Sketch Crawl 25

November 21st, 2009

Hi folks!
I was off to a very late start, as I only read olkazavr's mail around 3pm today. Luckily, we'd already done a crawl together before so I was able to locate her and the camera man (!?!?!?!) Fabrice? (I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names :])
It was interesting, being put under the magnifying glass, or in this case, camera lens. All the people around look at you differently. I almost blew my cover a few times, because people became nervous as to why i was being filmed and why i kept looking over to them. We'll see what he comes up with.
I joined Olga to draw at Wittenberg platz and we walked through the Christmas market, which is still in the processes of setting up.



We then ducked into Hugendubel, a bookstore, and drew the browsers as they perused the pages and sipped at coffee.



We worked our way to the upper levels and looked down at the cafe corner. I also drew Fabrice and Masha, another late-comer. Great atmosphere, guys, thanks! Also looking forward to what everyone else did here.



By the way, SC is 5 today! Congratulations!

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Ca - bee - net + Stone Age Kings

October 26th, 2009


Hi folks, the ca-bee-net is almost complete, after my efforts last night with a screwdriver and hammer. The 'structure' is roughly 2m high, and will probably withstand an airstrike... In all, we now have a lot of space for conserves in the kitchen. All that's missing are the doors for the front. I still haven't decided on a design, but it will involve cutting more shapes out of the wood.

On a side note, I'm finally allowed to talk about Stone Age Kings, a browser game we at Stenarts were working on earlier in the year. My part was whipping up about 140 odd icons (not including all of those which were scrapped) so, if you are into browser games and have at least rudimentary German skills (there is unfortunately no translation yet) you can play the game at stoneagekings.de

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Poussez! Tirez!

October 8th, 2009


Those were the cries of the Lilliputians as Royal de Luxe's amazing deep sea diver marionette moved amidst a crowd of thousands over the Moltkebrücke in Berlin. The day is the third of October - the German day of Reunion. Twenty years ago The Wall came down and a country divided became whole again.
Jean Luc Courcoult's company Royal de Luxe treated Berlin spectators to a fairytale spanning four days, involving two of their giant marionettes -well, one is a giant, the other one is lovingly called the 'little' giantess.
I unfortunately wasn't able to be enchanted by the deep sea diver's niece, but there are plenty of photos on the official website: http://riesen-in-berlin.de (the site is available in English as well as German)
Merci a Royal de Luxe!

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Bee box... erm, cupboard

September 6th, 2009

Hi folks, here's my latest project in the first stages. I'm making a cupboard for the kitchen. One of my flatmates asked why I was paying so much for wood when I could buy a decent piece of furniture from Ikea. Good question -so I decided to put my own spin to it. Here are the first pictures:






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Terrarium Finito - replies

August 25th, 2009

First of all, this is my new friend, Li:















In the last post, Martin asked for more details on the terrarium and its construction. The dimensions are LxWxH (with legs) = 167x68x100cm

I got my inspiration and instructions from www.pogona-world.de (site in German):
http://www.pogona-world.de/Terrarium--s--R.ue.ckwandbau.htm
Their Website has a wealth of information about Pogona Vitticeps and if you still have questions after sifting through this resource, the Brunners happily answer any outstanding questions.

To summarise the materials, the exterior is a mixture of wood (Spruce and OSB board -once upon a time a loft bed ;))
The stone structure is actually styrofoam covered with layers (and layers, and layers, and layers) of (FLEXIBLE) tile mortar. I've got three lamps, one UVB Exo-Terra Reptiglo 10.0 as well as two spot lamps (50 & 100W) for warmth, though I'm thinking I need to swap the 100W for at least 75W, I'm still working on regulating the temperatures. There's about 30L of red Sand in the terrarium as well as a root to climb and bask on.
I also bought a Golliwoog plant, which was a great idea, not just because it's a good source of water and vitamines, but it makes a great place to sit and nibble away. I love the sound of the leaves being chewed off. *munchmunchmunch*

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Terrarium Fini

August 11th, 2009

Hi folks!
Just a note to let you know -IT IS DONE!!!
My biggest construction project is now ready to be put into use. I just have to wait til I'm back from my holidays before I find a little scaly friend to move in with me. *Excitement!*

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Antje & Benno Heirat(et)en

August 3rd, 2009

Am Wochenende haben wir das 'Ja' Wort unserer Nachbarn Antje und Benno miterlebt um uns unmittelbar danach voll zu fressen und bis in die Erschouml;pfung zu tanzen. Das ganze fand in Glaisin/Gorlosen (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) wo die beiden aufgewachsen sind, statt. Auf dem Bauernhof Antjes Eltern feierten wir das Brautpaar in einem großen Zelt mit Speis und Trank.
Vielen Dank für die Möglichkeit, mit Euch zu feiern, und ich wünsche Euch viele Jahre Glück und Liebe!

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Should I or should I not?

July 25th, 2009

A very sad thing happened - Hertie, the biggest shopping place in my neighbourhood, from whom I incidentally received a generous gift for an art competition in October of 2007 (http://blog.jaztoons.de/?postid=34), is closing.
Over the years I've enjoyed the selection and service offered there, but they're closing and really selling everything. Including their mannequins. So the should I or should I not refers to this -whether I want to buy one. My friend Mel told me buying them new can cost around 300 euros, so at 70, I believe this would be a good saving, plus I have something to draw, dress, photograph, possibly paint, and generally have fun with the darn thing at parties. The more I think about it, the more I want one. :D
Tell me your thoughts.

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Sketch Crawl 23 Berlin

July 12th, 2009

Hi folks!
I didn't do too much sketching on the town today, but I did manage five mini drawings in my mini PaperBlanks book. I'm really enjoying the format (9 x 6.5 cm) i.e. it fits in my pocket and I'm also taking advantage of pen and its non-smudginess...

I started at home, with the terrarium I'm building and the chaos of tools and plants piled on top of it.




I then started looking for the cat, being that he's usually contorting himself into interesting poses... But he unfortunately didn't stay put long enough to get a decent sketch in. Ah well, gesture drawing is nice to loosen up.




Misjudged scale or clever cropping? You decide. My flatmates found an interesting old rice starch box with a rusty lock and branded logo.




While waiting for a bus, I sketched this clematis. I didn't have long to wait, thus it's pretty unfinished.




On my way home I paused to draw an old gas lamp post - they're still being used here. Many people walked past me, a few back again from their various errands. It's nice to just stop and watch life flow past for awhile. As documenter of things, one adapts another pace, not unlike that of nature. Make like a tree!



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2009 - A busy year so far...

May 28th, 2009

Hi folks,





It's been a busy few months, particularly with the move to the new appartment, finally turning the studio into a studio as such and not just a room with boxes...


I've also been busy building my terrarium, being that I want to get myself a pair of bearded dragons:




I've also been devoting more of my time to literature on the train to and from work, occasionally doing some sketches. Lately I've rediscovered the joys of drawing/shading with everyday pens.






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