deviantART: by:marmota-b

deviantART: by:marmota-b http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:marmota-b&section=today deviantART RSS for by:marmota-b en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:59:22 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png What is your creative process like? http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/27855240/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/27855240/ Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:27:43 PDT Niphredill's journal, and she took it from someone else's... and it's quite an interesting questionnaire.

Do your ideas seem 'external'? Are you most often inspired by what you see?
Yes, they do. I do always need something internal in my ideas to make them work for me, but for me, itÂs usually not my emotions, itÂs more like something inexplicable that appeared in my mind out of nowhere. So, in my own view, almost all of my ideas are external: if I make something up completely and consciously only in my mind, it doesnÂt work. I am not inspired by my emotions, unless theyÂre my reactions to something external... I can work my emotions and experiences into my work, but the original impulse is usually something external. Or my dreams, I admit, but even then IÂm always inspired by the more external dreams, those that have interesting landscape in them or a lot of characters...
Which is funny, because I suspect I must seem like a very introverted, daydreaming person from the outside.
But, then, if you look at my gallery here, you can clearly see that the majority of my work here is photographs of what I saw and liked. Take it as a proof IÂm not making the above things up.

Do you tend to think of concepts in your mind first, and then incorporate them into a work?
No, I donÂt think so. ItÂs usually the other way round: first I think of a story, or an image appears in my mind, or I take a photo of something I like, and then I think, what the concept and meaning of it actually is?

Are you inspired by what you feel, your emotional state?
Already mentioned. No. I tend to skip over my emotional states. I mean, sure, IÂm angry or sad and I feel it strongly, and surely I annoy people close to me with it at the moment IÂm angry or sad, but thatÂs it. I like stories and images, and there are no stories or images in emotions.

Do you find it difficult, or very easy, to absorb ideas from others?
Above all, this is something I do not bother thinking about... whether I *find* it difficult or easy. ItÂs not something I do consciously. From this point of view, I guess I should say I find it difficult. When someone gives me a theme to write about, or draw a picture on, itÂs not something I do easily, I have to force myself into it, unless I already have a similar idea lurking in my head. (Thus I always wrote short stories about my already existing characters at school, whenever the theme we were appointed to write about allowed it.) But, at the same time, I suspect a lot of my ideas actually come from somewhere else than just my mind. IÂm inspired by books I read, and pictures I saw, and maybe also by concepts I encountered.

When you get an idea, can you let it 'simmer', or do you feel you must drop everything and work on it NOW?
It depends. Some ideas demand to be worked on NOW, and some call for a long time of simmering, sometimes years and years.

Are your ideas stand-alone concepts with nothing to do with your other work?
TheyÂre usually connected, but not always. I think that depends on the media weÂre talking about. Most of my stories Â most of them yet unwritten Â are connected, and such is, of course, also the case with my illustrations to them. But then there are ideas for other pictures that have absolutely nothing to do with my ÂworldsÂ... think of Green Joy [link] , that image just appeared in my mind and the concept has nothing to do with my stories.

Do your ideas tend to 'branch out', with one central concept powering several related works?
Tell me what a central concept could be, and I might tell you whether the answer is yes or no... But I guess itÂs yes.

Do you tend to explore a concept serially, with several works, one after the other, in a certain order?
No, not really. Certainly not in a certain order.

Do you actively seek ideas? If so, do you do this only as long as it's enjoyable, or do you drive yourself on until you have found something?
No. Not ideas. I actively seek things to support them with (maybe techniques I havenÂt tried yet, maybe a bit of a research on a place or time I want to locate my story in, something like that), but ideas have to come on their own.

Do you sit back and let ideas come to you?
I usually do this when travelling by train through the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. When IÂm alone in the compartment, or at least can sit at the window. I sit at the window, look at the running landscape outdoors and let my mind run, too. Sometimes I only end up with a bit dizzy feeling, but sometimes I... ]]> ~marmota-b `Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue. http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/26644777/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/26644777/ Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:52:14 PDT
I mean, sometimes I'm just delighted by a sentence or two in a book for no particular reason. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's nicely worded and sometimes it's simply... no reason at all.

Like this:

`Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue.
- although, admittedly, I like this one a bit more in Czech. Because the word in Czech is "skuruti", not "yrch", and somehow it sounds better to me. Probably because I'm Czech and the word for orcs is "skÅeti". Which makes me wonder how amazing the Czech translation of The Lord of the Rings is.

And, hey, don't you just love Little My?
Because her reactions on learning that they're going to live on an island (which they know only from a map) were:
"I've always thought it was a flyspeck."
and
"Don't be silly! Everything's fantastic! More or less. The most fantastic thing would be if we arrived there all gung-ho and with all our odds and ends and realised it was really a flyspeck."
(Translation mine, from Czech...)

And one of the cutest comforting sentences, from a Czech book about two rabbits who live in a hat (because they used to be magician's rabbits):
"Bob, I'm afraid!"
"Don't be afraid, Bobek, I'm too!"

I think I'll update this journal with more quotes, once I remember them...

Do you have such favourite quotes like I do?

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]]> ~marmota-b I have a new camera http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/25101821/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/25101821/ Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:23:22 PDT
There's sugar in the old one. That's not so usual. I carried a package of sugar to my school flat in my backpack, together with many other things, including the camera.
I hadn't realised the package was paper and could get torn. Which it did.

The new-old camera is almost the same as the old-old one. It's only better. So I don't have to be getting used to anything new.

And I'm still alive.

]]> ~marmota-b I should be drawing more http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/23826466/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/23826466/ Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:39:51 PDT I should be drawing more in general.
I should be drawing more of my characters to begin with.
I always end up drawing more of Yaron.

]]> ~marmota-b Don't let your password be phished out! http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/23032165/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/23032165/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:18:14 PST dA is already aware of this: [link] , so all that's left to do is... do nothing. Don't fill in that form. And don't blame your friends if they gave you that link, because it wasn't them. (Try to contact them outside dA and let them know...)

]]> ~marmota-b I'm just terribly happy... even more http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/22780675/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/22780675/ Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:22:38 PST But right now I'm terribly happy, and it's more or less all you'll learn from me now...
I've just learned that I passed an exam I thought I hadn't passed. And that means I've already passed all my exams! And I'm free! Free to draw, write, sew, bake cakes, read, whatever I want to do!
And a friend of mine from the US, whom I haven't seen for almost two years, promised to come visit me.
And my uncle read my story (Beyond [link]) and liked it.
And I baked a cake today and there are holes in it.
And, you know, I'm just terribly happy. I hope you're too, or will be.

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's Timeless Eyes Challenge has ended, the winner has been announced:

's "The Child Dreamy Eyed". [link] And this makes me even more happy.
I absolutely have to feature the winning piece this way, even though it's just by linking. My original comment at the picture - on December 16 - was "The more I look at this picture, the more I like it". This has proven to be perfectly right. Now I love it. I'm totally absorbed in it. Go check it out.

Almeruve's new challenge is "Trees in Tolkien". [link]

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I found this in journal at

and I thought it was a good way how to force myself into drawing...

The first 10 people who comment on this journal will get a sketch, free. That is, I'll make sketches/pictures of their characters (eventually of someone else's character) and put them into my gallery with a dedication to them.
Unlike in the original version, I have no conditions, except for your comment here, because I don't want to force you into this if you don't want to. However, if you feel generous, you can repost it and do it yourself. And in such case I'll be pleased to demand a sketch from you.

In your comment, include a link to a reference picture of the character you want me to draw. Or write me a description. Doing both is the best option.
Only one character per person - remember, this is FREE. (More characters in one picture are possible for me, but keep it easy and not very crowded, please.

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy
2.

- sketches of hands.

- Serin
15/02/08 Finished! [link]
4.

- Vienna
5.

- personificated music
6.

- her original character(s)
22/03/08 Finished! Hana: [link]
7. http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/22182640/ Thu, 25 Dec 2008 06:18:56 PST
Because, what would the life be like if we didn't have something to come back to? Books we used to read when we were children? Our old favourite meals? Our old favourite music? Our old favourite friends? Family? Home? And, in the line of this, also Christmas?

As far as books are concerned, I always come back to the good old adventurous ones when I have holidays. Like books by Karl May, those I normally despise for being... naive? Something like that. But this time, being reminded of it by a drawing, I dug out my own old story of Vladyka. With it, I also started reading MeÄ VontÅ¯ ("The Sword of the Vonts"), one of the books that inspired it. Who knows, maybe you'll soon get a taste of that story, after I translate it. But that's no promise. The translating won't be easy.

Meals? Well, potato salad isn't quite my favourite, but it belongs to "tÃ¤mÃ¤ aika". Hot cocoa isn't quite a meal, but I like it, and it goes together with the story, because my character Vladyka loves it (as you'll see if you find time to read "Beyond" [link]). And it also goes well with the wintertime, even though when I look outside, it doesn't look very winter-like.

Music? Those medieval Christmas songs are part of my Christmas, absolutely. Being medieval, not everyone would like them, I guess. But I grew up with them. They're irreplacable.

Friends! Last Sunday, me and two of my good old friends went to visit other good old friends: our former art teacher and her husband, our former philosophy teacher. That sounds great, huh? Well, that's what they are. I'm pretty sure the lady influenced me most in my creating. She's taught me a lot of things, among others how to work with wire. So the wire bracelet I uploaded yesterday is also a result of her teaching. We sat down at a hot stove, drank tea, tasted Christmas sweets and talked. And since they have a small gallery, each of us got to choose a photo by a Finnish photographer, Anssi Mellblom, who exhibits his work there regularly. I already have two of his photos now, because last year we were there as well. It feels really special. It is a special couple.

Family. Well, family. I guess you all know.

And Christmas? Let me say with the Christmas spirit in another Viivi ja Wagner strip: Haluan vain toivottaa joulurauhaa. I just want to wish you a peaceful Christmas.

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I'd like to promote a challenge I'd love to participate in:

's Timeless Eyes Challenge. [link]
The point is in capturing the feeling of elvish eyes, full of past ages and yet timeless. I love the idea and I think, if enough people participate, a really interesting collection of pictures could be created. Are you up for the challenge?

This challenge was prolonged, so you can still participate!

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I found this in journal at

)

1.

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/21512862/ Sun, 16 Nov 2008 06:08:27 PST

to write some random things about myself. I deliberately break the rules by not writing down the rules and by not tagging anyone. I could tag someone for sure, but I don't want to. If you want to do this in your journal, if you think it's fun, or interesting, do it. If it would annoy you, if it doesn't fit the mood your journal usually has, if you don't want to tell others random things about yourself, ignore it.

So, what's random about me?

I study English, and I've never been to England. I study Finnish, and I've never been to Finland.

Randomely, I actually study Finnish because I like blue and white. Long story.

I like the Czech word for frog, "ÂÃ¡ba". I think it's the best name the animal could have.

I have a friend since we were three. I just visited her yesterday again. She lent me the Stardust film, suggesting how I'm going to like it. I really did.

I wish I could draw like

does. Or like

.

I get ideas in dreams. Or half-dreams.

I tend to keep things for a long time, and repair them to keep them for longer. Not only that; I tend to keep things I should have thrown away a long time ago, like random doodles on scraps of paper which have no meaning anymore and I actually don't like them. Or things that simply COULD be used for SOMETHING, ONE DAY. One day, they will.

My ideal wardrobe would consist entirely of clothes somebody else didn't want anymore, or things I made from those. I've always loved lofts filled with old treasures and thinking of how these could be brought back to sunlight. In this aspect I'm an ideal ecological person. In others I'm totally not.

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I'd like to promote a challenge I'd love to participate in:

's Timeless Eyes Challenge. [link]
The point is in capturing the feeling of elvish eyes, full of past ages and yet timeless. I love the idea and I think, if enough people participate, a really interesting collection of pictures could be created. Are you up for the challenge?

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I found this in journal at

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy
2.

- sketches of hands.

3. http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/21042110/ Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:17:59 PDT Until this week, when father discovered them in one of his wooden boxes with tools.
Bisha managed to hide the kittens for so long, that now they are already wandering about and (!) munching on the adults' food.

There are three of them. Three seems to be a constant number of Bisha's kittens. This time each of them is different; the one I didn't manage to take a good photo of (it kept running away from me and hiding in the shadows) more or less resembles KÅemÃlek, the other two are black and white, but the black might turn into dark brown or tabby in weeks to come.

It is an extraordinarily sunny day, a completely blue sky, and it's warm in the sun. Perfect day for them to explore the world, and... wait... for drying laundry. Excuse me, I'm going to put it into the washing machine.

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I found this in journal at

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy
2.

- sketches of hands.

- Serin
15/02/08 Finished! [link]
4.

- Vienna
5.

- personificated music
6.

- her original character(s)
22/03/08 Finished! Hana: [link]
7.

- Mika
8.

- one of her characters
9.
10.

I cannot tell you when exactly will the pictures be done, but hopefully soon.

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My stock account:

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/20182694/ Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:08:46 PDT And taking photos. The first three of my selection are up now, although somehow I'm not able to make them show up on my home page, I see them only in the gallery. Maybe it will be better tomorrow.
Well, and why the world looks like what it should look like there? I hope you'll get an idea from the photos. And if I tell you that we got goat cheese from local people? That there was heather and Carlina acaulis [link] growing on the slopes? That not only the sunsets were awesome, but also the mornings? And that, above all this, I had wonderful times with my friends, who, after all, are more than friends, but brothers and sisters, and I could feel it?
I wish everyone such great times.

After coming home from PustÃ¡ RybnÃ¡, I spent three days serving as a guide through Prague for a Taiwanese friend of mine, whom I met last summer in the US, and her friend. So not only I have beautiful photos from PustÃ¡ RybnÃ¡, I also have beautiful photos from Prague. Weather was extremely nice to us.

All this means a lot of photographing and not much of other creating, but I sketched something yesterday and I'd love to make one picture I've had in mind for a while this week. I really, really want to. Wish me luck.

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I found this in journal at

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy
2.

- sketches of hands.

- Serin
15/02/08 Finished! [link]
4.

- Vienna
5.

- personificated music
6.

- her original character(s)
22/03/08 Finished! Hana: [link]
7.

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/19275934/ Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:25:39 PDT
What's the opposite of an artistic block? Whatever it is, I have it. Hopefully it will stay with me for a long time. I'm creating and making up things to create. I'm going through my old stories and my old scraps of stories and correcting what seems wrong after the time. Maybe I'll even write something more. Finally.

Maybe I'll even make some of the requests finally.

And somehow I managed to get over 3000 pageviews without really noticing it. Thanks, that feels good.

EDIT 16/07: I aimed most of my creativity at our household, together with my sister. It really seems to need it. So I'm not sure how much of what I make will be good for posting here, but maybe something will. And, anyway, it makes me happy to see the house getting slightly nicer.

The kittens, Yksi and Kaksi, are fun to look at... and it's so relaxing to watch them! Really...
Chlapci a dÄvÄata,
pÄstujte koÅ¥ata,
ZemÄ je kulatÃ¡
a mÃsta je tu dost.
KotÄ je solidnÃ,
nervy vÃ¡m uklidnÃ,
nabuÄte nevlÃdnÃ
a hned vÃ¡s pÅejde zlost.
- that's a Czech song by... who's that? SuchÃ½ and Âlitr? Yeah. Generally, it says you should "cultivate" kittens to be happy.

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I found this in journal at

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy
2.

- sketches of hands.

- Serin
15/02/08 Finished! [link]
4.

- Vienna
5.

- personificated music
6.

- her original character(s)
22/03/08 Finished! Hana: [link]
7.

- Mika
8.

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/18130989/ Fri, 02 May 2008 10:18:20 PDT
They must have been born last night or this morning.
So be prepared for a lot of cat stuff later on.

Apart from that I exhausted myself on preparing green beans on cream with potatoes and eggs... It's one of my favourites meals to make, because it's pretty easy, there's almost nothing to do wrong and the result is always exquisite, but today it tired me somehow... so much that I even didn't finish my portion.

Oh yes, and if anybody from the Czech Republic (or maybe even Slovakia) is reading this - I bought HalÃ³ JÃ¡cÃÄku in our local library, for 1 crown. Do you know that book? Is it as special for you as it is for me? Were you also so scared by KrtonoÂka? PufodÃ©dr, anyone?

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I found this in journal at

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy *no idea so far (well, there's one... very slight)*
2.

- sketches of hands.

*right now thinking of making sketches of such hands I'll be able to use in my planned pictures later*
3.

- Serin *working on preliminary sketches to get the pose right* [link]
*almost finished - four dragons left

*
15/02/08 Finished! [link]
4.

- Vienna
5.

- personificated music *some preliminary sketches done, but I like the idea so much that I want to make it a real painting, so it will take a long time...*
6.

- her original character(s)
22/03/08 Finished! Hana: [link]
7.

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/16707165/ Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:19:03 PDT [link] for me! Take a good look at her picture, because it depicts a darker, sadder side of Vladyka I haven't shown you myself yet... that's him when he feels things went wrong, or when he is deep in thought. It's here: [link]

I found this in journal at

)

1.

- unnamed ragged boy *no idea so far (well, there's one... very slight)*
2.

- sketches of hands.

*right now thinking of making sketches of such hands I'll be able to use in my planned pictures later*
3.

- Serin *working on preliminary sketches to get the pose right* [link]
*almost finished - four dragons left

*
15/02/08 Finished! [link]
4.

- Vienna
5.

- personificated music *some preliminary sketches done, but I like the idea so much that I want to make it a real painting, so it will take a long time...*
6.

- her original character(s)
22/03/08 Finished! Hana: [link]
7.

- Mika
8.
9.
10.

I cannot tell you when exactly will the pictures be done, but hopefully soon.

My friend from Elfwood, Anne Wipf, is on dA now. And I love her paintings and I'm sure you'll love them too, so here's a command...
... go visit

Hoorray, loooong journal entries!
Marmota's just being a bit crazy. I guess it's the holidays. Once I start learning linguistics again, it will be gone, I guarantee you...
Maybe it's also because today, after a long time, I went for a walk to the poplar tree... ]]> ~marmota-b Free again + small feature of my friend http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/16626156/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/16626156/ Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:36:01 PST And now I also have time for finishing some of my crafty projects, and maybe even some of my artistic projects *no promise*.

My sister was in Netherlands, AGAIN. (You don't know that, I suppose, but she studies Dutch and is quite crazy about Netherlands; and her boyfriend only supports her in that, because he speaks Dutch, too, and likes Netherlands, too... that's actually how they met.) I mention that because she brought me and father a 1 kg package of drop, that Dutch liquorice thing... as she's crazy about Dutch, we're crazy about that. Good thing to spend my little holidays with. But I'm really afraid father is able to get us rid of it in few days...

Oh yes, and now I also finally have time to watch all the films I've bought recently... there's a real wave of cheap DVD's here in the Czech Republic.
That brings me to the fact yesterday I was in cinema and after quite a long time the cinema I was in was FULL. Full of people, I mean. Everybody wants to see "Once"... and it's worth it.

EDIT: I have to share this. My friend from Elfwood, Anne Wipf, is on dA now. And I love her paintings and I'm sure you'll love them too, so here's a command...
... go visit

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

Plus I'm joining this club:

I hope I don't have to explain why.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

... ]]> ~marmota-b Not a teenager anymore http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/15835446/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/15835446/ Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:12:39 PST But it doesn't feel bad. Especially when one gets gifts, and just the same gifts one used to get as a teenager, i.e. stuffies...
I've come back from a meeting/party with my classmates from grammar school, we met at our teacher's flat and had great fun; she prepared wonderful dinner for us and everything... And because one of my classmates also has birthday today, it was just perfect. We left much later than we wanted to leave at first.

Tomorrow will be a big family party; and more gifts, of course.

It's only a pity that my older sister won't come, she's ill and stayed in our students' flat.

And, in addition I would like to reccommend to those who don't know it the Czech film PostÅiÂiny (Cutting It Short). I watched it yesterday and it's great fun. And, when I'm at it, I'll also give you a small feature, though I cannot do it properly, with thumbnail. Because this artwork reminds me of the heroine of PostÅiÂiny:
[link]

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

Plus I'm joining this club:

I hope I don't have to explain why.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/14654808/ Sun, 16 Sep 2007 06:12:25 PDT But still I will visit this site, don't worry. So feel free to write me something and comment on my pictures (especially Scraps, please...) if you want to.

I'm going to live in a flat with one of my sisters and another girl. It's going to be a lot of fun, arranging my part of it to look good... I want to hang some of my pictures on the wall one day. So they'll finally find a good use.

I'm reading The Lord of the Rings again... partly in Czech and partly in English, because I have The Fellowship of the Ring in Czech and The Two Towers in English.

I wish I had The Return of the King.

(I'll have to borrow it from my sister who lives in a different flat when she's in school.

Plus there's another thing that bothers me, we used to have a big map of the Middle Earth in our copy of Unfinished Tales, but the map was lost... where could it be?

)
It's an awesomely inspiring book! I love the descriptions in it. And the Czech translation is great... Moreover, the journey in it starts in this season... And it's a perfect thing to read in train on long journey to Brno.

There are so many things in it.

So if someone of you haven't read the book yet - I'll end my journal with a request: read it!

I hope you realised from my writing full of emoticons that I really, really like the book... the more I read it, the more I like it.

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

Plus I'm joining this club:

I hope I don't have to explain why.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/13986611/ Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:58:35 PDT That will be a hard task, because, looking at the bar above, I see there are 944 unseen-by-me deviations by people whom I'm watching...
Moreover, there are many crafty projects I haven't finished yet, so that's another thing I have to do. On the other hand, you can be looking forward to seeing them here... hopefully soon.

I think I need to do something cheerful, like making something yellow and orange...

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

My friends. In alphabetical order. (And it doesn't mean they cannot be great artists, too!)

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/13484395/ Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:16:39 PDT
And I saw it on big screen.

(Strongly reccommended.) How does it come I saw it this way? That started as seminary work in History. I wrote about the historical events that inspired the film and that had to do with it. My teacher loved the work. And he loves the film. So he suggested to project it in school's film club, with a short presentation about how the film was made and about the historical things I wrote about in the work. So, we projected it today.

(I forgot to mention it was my big secret dream, to project this film in our school.)

As usual with Leone's films, I noticed some things I hadn't noticed before. That's one of the reasons why I'll probably never get tired of watching his films. This time it was mainly because of the big screen (= white blackboard) - I saw some details I hadn't noticed on computer. So, again, strongly reccommended to watch such films on big screen...

And, if you hadn't realised it yet, I LOVE Sergio Leone's films.

If you have artistic mind (and I bet you have, being here on deviantART), you'd surely see the great composition of images in this awesome widescreen 1968 film...

Some more news. Big news. I'm going to the USA on July 2nd, for one month, to visit the First Presbyterian Church in Annapolis. Yes, I already knew it for some time, but I didn't want to write it until I have the visa. I got it last week, so now it's official. I go there. Don't expect me to be here very often. And expect some photos from America after I return home.

Oh yes, and I passed the exams for university... Finnish and English. Let's see how I manage studying both... because I cannot decide which one I want to study more and my sister suggested to do both.

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/13150724/ Wed, 30 May 2007 12:13:25 PDT
And, yes, it means I have 4 months of holiday now. Which also means I have a lot of time to finish all the projects I started and wanted to start. So hopefully finally also something else than photography.

Hopefully I'll finally go through all the deviations and messages waiting for me, too...

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

My friends. In alphabetical order. (And it doesn't mean they cannot be great artists, too!)

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/12680039/ Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:10:30 PDT

(Sorry to those who were featured here and now aren't anymore. I wanted to fill the list, but I think it was long enough...)

I hope I'll add something different than photography to my gallery soon, but I don't want to promise anything. Anyway, I still have some photos that might be here.

I have some other news, but I'll leave it for myself until I'm sure it will really happen...

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My stock account:

Not much right now, but hopefully it will gradually grow.

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I joined

- because I love his works and am planning to make some pictures inspired by them, and because it cannot hurt.

And I'm watching this club:

- if you need to be comforted and pleased, this is the right place to visit!

Great artists:

My friends. In alphabetical order. (And it doesn't mean they cannot be great artists, too!)

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10944660/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10944660/ Mon, 26 Feb 2007 07:24:59 PST

Of course, this featuring "game" is still open for new people interested. I don't mind if you're not interested, I only want you to know you still have the chance.

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I found really, REALLY interesting info/thoughts in boybalasa's journal here [link] , so save some time for reading it!

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Elegaer [link] wrote this in her journal and got the idea from someone else... I like the idea, though I'm not very sure about how am I able to do it, but let's see...

The first ten people who comment on this journal will have me go through their gallery and pick my three favorite deviations, which in turn will be featured in this journal. (Here's my problem: it will be only links to the deviations.)

The catch is that to qualify, you MUST post a similar journal, or already be participating in this project.

Let's get some exposure here! Who's first?

1. Mima (1500) [link] - she has some amazing photos of Sahara and some amazing photos of other things.

And, of course, this is just my choice, so don't forget to visit her whole gallery to create your own list of favourites!

[link]
[link]
[link]

2. Dreadpiraterobots (

love this username!) [link] is new here, as I am. So support him! He's taking photos, too. Don't forget to look at them in full size!

[link]
[link]
[link]

3. Susanh [link] is also new here, seems to be quite experimenting, and I suppose she's in need of some comments on her works... so why not to go to her gallery and please her? And, of course, please yourself by looking at some nice pictures...

[link]
[link]
[link]

4. Rachelamigates [link] does manga/anime/how is it called, which isn't something I would be much informed about, so I cannot tell much... but her cute plushies are really worth checking out!!!

[link]
[link]
[link]

5. aljas [link] likes Tolkien and Dürer, like me.

She has great pictures of people and elves and just the right amount of imagination.

[link]
[link]
[link]

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

REMEMBER! If you don't post this to your journal and spread the love, you don't get MY love. I mean, you do -- just not the featuring kind of love. Come on, guys! (Let's please fellow deviants!

http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10913964/ Fri, 01 Dec 2006 14:00:00 PST It has a reason that I write it here, don't worry. Every first Friday in a month my favourite museum in Prague is opened for free, you know, and today I tried it. It's ethnographical museum and they have rich collections. Now there's an exhibition about crafts in Northern Africa (besides the constant ones) and you can for example even try some clothes on... I didn't, but I touched them and tried to find out how they are made.

I also drew some small pictures, but nothing special, just sketches.
But I found out that a year's ticket is really cheap (only four times more than what I would pay for one entrance!), so I will buy it for next year and hopefully will make lots of good drawings there...

But, what is more important for me now - I have birthday next Thursday and my father gave me the present already today... because it's his digital camera! He bought a new one. So I won't have to wait for his anymore and can make pictures any time, not only evenings or weekends!

]]> ~marmota-b Watched it again http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10835014/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10835014/ Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:43:06 PST The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. One of my favourite films. The film that made me interested in cinema.
Just take the begining... about ten minutes without speaking. Only faces, landscape, a bit of action, music.
I noticed many things I hadn't noticed before, which is amazing, because I had seen it already so many times... Such small things. Like flies - they're in so many scenes and seem to fit there perfectly - so perfectly, that you don't notice them every time. I wonder whether it was on purpose or whether they just were on the set and remained in the final film...
Or the composition of the images. Looking at it as an artist... it's very, very interesting.
And, of course, the music. The main theme was my favourite piece of music for long, long time, even before I saw the film (which was about two years ago). And today I even noticed other tunes, and I had thought I had known them all...
If you have patience for watching almost three hours of a slow-paced western-war-adventurous thing without a clearly positive hero, and can swallow one brutal scene, give it a try!
And if you like it, and especially if you like trains, watch also Once Upon A Time In The West.

]]> ~marmota-b Boxes of memories http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10765386/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10765386/ Sat, 18 Nov 2006 10:34:12 PST

Thinking about sewing some dresses for fashion dolls, I got a feeling there must have been a smaller doll, wearing traditional Czech clothes (if you know such dolls.) Even a 12" fashion doll is sometimes too big for the fabric leftovers I've got.
So I climbed to our loft. It's always a bit adventurous, because the ceiling above the ladder is low. The doll wasn't there. I messed it up. There were two really small dolls and then, in another box, one really ugly and quite big doll in traditional costume. Nevermind.

I found memories instead.

First box contained neckties. I think there were four of them. Nice patterns - what about using them as fabrics for dolls?

Father neve wore neckties.
And then it started. Old playthings. Tiny dolls furniture. What pleased me most in that box were two tiny closets...
All the small dolls brought memories of that wooden puppet I had washed off a foot. What? Well, we used to have a small washing machine. Functinal. Once I put the puppet's foot into it and closed the doors and started the machine. It began rotating, of course. Poor foot didn't survive that. I haven't found that puppet today. I wonder where it disappeared.

Panda picture cubes... Such cute pictures and pandas in addition. I used to play with them a lot. And those very old picture cubes with wonderful wooden box... It would be worth a photo, I think, but another day.
One special box. Not my memories, but my father's. He was learning Tibetan for very long time. And there it was, all the books... A bit sad. Maybe I should find time and read some of them myself.
The last box was the best. My rubber weasel! Someone must have owned her bofore me, I think it was my mother who brought her from Russia, Sowiet Union in those times. Price: 45 K. Everything had a set price. Weasel has something with her ears. Like they were burnt away a bit. Once a real weasel found its way into our garden. We all were standing there, watching it, and I brought the rubber weasel. They really were similar, but the real one had different colours.
And then the two monster twins, Martinka and Terezka I used to call them... which one is which? One lacks right ear and the other lacks left one, but was it Martinka with the right one or...

And whole time my cat Bisha assisted me. Jumping from box to box, hiding in shadows, appearing suddenly from another side of the loft, letting me caress her, sitting on the boxes I wanted to open...
The loft would be great place for photographing, with certain sources of light, if it wasn't so dirty and full of old things...
I brought some of my memories back downstairs. Scanned them. I think it will end up as a picture. Weasel and monsters will definitelly find their place among my plushies. Panda cubes... well, those will probably have to go to the loft again. Maybe I'll bring the neckties instead then.

P.S. Working on Fistful of Dollars DVD cover design. Not satisfied with that one I have - and, unfortunatelly, not even with my current result. Let's see.
P.P.S. It's Latvian National Day today. Yesterday we had a holiday here in Czech Republic, celebrating the begining of Velvet Revolution. I didn't have anything else to write yesterday, so it comes today.

]]> ~marmota-b I did it http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10696421/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10696421/ Sun, 12 Nov 2006 02:18:29 PST
First: I sent my application to the art school I would love to attend after Grammar School. Subject: Book culture. Illustration, binding of books etc. I hope I'll pass the exams... If not, I got the idea to study Finnish. We're crazy about languages.

Second: I finished my Green joy picture. Finally. I'm happy with it, mostly because it's my biggest serious coloured pencils picture so far.

And I made a point of drawing something every day...

]]> ~marmota-b Back to spring... http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10557781/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10557781/ Mon, 30 Oct 2006 09:50:00 PST
]]> ~marmota-b Scraps... http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10545369/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10545369/ Sun, 29 Oct 2006 06:55:24 PST The second one is a picture I haven't finished yet. I've been working on it for quite a long time and still it has no end...

Finally I sterted one picture in coloured pencils I've had in my mind for a while. It seems quite easy, so it will probably appear here very soon.

]]> ~marmota-b Autumn in our garden http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10535003/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10535003/ Sat, 28 Oct 2006 07:18:25 PDT Now she's lying in my lap, pretending she's cute harmless kitty. I don't believe you, Bisha.
Nice shots of buckets with water and colourful leaves. And a "builder's still life". Mess in garden causes magical things.

]]> ~marmota-b First pictures http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10533259/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10533259/ Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:01:25 PDT
]]> ~marmota-b Begining at deviantART http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10528151/ http://marmota-b.deviantart.com/journal/10528151/ Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:14:58 PDT So let's hope I will have good times here.

]]> ~marmota-b