ola the talking animal

2008-11-27T07:32:00.001-08:00

2008-11-26T10:16:00.000-08:00

"night shots"

2008-11-24T10:27:00.001-08:00

first snow/town again

2008-11-22T08:27:00.001-08:00

turkey by Anne-Sophie

2008-11-18T04:32:00.000-08:00

seal by Duchesne

2008-11-18T04:28:00.000-08:00

elephant by Katerina

2008-11-18T04:15:00.000-08:00

pigeone/dove by Camille

2008-11-18T04:14:00.001-08:00

girafe by Rihn

2008-11-16T03:03:00.001-08:00

raven by Tristan

2008-11-16T02:55:00.001-08:00

pinguin by Bui

2008-11-16T02:49:00.001-08:00

2008-11-10T03:02:00.000-08:00

some more strasbourg

2008-11-10T02:53:00.001-08:00

About the workshop

2008-11-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the last meeting with students.
They were asked to bring finished works.
I did't get all the stuff.

I'm not too satisfied with what I got -
1) should be more works
2) making just the "one try" is not enough...making small changes once in a week doesnt't help.

Something positive:
Some works have changed absolutely since the begining of the project.
Typography has not been treated only as something additional and in some examples took the main place even.

probably now, I would make it diffrent
meeting once a week during the longer time doesnt mean that anyone spends more time on the project...
meetind twice a week doesn't mean that anyone comes the second time ;)

so, in my opinion - I could not say it before - there should be a week with some workshops to chose from. During this time only the workshop would take place (no other classes) - system like that works in Stuttgart, where I was a guest student.
3-day workshop was much more efficient that if it would be spread in time.
It lets to concentrate on one thing only.

I hope that my conversations were helpful for students.
I decided to make it more personaly - i talked to everyone and tried to give solutions, discussed their project.Thats what they do normaly, so they are used to it.

Anyway 5-7 meetings is not enough to break through.
In my opinion the typography should be obligatory for illustrators.
It doesn't mean, that everyone has to feel it, but can learn, that leaving white pool-shaped spaces for text is maybe not the only way to mix typo and illustration.
Maybe some typographic exercises could be helpfull.

I will put the exemples of works when I get jpg's.
Taking pictures of prints doesn't look good
(anyway I put some)

category: strange places /Emaus

2008-10-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

workshop

2008-10-21T04:07:00.000-07:00

I met students today, but just 5 girls...
It's maybe better to meet 5 girls with good ideas than the whole class staring at the ceiling ;)
Still the problem od double narration - picture and text, but things change and I thing projects I have seen today will be suprisingly good on thursday :))

we are all victims of tautology anyway, haha.

my workshop starts

2008-10-19T03:27:00.000-07:00

The workshop I am leading here for the 4th year students started on thursday.
the exercise is to design 4 following pages (22x20cm each) useing definition of the animal (draw by a lot) from the encyclopedia or the dictionary.
The typography has to be integral part of the project as much important as the illustration.
I want students to show me their attidute to the deffinition, to use it instrumentally, and absolutely subjectively. They can use a part of the definition telling about the expresions, idiomatic sense of the animals etc.

We met on friday, to see the first ideas (they were given animals' names before thursay to think about the topic).
Hardly anyone could show me something which was a bit upsetting.

The most popular question was "how can it be a story without a hero"

I asked students not to make comic books or animations...and what i found?comic books of course.
I asked to use many diffrent techniques and?and the absolute majoryty used their black rottring pens telling me its a sketch...
I tried to explain that technique influences the text, the information you want to give to the reader.The same is with typography - it can not bye just subtitles given in times new roman!

the funniest thing i heard was: "you a graphic designer and not an illustrator, so you may use many techniques" and "there is a diffrent class for experiments"
It seems that being an illustrator limits the artist.

Another thing that reader is treated as an idiot - he sees the flower and can read "flower".
applied tautology.

the animaliter exhibition at mediatheque malraux

2008-10-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

the exposition is the choice of Guillaume Dege - who is the illustration proffesor at ESAD (Academie) here in Strassbourg.
It's about 3 aspects of animal in illustration - animal as a fear (like in little red riding hood), animal as a symbol (of some humans behaviours) and animal as an embleme.

we can find fresh prints among those from the XIX century and older.
This gives interesting comparison.

My absolutely favourite is book by Jean Lecointre "Les Animaux domestiques" published by editions thierry magnier(the photo with cat and dog fighting). I went crazy about it, and looked for it in all book stores. Finally i had to order it in Librarie Kleber (one of the biggest bookstores in the center).

the word "mediatheque" dispaces "bibliotheque"...

and some viewes of the city

2008-10-19T03:00:00.001-07:00

the absolutely huge cathedral

2008-10-11T10:21:00.001-07:00

where I stay

2008-10-11T02:54:00.000-07:00

So this is where I stay - thanks to ecole superieure arts decoratifs de strasbourg
I enyoy this green&violet obsession.
The flat is in the new-industrial part of school, where you would never expect to find a flat.

Ohh, I should write here how I was picked up from the airport and spoke in german about the benzin/gas car :)

3th day

2008-10-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at the desk, which used to be a table and trying to draw an opera singer, when someone knocked on my door.She was realy suprised that I'm not a short man with glasses named Francis.

She gave me the lesson:

You need to walk me to the door and open it.Otherwise I don't know if I can go.

In Poland you open the door yourself I guess.
Such a complicated process of leaving.

that's how I met Anne.

the second day.animal comes to the city of Strasbourg.

2008-10-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

(I got lost on the first day so let's leave it)

I ordered tortilla with chicken and earl grey tea.
I got beef with minth tea.

It seems beef suits me better.
I don't want to know, why minth...