Tuesday 18 September 2012

The Ultimate Guide to the Czech Republic


CD Payne, the author of Youth in Revolt, visited Brno. And what did he get? Some cakes, books, plum brandy (non-methanol one) and my Ultimate Guide to the Czech Republic!

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Pots


My grandma gave me a beatiful set of pots I'd never imagine to have. She kept it for months!

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Our Czech holiday


This was the itinerary of the wonderful holiday in the Czech Republic we spent together with mine and G.'s family in the beginning of August. G.'s parents were so happy here they might even come again - and that is SOMETHING to say about Italians! We learnt so many amazing facts about history, art and architecture from my parents, found so many mushrooms and tasted the best dishes of my grandma. Should anyone need any tips on how to spend the holiday in here, let me know :)

Sunday 19 August 2012

Crotone





Wrapping paper design for packing little gifts brought from the sea. Viva Crotone!

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Pórková polévka


...and the leek was veeery, veeery sad. But not for long! Because when you have friends, all the world brightens! Check him out at Theydrawandcook.com!

And thank you everyone for visiting!

Holiday finished, back to work!


Monday 30 July 2012

Mushrooms


Just came back from Hájenka, la nostra casetta nella foresta! And here are some of the mushrooms we found. It is so nice to draw outside and mix colours with the spring water, which was just brought by my grandfather in a bucket from the forest!

Friday 27 July 2012

Sad leek


That's how the story begins - there was a sad leek, completely lonely, no friends around... What can come out of that?

To be continued...

Thursday 26 July 2012

Black cat

I thought about drawing our Bublina and remembered my first theatrical experience (well, and one of the last ones as well). I had a puppet of a black cat and recited this poem - about how a black cat is basically invisible when the dark night falls. It was just four lines of a poem and no one was probably really impressed by me, because my next role was one quarter of a well...!


Wednesday 25 July 2012

Brioche

Today, while walking home, I had such a vivid imagination of myself working as a brioche seller in a cute tiny Italian pasticceria, my chief's name was Gigi. And all the men coming to get a brioche and cafe for their breakfast were wearing the typical Italian uniform!


Tuesday 24 July 2012

Summer

The middle of the summer (léto) is almost here, but when you are a worker already, it doesn't seem so depressing anymore. And anyway - there are still so many adventures waiting for us in August!


Sunday 15 July 2012

Café / Té

The tropical days are gone and suddenly I feel more like having a cup of tea with milk again. This is my new theory: Italians like café, because it is mostly hot in Italy, British like té, because the weather there is usually... crap!


Saturday 2 June 2012

Mourek

Our Mourek is often meditating in the garden, though he thinks it is in fact called sitting and staring at the grass.


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Tuesday 15 May 2012

Saturday 12 May 2012

Friday 11 May 2012

Don't forget to play!

We invented, or maybe just reinvented for ourselves, this great game which I just called FOUR LINES GAME. After three very cold and quite intensive days in London we sat in that pub next to the canal in Camden and played this: One of the couple draws something in just four lines and the other one guesses what it is. For us it were only things, situations etc. connected with that three days in London. If the guess is wrong, the first player draws four more lines, the second one guesses again and so on and on. Each set of four lines means one point - more points you collect, less successful you are. G. won, by just one point, which almost doesn't count, does it?

It is not just fun and couple-gluing-lovely-time-wasting-best-consumed-with-beer game, but also a way to remind and remember some great, inspiring or pleasant moments, to capture them and get some adrenalin of the competition in your veins. 

If you try, let me know! I've written down the correct answers of our game - the global warming was a hard one, that's where I lost it! 




And, I came back home with some wonderful books which G. bought for me in Tate, bless this trifolino! 
Both are great, check:

         



And another book came with me in my cabin suitcase, the third one in my small collection:



Thursday 10 May 2012

Dorset beaches reflection

That little holiday we had on the coast of England seems so far... But! We have VENTI NOVE GRADI in Brno now - summer is approaching and we are starting to make plans for VACANZE.



Thursday 3 May 2012

Embéčko again

I was so busy with watching the 13th series of Midsomer Murders that I had no time left for drawing (except the times when I was sketching inspector Barnarby). I was also researching online and in my mind for the Trafalgar book I have written some years ago, and it needs to be said that I got quite far – I've found the perfect format for the book. So now just the drawings... Fair enough. This is a sketch of the hero of the book – brave admiral Nelson.



And here is my little animated banner for the Embéčkem kolem světa book: 


Wednesday 21 March 2012

Primavera, and again

At least three people told me or wrote to me today: Happy second day of spring! How the unusual position of the first day can make the second one more special...

And this is my spring mess at work.


Tuesday 20 March 2012

Ploštice

There are so many fun facts about ploštice - heteroptera! For example, Wikipedia says that in English they are often called "true bugs" or "typical bugs". By the way, this is fun fact No. 4. The three previous ones are:
1. There are 4000 different types of bugs in the heteroptera group. Only 900 of them live in the Czech Republic.
2. Both pondskaters (vodoměrky) and waterscorpions (splešťule) can be found in this group. They live in water. The danger is everywhere.
3. Bugs of heteroptera group are cosmopolitan! That means you can meet them in New York, Brno, or Milan, where they are dressed specially well.

Bring me snakes, spiders, very ugly kittens - I will not run away. But facing ploštice, mainly that ones of the shape below, is extremely scary for me. I suffer from heteropterophobia. And I don't care it might not be a clasified  disease. I will fight it anyway.


 

Monday 19 March 2012

Gardening

I don't have time to draw!
Wait, that's not right.
I do have time to draw. It is that time which should be used for writing the thesis.
Why do I have the time?
Because I am NOT writing the thesis!
Why? Because it is painful to start and because I do everything just five to twelve and because I am born to procrastinate. (Reading for one hour about plastic surgeries of celebrities could be considered as procrastination, no? Or is it just pure laziness and mental incontinence?)

My cat just vomited on my bed. I am sure he did that to empty my "barrel of thesis time" a bit more just to make me feel even less comfortable, so later I would caress him more to feel better. Cha!

But I've found one activity which, though being part of the lovely procrastination family, is really useful and makes you feel less disgusted with yourself. It is gardening. You work for the mother planet, the local ecosystem, your family and neighbours, your body and mind in both short and long term (the asparagus you took care of will detox you and make you feel better during the month when you will be dealing with your current lack of responsibility when it comes to thesis). You sunbath, breath fresh air, stretch those muscles and learn something new about your, during the winter time forgotten, insect phobia.

Blame it on the gardening. Try. Maybe right tomorrow, on the first day of Spring! And if you need to cheer up, read this.


 

Monday 5 March 2012

Thursday 1 March 2012

Agatha Christie, Mary Anning and Dorset

We are back! We had a lovely time at the Jurassic Coast - walking for miles and miles, eating fish'n'chips and drinking ale. And I cannot praise the guesthouse in Weymouth we stayed in enough.

The journey - train.


Weymouth ammonites pattern.


Weymouth ammonites pattern applied.


Tribute to Agatha Christie - a dead body under a furze bush. 

Thursday 23 February 2012

She sells seashells on the seashore

By Saturday morning we will be plundering the south coast of the UK like two mad vikings, searching for the treasures of Dorset and Devon - the fresh sea air, the laugh of seagulls, Agatha's dead bodies at green and the fear of falling down a cliff. I cannot wait! We will stay in a lovely guesthouse in Weymouth, drink some local ales (I will drink, G. will sleep after few sips) and just enjoy being together.
All mad vikings, arms!!! And enjoy your plundering!

Saturday 18 February 2012

This reminds me of something

I see myself standing at the at the railway station at Walthamstow Central, clutching on my mp3 player and watching rats sniffing around the platform. It was early spring, sunny, quite warm, and the song played again and again and again until I saw the Gherkin shining in sunlight. Very, very strange and peculiar it is to surrender to your memories. 
I wish you all early spring this year!

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Viking in love

Winter + February + cold + strength + birthdays of people I love + snow flakes falling outside right now + ABBA + Czech history + old legends + kindness = this Viking in love (in love with his motorbike and a cat called Delilah and a girl he once met in a pull-up)


And not to ignore the imported and here by many cursed Valentine's Day, here's for us:

Za trochu lásky
Jaroslav Vrchlický

Za trochu lásky šel bych světa kraj,
šel s hlavou odkrytou a šel bych bosý,
šel v ledu – ale v duši věčný máj,
šel vichřicí – však slyšel zpívat kosy,
šel pouští – a měl v srdci perly rosy.
Za trochu lásky šel bych světa kraj,
jak ten, co zpívá u dveří a prosí.

And for those who cannot understand, the poem means basically this: I would walk...

Sunday 12 February 2012

Home made pasta

My dear Marcella Hazan (in a very poor Czech translation, unfortunately) shows me how to deal with the most treasured, most adored Italian pride - pasta. 
Those egg tortellini are filled with pumpkin, walnuts, cream cheese, parmigiano, flax seed and sage, later served with pumpkin cream sauce and parmigiano. They taste better than they look!


Do you also sometimes feel like un raviolo among tortellini?

IF.com - Popularity

Do you think you need to be popular to be respected?
(If you are not sure what the right answer is ask the mice who have heard about Mr. Arnošt!) 



Saturday 11 February 2012

Don't worry

More I fly more I'm scared of it. And it's coming again. On 24th im going to visit G. in London - ajajaj!