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10/01/2022: Finishing the flip-book project. Together with Ivet Todorova, a graphic design student, we had the spontaneous idea to create a flip-book. We still had to finish making the cover with hot glue. It is a process that requires great precision for a not too amateurish result. But the technique remains accessible, which makes me want to create new publications. A collection of some of my drawings is perhaps something that I can do in the future.

We also started the conceptualisation of a new project. The main idea is to create a human-sized sculpture that the viewer can enter. Since we only have a few days together we will concentrate on the design of 5 models. The production of the final sculpture can always be done in the future.

11/01/2022: A morning in the Digital Material Lab. We refined our template for the laser cutting from 9 to 11 am. I then went to the Hague for dinner with Marie-Noël Rio and Franz Wilhelm Kaiser. An incredible introduction to art history, with a critical view on the current situation in the art world. A sublime encounter.

Temporary idea:

- Icosahedron
- Paper
- Photo
- Transparency
- Light
- Mirrors
- The contrast between technology and nature

Ref:

- Ming Yan Pui
- Dialogue with Courbet
- Rem Koolhaas
https://www.artnews.com
- Ratchet effect
- The wild thought
- Concrete sciences
- Walter benjamin
- Dialectic of Reason

Ref. based on my drawing:

- Cy Twombly
- Bill Viola

In the evening we met with Emilie and Jesse to develop our idea of working together. First of all, we showed each other our work to get a better idea of each other's work process. For me, it was also an opportunity to understand what the fashion department is all about. Nothing to do with fast fashion and ready to wear branches. It is rather a form of artistic expression, which merges with the body. The practical side is less valued in these unique pieces.

The main idea of Jesse Emilie and I is to create a collection of three garments/cuts based on a series of my drawings.

Ref :
- Antwerp 6 -> The "Antwerp Six" is a group of six students from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, who graduated in the same class in the early 1980s. These students, future designers of international renown, are considered the avant-garde of Belgian fashion, most often associated with the minimalist trend that emerged in the late 1980s and reached its peak in the 1990s. The Antwerp group is composed of six Belgian designers: Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, Dirk Bikkembergs and Marina Yee, with whom Martin Margiela is temporarily associated.

12/01/2022: Day 3, A big leap forward in our project with Ivet Todorova. Despite a difficult start, we simplified our process for creating the computer drawings that are used for laser cutting. This allowed us to be freer with the shapes we chose to experiment with. In addition to our ideas for the shapes of our models, we will create a presentation of our results on Friday afternoon for other students to give us feedback on what we have produced in the last 5 days.

13/01/2022: Day 4, An additional shape has been added to our prototype series. It is a shape that consists of 13 different shaped triangles. One of our prototypes did not work as we had anticipated. The felt structure that holds the pieces of wood together is too elastic for the glue to hold. We went to the instructors at the woodshop. That's when we were advised to use a harder fabric, like linen. We then began the assembly of the structure.

14/01/2022: Jour 5, Finitions and reflections on our process.

Positive sides: We conceptualised our project in 2 days and trusted ourselves for the process. Our rhythm and ideas are merging in intuitive ways. We managed to create 3 small models of our ideas. The finished (2) models of ours ideas are precisely executed with techniques neither of us where familiar with.

Things we can improve: We should avoid mixing classes with our projects. This results in a lack of concentration. It gets more difficult to get in a flow. Dividing tasks can be more comfortable and efficient for both of us.

Conclusion: Overall, it’s still super nice to work with Ivet. We can laugh and stay concentrated. We can play and arrive at unexpected ideas. We are experimenting hands-on with new materials and techniques.

Departure for Berlin

I have written a day-by-day report which you can request from me at sten.heijster@gmail.com. I will summarise here to keep the report shorter. My trip to Berlin was intended to change my way of working in a significant way. And above all to meet the artist Guillaume Bruère (from Berlin) who makes drawings and paintings of the same style and technique as I do. A meeting that gave me a perspective on an artist who lives from his work.

At a birthday party, I spontaneously started a new series of drawings. You can see a difference in the lines I produce. In my mind, I made the drawings thinking about the colours that could fill them. Unlike the shaded drawings where contrast would be the main subject. Here I confidently let go of my pen, the lines and I know where to go. The colours then add a new dimension of play and hue.

One of my roommates (Leah) works in a café in the centre of Berlin. After I arrived she asked me to drop by. This café became one of the places where I produced some of my drawings. Leah on the other hand wrote about the situations she saw. We quickly came up with the idea of combining my drawings with her texts. In the coming weeks, I will prepare a new publication which will be made of a selection of our work in this place.

In total, I have 36 new drawings selected from a total of 250 sketches. 9 of the 36 are coloured for the moment (not for the project related to the café)

I hope you have enjoyed this little moment of intimacy with my work over the last few weeks. Thank you for your attention.

Sten