Blogaversary print giveaway winner

Exactly 2 years ago I started three little cameras and been having fun with it ever since!
Thank you for visiting , following and kindly commenting!

On the other hand, Random.org has spoken and the prints winner is comment #2, ArtSparker. Please e-mail me on forest.underground@yahoo.com with your address so I can mail them to you!

Art of setting goals

In lately it's been very hard for me to find motivation to draw (at least when it comes to my personal art). I don't lack in ideas but it's becoming very hard for me to put energy into sketching. As soon as I pick up a pen I start thinking what's the point, why sketch when I can listen to the radio/read blogs/ stare at the blank wall/drink tea/frolic on a flowery meadow along with pink Easter bunnies/etc (okay, I don't actually frolic on a meadow with pink bunnies but you get the point).

So I decided I need to set a goal, to start a new personal art project that would be challenging enough to keep me motivated. Having a decent challenge makes me very eager to produce.

My first though was: I'll start an art journal! But that immediately made me remember dozens and dozens of journals (both art and written ones) that I started during my life and quit after three days or so. I could literally fill an entire room with dismissed notebooks and aspiring art journals. So, no, I know myself too well to start a journal just to quit the next week.

My second idea was to start a graphic novel! That would certainly be challenging enough especially since I'm quite inexperienced in storytelling. But I asked myself do I seriously want to commit my time and lots of energy intro writing and illustrating a graphic novel? No, not really, such ambitious project would most probably take all of my free time and leave me very frustrated yet too stubborn to abandon it until it's finished.

Then I thought I should perhaps create an e-zine or a new blog or re-launch my website or open an online art gallery or go back to school or move to Japan or become an astronaut or a circus acrobat maybe...my imagination has gone wild after that :)

Anyway, my new goal for the next few days will be to find a new goal that will satisfy me, challenge me and motivate me to draw again :) Wish me luck :)

Blogaversary print giveaway

On 30th March three little cameras are celebrating their second birthday aka their second blogaversary :) so I'm having a little print giveaway. If you'd like to get these two 8x11 inch prints just leave any comment under this post until Tuesday (March 30th) and I'll randomly choose a comment to win the prints!
Good luck!

6 things about me

A couple of days ago Maja whose blog Kreativni nered (which in Croatian means creative mess) is a real treasure chest of creativity and inspiration and source of many useful tutorials that she kindly shares with us, asked me to join in the game "6 things about me". The point of the game is, obviously to share six things about yourself, add some pictures and tag six other bloggers to do the same.
So, here are six things about yours truly ...


1. Once I made an animation on a role of toilet paper, honestly I have no idea what was I thinking :)
But I uploaded it so you can see it in all its trashy, lo-fi glory. (Yeah, that's the sound of flushing water in the end.)



2.I really love fruit, all kinds of it except maybe fresh pineapple because it makes my tongue itch, haha. My favorite fruits are probably cherries and apricots.


3.I'm also very fond of chocolate :)


4.When I was a kid I didn't like my name, Asja and I was certain that when I grow up I'll change it. But now I'm pretty used to it, and like it, so no name change for me.


5.When I was younger I believed that only "true" works of art are those that have some serious, profound message, that are thought provoking or educational , but as I got older I lost all interest in defining what art should be. I just want to create things that make me happy, that spread joy and positive energy and that hopefully make others happy too.


6.I've been fake redhead for several years now. But before that I experimented with many different hair colors/styles. I'm a natural brunette and I dyed my hair black, blonde, red and one time even purple and sometimes all colors at the same time. I wanted to show you the evolution of my hair in pictures but was too lazy to dig up old photos so I illustrated it instead:


Do you feel like doing this game? Please let me know and I'll gladly tag you!

Project 365-twelve months (finished!!)

Exactly a year ago I've started a 365 photography project on flickr, you know, one of those projects in which you take a photo every day during a whole year. It turned out to be my favorite project I've ever done ( and I've done quite a few). I had a lot of fun, I learned a lot and it connected me with many awesome people, great photographers and inspiring artists. Although I didn't feel like taking a picture and didn't feel inspired every single day of the year and there were some photos I wasn't satisfied with, generally I enjoyed this project immensely and I believe this experience has enriched my life in many ways. I feel very grateful for that. I'd like to share some of my favorite pictures from the project and some more thoughts but first things first! Let me show you my favorites from the last four weeks ( a little ritual I've been doing every month on this blog).

Here we go, my faves, taken from February 21st till March 21st:

Day 344/365: exhibition


Day 345/365: creativity is the antidote


Day 354/365: blank canvas


Day 359/360: from my sketchbook


Day 360/365: reversal of roles


Now, let me introduce you to a collage of my personal favorites from the last three thundered sixty days. I consider these also my "breakthrough" images, since I learned something valuable while taking them:


1. day 31/365: shape of my thoughts, 2. day 52/365: blues, 3. day 68/365: yellow umbrella, 4. day 79/365: a couple of cherries, 5. day 85/365: me and my paper mobile, 6. black bird, 7. one of those days, 8. yellow line, 9. with my head in clouds, 10. polka dot tea pot, 11. little city looking down on big city, 12. upside down, 13. day 70/365: dreaming in blue


According to flickr statistics...

-this was my "most interesting photo":
Day 336/365: in my bag...

Yes, that's the content of my bag, and yes, that's a tripod in there, I lug it around everywhere I go (just like my camera).

-my most viewed photo:
Day 66/365: a cup of tea


-my most faved photo:
Day247/365: magic lamp


-and my most commented photo:
Day 192/365: rainy day



This was the equipment I used:

Olympus E-510 and four lenses: Zuiko digital 35 mm macro lens, Zuiko digital wide angle 9-18 lens and two kit lenses, 14-42 mm and 40-150 mm lens. I also have a couple of tripods and I used a remote for most of self-portraits (until I washed it in a washing machine by accident and it stopped working hehe). I prefer natural light and use it whenever I can.

Some stuff I learned about doing a project like this:
- it's a great, invaluable learning process, even if you don't intend to improve your skills or learn anything during the project but just have fun or document your life after a year of work improvement is inevitable and you will most definitely end it as more skillful/better/confident photographer

-taking a photo (or more) a day and sharing it gives you a great sense of achievement; even if your day totally sucked at least you know you created one photo and it gives you feeling that your day hasn't been completely wasted

- doing 365 helps you develop many qualities like self-discipline and it also teaches you not to be too much of a perfectionist (hey, you can't take a mind-blowing, outstanding photo every day and that's ok)

I would definitely recommend embarking on a 365 project to anyone!


Life after 365:
Many people asked if I'm going to do another 365 project, well, I won't :-) It doesn't mean I'm going to stop pursuing photography, though. I have many ideas and I would love to do more conceptual shots/manipulations in future. The 365 has turned my love of photography into a genuine photoholism so there's no way for me to stop clicking , even if I tried :-)

I also wanted to say big THANK YOU to all of you who followed my project, either on flickr or here! I appreciate your support more that you can imagine!

P.S.:I was tagged by Maja to share 6 things about me so that post is coming tomorrow!

Back to blogosphere!

Hello! I'm back to blogosphere after almost a full month of self imposed blogging break. Although I was very busy for the last few weeks I also managed to get a lot of work done which makes me super happy. And I'm only a day and one photo away from finishing 365 photo project, ( big post about that coming tomorrow) . I missed blogging and even more I missed visiting your blogs so that's exactly what I'm gonna do now!

Feed your soul

I'm posting this just to say that you can download one of my drawings (as well as work of many amazing artists) for free here (and print it yourself) as a part of Feed Your Soul (the free art project).

I'll be back to blog on regular basis and check out your blogs in a week :)
xoxox
Asja