ILLustrative

There was this great illustration festival, Illustrative, in Berlin. I was showing my project "Kury" (Hens) there, but only for 3 days. I was part of the "Polish Day"... ok, better than nothing. Don't bother looking on their website, you won't find any info - although I have sent all the material to them a month ago. Whetever, the exhibition is over, anyway. But I must admit the whole exhibition was great. Well done. And the building is tremendous! (villa Elisabeth)

As the only proof that I was there I place a photo here... these are Hens on Illustrative.
But the funny thing in itself was the "Polish Day". There was a lecture about polish poster design, a video presentation and a concert. Shame, we couldn't play... anyway, and there was also a "buffet" - my favorite thing! So I went there, interested mostly in buffet... I have seen the exhibition before. So the buffet was a typical polish buffet you find abroad. Especially in Berlin. There was meat...

and there was also meat...

and there was meat...

and meat...

Aha, there was also a bit bread, some cakes and sweets. But mostly you could eat meat with meat. Sausage with sausage. On one hand I always wonder - on polish buffets it is usually meat with meat... like if we didn't have anything else to offer, anything else to export and say, hey, polish food is great. On the other hand, polish meat is good. No doubt. When you hear about recent scandals in Germany with rotten meat, so called "Gammelfleisch"... then it is good to show that polish meat is all right. It is good.
The only thing I missed by the buffet at the "Polish Day" was, of course, alcohol... that should have been there as well. Especially good polish vodka, to help digest the meat...

New Face of/in Berlin

This appeared recently... I pass by this mural every day, when I go to the gallery... cool... and scary...

Warsaw Connection

So that is how we are closing the next issue of VOX Design... editorial works online!
That is what I have been doing today... Since I am in Berlin, and the others are in Warsaw, we connect...

Portable PV

Ok, there are portable computers, called laptops, there are portable telephones called mobiles, there are portable DVDs, called whatever... and there are portable PVs (photovoltaic panels)... That one I discovered in Folkecenter in one of my favorite spots (hideouts). Cool, huh?

On the road to Folkecenter

As I wrote before, I was in a miserable mood for some time, but as I went to Folkecenter it all turned out all right. I came back happy and full of energy. What is Folkecenter then? It is a place, north of Denmark, really north. As one can divide Denmark into 2 parts: Copenhagen and the rest, so I was in the rest part. Folkecenter is near from Ydby, a small village. Not much happening. I got a cheap train ticket (3 days before my travel, wow, I never buy tickets that soon) - and left on Friday night (Friday the 14th)... at 11pm. Of course I didn't want to leave home, travel, change trains 5 times in the night, I preferred to stay home... but in the end I went. As I arrived in Hamburg, I had around 2 hours of waiting for the next train. Hamburg's main train station is a straaaange place. Strange people in the middle of the night... so I sat in a 24hour bar, along with other lost souls and local junkies, drinking hot chocolate. Few of them. I talked to a very nice girl, Ingrid, she was also on her way. She was traveling to Copenhagen and she was taking the same trains, at least 2 of them, as me. So we spent some time talking, although I had some problems with understanding her german, she was actually Austrian. When I went to the toilet she found other people to talk to, though. Anyway, I was reading a book, listening to what they talk about. Still they were sitting next to me. Two guys, strange, one of them was somehow Russian or something, the other was one of those typical Agents Provokateur... he was building up a discussion about the world, catastrophes, climate change etc. Funny, I was just reading "State of Fear" by Crichton (well, maybe it is a cheap american bestseller in a colorful cover, but it is about catastrophes and climate change - actually about conspiracy about climate change = my favorite themes!)... and this guy was provoking the girl Ingrid to discuss these issues... at 3am. Fine. Hamburg.

Sheeps... in Denmark... hu hu...

So finally we got on another train, and there was another change in ... Neumuenster... wherever that is. We had like 1,5 hours till the next train. It was cold and dark... as it was around 4am there was nobody on the station... so we (Ingrid and me) waited for our train which was suppose to come around 5am... but it didn't. So we were standing there, on this desolate ghost station... till 6am. Finally the train came. wow! Who said that the Germans were always on time? Of course I missed my connections later... everything was delayed... finally I arrived to Struer (another small town in Denmark) and in the end Jane picked me up with the car. I arrived to Folkecenter at 1pm on Saturday. Wow.

But there we had a quiet weekend, only Preben - the BOSS, Jane and me. I spent the whole Saturday and Sunday outside, checking the site, being in nature, in the wind... that was great. I love to be there, I usually walk around alone, just walking, not even thinking too much. This time I had to do that - one of my jobs there is to make an axonometry (perspective drawing) of the whole site. Just like this one I did in 2002, but more detailed and more "functional" so it can serve as a map.


The other job is to make a personal website for Preben. That is a big job. If I consider that I have to put everything he has done, his articles, his achievements... oh, that is amazing. A real renewable energy pioneer. I have biggest respect for him.

And as I thought, that time did me good. Not only being there, as a lonely wolf, in the wilderness of a danish countryside, but also meeting nice people, having wine and good food. Ah, I am really inspired, full of energy and happy.

Modern Work

I couldn't sleep tonight - I woke up at 6.30 and went to the gallery at 8.00. Since then I work... on two things at the same time. First of all we are closing the 7th issue of VOX Design. Since I am in Berlin and my team is in Warsaw we do it by skype, emails and ftp. Contemporary technology. Then I also do a website for my boss, Preben, the director of Folkecenter for Renewable Energy. Ok, gotta go... well, not really go anywhere, just close my blog and continue on the magazine...

Whatever helps

As always, painting helps... I made this little painting today, not only due to therapy but also as a gift... as I go to Folkecenter tomorrow, I needed a present for the boss... and as I know he likes my drawings - I have made one little painting. Folkecenter is a great deal about windmills... they also have few of their own, and this little knot is for good luck...

When things go as they go.

Ok, last month I thought I was happy. Not only happy, but HAPPY. And then, that is so typical in life... things changed. It is not only health... at the moment... small thing, but changes everything. It will be all fine, but for the next 2 weeks, as I wait for the doctor to examine me, then wait for results... it is all a horrible time... waiting, not knowing if it is fine... no, I will not die... although in some moments I do think so... but no, it will be OK... And then, today I got the letter - they didn't take me to the Graduate Kolleg - I wanted to make PhD... I had this great idea... which I thought would make a cool PhD... but no. They had only 12 places and 120 candidates... well, I shall not comment on that. I am not the most happy person today. At least I go to Denmark tomorrow... just for few days, another job, but maybe it will do some good. I go to Folkecenter - Institute for Renewable Energy... it is in the end of the world, north west Denmark.. there is only wind... and windmills. But that may help...

Yes, I feel like 50Cent polyester strings.