you through, step by step.

And lastly, I’ll love you hear about your favorite art books this year too, if you have any to share. Happy New Year !

The post My Favorite Art Books of 2017 appeared first on Halcyon Realms - Art Book Reviews - Anime, Manga, Film, Photography.

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Related Posts:

My Favorite Art Books of 2015

My Favorite Art Books of 2016

My Favorite Art Books of 2014

My 10 Favourite Art Books Of 2012

Mucha Slav Exhibition 2017 Catalogue Book Review

By: yonghow

[firefliesinflames]

Thesis interview with Sarah Berry

Blair Schwartz: So, this is an interview with the Sarah Berry done by the Blair Schwartz. Okay Sarah Berry, so how did you get into art?

Sarah Berry: My kindergarten teacher, his name was Mr. Mac. he saw my art and he treated me like I was special, like I was a little better than everyone else. he did that to a few people and put them in a gifted and talented program so you got to draw instead of going to recess, you get to like go to his class. And I think he just kind of gave me confidence to believe I could be an artist or like he put that idea in my head by calling me special.

BS: And what was the art you were making? Like drawings or was it little sculptures made out of clay or something?

SB: You know, it’s like elementary school, so I guess it wasn’t just kindergarten. I guess it was like kindergarten through fourth grade. So, there were clay sculptures, lots of sketching, we did linocuts, and I was the only person who got to do an etching. It wasn’t like a dropped in acid etching, I just carved into the metal. So, he made that seem like it was a tricky thing.

BS: He was like here you special person. Okay, so then who was your first favorite artist? like the first one you remember really being like ‘oh my god’ they’re amazing.

SB: Probably Michelangelo

BS: Okay, like the Sistine chapel?

SB: the Sistine chapel or any of his other big works of art. and when I was younger I used to think that those were realistic renderings of humans. I just didn’t know. For some reason, I didn’t compare it to a photograph in my head. I was just like, ‘well that is the epitome of painting’ cause I feel like that’s what I was told.  

BS: That’s what people looked like in the old times [Laughing} So, when did your interest in tarot cards start?

SB: oh man, that’s a hard question. It was probably when I was in high school and I started exploring kinds of spirituality. and someone gave me a deck of Rumi tarot cards to borrow. So I just started looking at them and doing readings for people. I was just enamored by them.

BS: What age was this again?

SB: Sophomore year.

BS: Cool, how do the tarot cards influence your work?

SB: So what imp really concerned about is symbols and the tarot cards I look at especially the popular deck the rider weight deck, she uses symbols from hermetic societies and the occult and babala, and just all these different spiritual trains of thought and beliefs and she just draws all these symbols together in each card and puts them together in a way to create a new meaning. I think that’s really exciting. and I love the amount of knowledge you have to have about the symbols and their past. You have to understand so much to understand the full depth of the card. but you can still understand it at a surface level. like you don’t have to know everything but if you do you get so much more out of it.

BS: I never really knew that. I mean I knew that tarot cards were symbols based… Okay, what does design mean to you?

SB: So design I see as a very practical skill. I think its given me a good eye for composition. A steady hand because of how many times I’ve – I mean I can measure with an exacto knife very well. because so much of design is just that perfection and the nice edge. and you have to have the technical ability to make it exactly how you envisioned it.

BS: How do you start a project? What do you do? Like do you sketch in your sketchbook?

SB: my favorite way to start a project is to search imagery that I'm interested in or research a topic that I’m interested in and find like medieval style imagery that is associated with the topic. I draw from that and then just kinda go for it. I start with an idea but then kinda let intuition take over.

BS: What was your favorite project?

SB: probably the etching I did last year of the two hands with the circle between them.

BS: What do you prefer out of drawings, print, etching, all of the things you do?

SB: I think they do different things for me.  

BS: what’s your favorite process to work in, regardless of what piece comes out of it?

SB: I think, probably pen and ink? I get the results immediately. so, they’re satisfying in that way. I mean I love print because you get multiple copies of it. but you get instant gratification with pen and ink.

BS: I wrote these questions a while ago so this question goes, other than cats on shelves, what do you plan on doing this semester? Can you explain the cats on shelves?

SB: Well I was just thinking of making myself another studio buddy. like I have my chameleon in my studio and he’s been with me for, I don’t know, maybe six years.

BS: Wait, the chameleon has been with you for that long?

SB: yeah, he’s been there for about six years. I take him with me everywhere I go and I put him up on my wall and somehow he’s stayed very clean and very flat. I just love how I cut him out and then I feel like he came to life.

BS: Did you draw him and then cut him out?

SB: yeah I drew him and then cut him out. So I was just thinking maybe I could use another one.

BS: and put a cat on a shelf?

SB: uh huh

BS: So other than that, what do you plan on doing this semester? What are you working on?

SB: So I want to delve into the idea of symbols and really explore in an abstract way and conceptual way. so maybe drawing imagery and symbols and then taking the symbols out after. so then just explore symbols more through paint and print and everything

BS: Last semester you were talking about a book that you were gonna make for thesis. Want to explain the thought process behind the book even if you’re not going to make it? It’s a lot of work

SB: It is a lot of work. so the idea for the book is to make an artist book. So make a series of etchings that have influence by medieval style drawings also by scientific illustrations and just draw these creatures, these fantastical creatures and label them with kind of mysterious descriptions. the idea being that it’s like kind of if you’ve ever seen supernatural the father has this –

BS: the demon book?

SB: Yeah so like every creature they’ve ever encountered he knows how to kill it and he’s written down the way. So something like that perhaps and then take all the prints and bind them into a book.

BS: We will see what happens. Is that still a viable option or have you not started it yet so its not going to work?

SB: I’m worried about the content. because it’s a lot of illustration. I know I could handle the printing even though it would be a lot. I could handle the printing and the book binding but coming up with the content is going to be the hardest part for me.

BS: yeah cause you want it to be a decently thick book. That’s a hard thing to come up with in a semester.

SB: I might want to come up with a looser concept. so then it’s easier for me to come up with ideas. if it’s not so specific.

BS: I’m gonna avoid going brainstorming with you on this idea cause that’s what I want to do. So what art movement do you think your work best fits into?

SB: far in the past

BS: Far in the past? medieval style work?

SB: Yeah, I don’t think its style is very relevant today I think it speaks to people in a thinking about the past way.

BS: Okay, Last question. who are your favorite artists now? who are you looking at.

SB: I love mocha. mocha’s a classic. incredible line work. I guess there’s been a revival if interest in him in Japan recently which I didn’t know. he’s great. Art Noveau artists, so him and Aubrey Beardsley. I mean most of the artists I look at I really don’t know their names because they’re from so long ago.

BS: so how do you look at images? How do you find inspiration?

SB: So I google. I’ll start broad, with something dumb like occult. See some symbols that come up and then look into them or ill happen upon a new symbol and I’ll start reading about what its connected to all of its history and how relevant it is to today. and then find something else connected to that and I’ll go down these weird rabbit holes of imagery. and then I’ll just keep this folder of inspiration

BS: Well, that concludes our interview. Thank you, Sarah Berry, for being interviewed.

SB: of course, thank you for having me.

[notsosilentsister]

Not enough time at the water

It has been raining all weekend. I wonder where my summer has gone. (Who doesn't? I've haven't been young enough in a while for a summer to seem long.) I've been swimming three times. That has to be a record low even for me. I did manage to visit friends in Graz, Gmunden, Vienna and Heidelberg, went to two concerts and a couple of barbecues, and did quite a bit better at bowling than last year at lasertag. I really shouldn't complain. Still, not enough time at the water.

Last summer, we had a lot of slow days at the office. I took luxurious coffee breaks and always left on time, sometimes went swimming after work. I read slow-paced bricks of novels and went for long walks in the woods. I didn't even miss my long accustomed two months of summer holidays. This year the slow days failed to materialize - a colleague left in spring, and we didn't get to replace her until now; in the meantime I had to take over half of her work-load. That's going to be over now hopefully; her replacement is starting tomorrow. Too late for my summer, though.

It had its moments. I stayed a couple of days in Vienna, at my cousin's, trying to find my way through the city that somehow never gets particularly familiar to me. A real possibility of getting a bit lost (as lost as you can get with a mobile phone). Makes you move with a bit more alertness, at the least. It's a good exercise. To follow a street without being quite certain whether it actually leads you where you expect it to. I've never been terribly good at following geographical directions. The subway system is somewhat fool-proof, but I still manage to walk up the wrong stairs 99% of the time. I just don't have any spatial awareness whatsoever. It gives the whole thing a sense of adventure.

On the first evening, I look out of the window on the quiet yard of the Gemeindebau, and imagine a different life, if I had studied here rather than in Graz. What it would be like to to walk through these streets with an expectation to make them mine. I remember those first walks through Graz, the promise of it all. All new cities after that, I walked through as a tourist - will I ever again pretend to more than that? Lay a claim to a new place? Even on all the old places, I feel my claims waning. I walk through Graz now, it's no longer mine at all, it belongs to an older version of me, who didn't make the move back to Upper Austria, and still haunts it a bit, I hope.

My other cousin takes me for a walk around the Steinhof compound, to see the old fruit trees and the Art Noveau church. On the steps there's woman, white-haired and barefoot, reading in the shadow of a pillar. She's claiming her place just fine.

In Heidelberg too, I wonder. My friend just signed her contract for the next five years. She's showing me her city - hers already - and she fits right in; I already feel like I've always pictured her here. She’s made herself a new home. Could I still do that?

My friend in Gmunden just had a baby. Our other friend just one had too. We push the prams along the river, and spread a blanket under a tree at the lake. One baby can already sit, and the other can already roll over. Growing and learning, all the time.

In some sense, time flies faster around babies - next time I see them, they will probably walk and talk. Fourth friend's oldest has already started middle grade - his mum couldn't make it to our meet-up, because she's just started working full time again and couldn't take the day off. There's no running away from time, when there're kids around. But the babies also take over your schedule - no point in rushing a baby -  and you live on their time, not yours. Baby time only flies in retrospect. That afternoon at the lake itself, it seems encased in a bubble, untroubled by the currents. Oh, sure, there's a rush; but the babies don't feel it, and as long as you watch them, neither do you. They have a few endless summers ahead. They will be thrilled at the freedom and get bored out of their minds, and out of that boredom, will get up to the all kinds of mischief and summer will be restored to its proper glory once again, for a little while.

[czechthisshitout]

Day 5 in Prague/Headed to Vienna-3/30/17

It’s Thursday, its been a few days since my last post and I am realizing how hard it will be to adequately and succinctly describe my experiences, as well as just remembering the general order of things. (This problem may be worsened by the fact that due to, some not great time management, my body reacting weirdly to being in a new place and jetlag, I have only been getting 5.5-6.5 hours of sleep. I’m working on remedying this situation).

 Monday was the first day of class; our classes are in a building that constructed as a palace by a wealthy businessman in the 18th century, served as a bank for much of the 19th and 20th century, before becoming part of Charles University. It’s a really beautiful building, with lots of rococo details and just generally feels like a fairy tale. Its a little unreal having classes in there. It’s also right next to unassuming pink colored building that is the current headquarters of the Communist Party in the Czech Republic, which I found rather surprising. Apparently they still get 15% of the general vote in most elections. After orientation in the morning, Vera (one of the Program heads) lead us on a tour of the city, pointing out the current building for the government ministry, which served as head of the SS during WW2 and various memorials, including one dedicated to Jan Palach, a Czech student who set himself on fire in protest of Soviet influence in the 1960s. Vera challenged us to critically think about the memorials, how they constructed and their changing meaning across different political and cultural contexts. Afterwards she treated us to restaurant in the Lucerna Building, I had gnocchi with sun-dried tomatoes, which was both delicious and incredibly filling. A lot of people had the “Young Duck” which was huge amount of duck in sauce, cabbage and potato dumplings. I was in a bit of a food coma haze for the rest of the day and spend the evening doing some shopping and class reading.

 Tuesday, Vera lead us in morning classes again, we had a discussion about the shifting border of “West Europe” vs. “Eastern Europe” and the different ways “Central Europe” has been conceptualized during the 20th century. After stuffing myself silly with vegetarian pizza (we were short on time) during the lunch break. We hopped on a tram and headed to the National Gallery, a strikingly beautiful 6 floor building that houses Prague’s national art collection. I sent the next 3ish hours wandering looking at Czech art over a varitety of mediums from the 20th century and the contemporary conceptual works of Chinese protest artist, Ai Weiwei. Beyond criticizing the Chinese government, much of his work is focused on the European/Middle Eastern refugee crisis.  One particularly affecting piece of art called “Laundry Matt” is the utilitarian laundry shop display of hundred of items of clothing found at closed refugee encampments, where the residents have been driven out. It was hard not to cry a bit while walking through it, to see all those clothes being treated better than the people, the refugees, who had wore them (I’ll try not to sound too pretentious. Again the evening was spent doing reading, franticallyworking on my research proposal and getting settled in after a long day (I had left the apartment at 9:30 and didn’t get back until 5ish).        

 Wednesday morning Mike, a poli-sci professor led us through a jam-packed history of the entire USSR and the causes for its dissolution in under 2 hours. For lunch, me, Fran and Ashton found a decent, cheap Indian place with ridiculously spicy pickled vegetables. For as the afternoon session of classes, Mike lead us to Prague castle, making it my second visit, he confided that this was more a fun touristy thing to do. This visit included a through tour of the complex, as well as St. Vitus church, a beautiful church building between the 14th and early 20th century, where the countries crown jewels are held and Catholic services still happen every Sunday. It was fascinating to see the mix of styles everything from Gothic to Art Noveau and the beautiful “false coffins” that cover the centuries old crypts below. I also accidently took pictures in areas of the nearby palace and basilica that were “license only”… Oh well. It was fun seeing Prague Castle again, even if a little much to see it twice in one week. We also saw the Golden Lane, now a tourist trap, including house 22 where Kafka lived about a hundred years ago. It’s weird to see the home of the private, tormented Kafka, being so commercialized. This sentiment didn’t stop me from taking photos, ironically enough. We were at the Castle from about 1pm to 4:30pm.

 After having some dinner and packing up for the Vienna trip. Me, Ashton, Courtney, Fran, Maddy and Kristina, and a few other from the program, had a few drinks at a “horror bar” called Fear House, which walked the line between meeting delightful and delightfully cringey. The strangest part of the evening was being served shots in medical injectors that you ‘shot’ in your mouth. It was a fun, somewhat chill and silly evening out.

We are currently on the train, en-route to Vienna. The train left at 6:50, so everybody got up at 5ish and we had an adventure in the dawn-lit streets of Prague, which involved taking the right tram the wrong direction and running through the streets of Prague since we thought we were going to be late. We made it to the train, and things were going well when Fran fainted in route to the bathroom due to a combination of sleep deprivation, dehydration and jetlag. She’s doing better now, but it caused a 30-minute delay. I will either try to write Saturday or Sunday, from Vienna, or next Monday, once I’m back in Prague, and I’ll be posting pictures later today.

 Czeching out,

             -Kate