ZERO.

All is good, all is well. I have found some organisation in my project for school and this week it is finally time to sign some things off and really get a start on my Exam. I'm pushing on and getting things done. Starting to feel better about it again, after a bit of feeling like I wasn't doing anything and time was slipping away from me. Turns out I'm actually right on schedule.

Can I talk about music for a bit now? Because I really need to talk about something. Yes, a new Editors album, no I haven't properly listened to it yet. No, my attention has been on an album that's celebrated it's 20th birthday last week: (What's the story) Morning glory by Oasis. And it was wonderful.

In my time, I've heard a lot about this album and, of course, Wonderwall is one of those songs you just know. But for some reason I got curious a while back. I found myself looking for Oasis on Spotify and choosing the album with a name I'd heard many times before, containing a song I knew all to well. And I liked it.
This weekend, I felt like I needed it again and I found my way back to it when getting ready for a day in Amsterdam. It ended up being my soundtrack during the 4-hour train travel (2 hours back and forth). What a great piece of music for travel. Made every bit of my time in the train really enjoyable.

Breakfast ar LePain

A few reds

A soot artwork of dreams

I was on these trains to visit Amsterdam for an exposition in the Stedelijk Museum about the ZERO art group. Oh, I loved it. And so did my mum and dad. It was all about minimalism, using and seeing the usual things differently and it was beautiful. The first thing you see when walking into the exposition, is a wall filled with white artworks. White on white with all kinds of different techniques. The rest of the exposition shows the use of different techniques, for example with soot and light and movement. The whole thing was so varied and interesting and incredibly inspirational.

Oh, Damien Hirst, you have my heart.

We built a nice day in Amsterdam around it and I had a really good time. For most of my life, I didn't really like Amsterdam. I found it too busy and I didn't like the vibe it radiated. But this changed last year when I found a whole different, nice, peaceful, beautiful side of Amsterdam and now I found myself being happy when the train drove into the station.
The decor is incredible and I probably could never get enough of capturing it, but the good thing about a capital is that it has these little interesting shops with design interior, art and clothes that you just don't find in your normal city. This time we visited a shop with HAY products and me and my mum went crazy for as good as all their interior stuff. We loved it there. We also came across a gallery that sold Damien Hirst art. My heart was happy. I could completely invision myself hanging his circle Mickey Mouse artwork in my nursery and be really happy with myself. So we walked around there and drooled over the amazing Damien Hirst and Banksy art.

I'm so glad I've found the charm in Amsterdam. It's such and enjoyable place now and I always want to go back and just hang around a little.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie.

Concept.

So we're 2 weeks into the project. 2 Weeks of working at our concept and trying to make something that our teachers will approve of.

After a week of writing, talking to teachers, thinking, some changing, more writing and talking and perfecting I handed in my concept and now I'm waiting for everyone to get back to me with their feedback. All I know now is that my idea isn't pure shit, but there is still a possibility of some changes that need to be done. In the meantime I'm just taking care of the 'administration' as I like to call it, some inspiration searching and some organisation.

The atmosphere in class is wonderful. We've made a little classroom our own, where we're all alone with our class, working on our project. We're getting a kettle, so we can eat soup and noodles and drink coffee and tea. We'll make ourselves comfortable.
I love sitting in this room all day and just working. We discuss our ideas and progress and have a lot of fun making our own little things. I'm honestly loving school at the moment.

In other news, WILD arrived, after coming out 2 weeks ago. And I love it.
Hurts is visiting Amsterdam during their European tour. And I'm going.
Muse is visiting Amsterdam during their world tour. And I'm going to make sure I'll be there this Tuesday.
Concerts are happening and I'm happy about it.

I'm also working hard at getting my online portfolio sorted out, so I can send E-mails to companies and try to get an internship. When it's done, I'll be sure to let you know.

All kinds of things are happening and I'm excited for everything. I'll keep you posted.
In the meantime, go listen to WILD.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie

A new start.

The new school year has started and it's exciting as well as terrifying. This year I'm supposed to graduate and today we had a little talk about what's expected of us and what we can expect from the forthcoming half a year.

I'm happy to have my project idea all planned out and written down with just the need to finetune it and hand it in, but I'm also terrified it will be turned down and I have to start from scratch again. I'm just so excited to start working on this project idea I have and I really really hope it's good enough and I didn't take too much on my plate. I'm just going to have to wait and see.

I have so many plans for this year. I want to live more healthy - drink more, eat better, I want to keep track of everything I'm doing and be nice and organized in all the areas and, probably most of all, I want to document everything. I want to write all my progress and exciting things and downgrading things down and I want to photograph what's happening and who I'm with and where I'm working. I want to remember this time. I don't know why I suddenly feel such a deep need to do this, I don't know where it comes from, probably the knowledge that this will be the last half a year I will spend with these people, in this setting, at this school and I just want to remember it for what it was like. For this I'm taking my analog camera to school with me tomorrow. I want to try and do this every day and just document the things I feel fit. I really hope I'm not too awkward and just take it out whenever I want to. I think it will make remembering a bit more special and it will document the process of my project in a nice way. It's also a good way to stay busy with photography, I suppose.

For the writing part, I'm turning back to this blog again. I enjoy sitting down and writing my thoughts down and I hate that I'm not taking the time to really do it. I've thought this so many times before, but I'm setting myself to really do it this time. For myself. To have something to look back on.

Maybe, school is going to start a blog where we, as a class, will share our experiences of graduating, but I kind of doubt this actually happening. If it does, though, I'm afraid this blog will fall back to the background. And I will cry over it.

But we're not there, just yet. Let's see how my first week of school get's on and we'll go further from there.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie.

Thinking.

I've been thinking about the past quite a lot, lately. This doesn't necessarily mean I wasn't living in the moment, I certainly did at the times stuff was happening, but in between my mind tends to wander to the past and just kind of gets stuck there, reminiscing those days, when I was experiencing that thing.

My last internship seems to be something I just can't forget, Sziget last year gave me a world I crave to live in just a bit too often, Plymouth became a place I feel a weird kind of homesick to, even though I've only been there for a week.

I guess Plymouth is the most reoccurring one, this one also being the thing to look forward to. A lot of time goes by with me fantasizing about living and learning at Plymouth. The things I'll do, the places I'll go, the people I'll hang out with, plymouth is a dream. A dream that weirdly may actually be happening, a year from now.

But before that, a lot has to happen now, which brings me back to the present time. So many things to think about and do. I have to write my personal statement to make sure I actually get in, I have to finetune my idea for my major project, so I can actually graduate from my current school.

All my head is doing is switch back to the past to try and avoid thinking about the present stuff, for variation it looks to the future, where my days kind of end. I'm not necessarily happy or unhappy with this, I just need to try and get it under control, so I can actually get stuff done.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie.

Music to travel by. (Music III)

Leaving a few energy-cracking deadlines behind me, I'm writing a blog post again.

One of those deadlines was for a magazine. The magazine had to be about something or for someone, for which there wasn't a magazine on the market yet. I chose to make a magazine for people who are scared to travel, but do dream about doing it. I wanted to share experiences in this magazine, through illustrations and text. To make it complete, I added my 'ultimate travel playlist' (of that very moment. You know me, with my obsessions). Making this playlist reminded me of this place, and how 90% of my blog basically is me getting excited over music, so I had to share. I'm only going to put some highlights in this blogposts, though, since it would turn out way too long. The playlist itself ended up being 9 hours long. Happy traveling!

Suck it and See - Arctic Monkeys (Album)
This is where the whole idea of making a playlist started. For me, this is the ultimate travel album, it has all I need. Whenever I hear it, I get in travel mood and whenever I'm traveling and I hear it, it's just perfect. Ask me for one perfect recommendation? I would give you this.

Born to Die - Lana Del Rey (Album)
I love this album. I already did for quite a while, but I slightly forgot about it and I hadn't listened to it for so long, until I was looking for music for this playlist. It made me realize how amazing it is and how fantastic it would be whilst traveling. Silently enjoy, scream your lungs out; all you need, given to you by Lana Del Rey. (I really, really discovered National Anthem this week. What a song.)

Alone - Selah Sue (Song)
That voice, that beat, that song. It's just so dance-able and happy and would make every day better.

Runaway - Kanye West (Song)
I have been quite obsessed with this lately, but let's be honest here, this is amazing if you were to be traveling whilst listening to this. It has such a great vibe. Couldn't miss it.

Human - The Killers (Song)
Just put it on and sing. Sing really, really loudly. Let it all out.

Submarine - Alex Turner (Album)
If you, after this singing, need a moment to calm down, there is Submarine. Perfectly mellow and beautiful, to softly sing along to and to slowly fall in love with life.

After putting together this playlist and printing my magazine, you can imagine me hitting myself for the music I've forgotten. So much forgotten music. It's too much.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie.

The full playlist on Spotify:
Reist. (Reist is the name of my magazine)

Distracted. (A look back)

I want to go to paris, I want to take the posters off off that one wall and re-paint it, I want to swim, I want to walk around in cute dresses, I want to photograph, I want to see Muse live, I want to go to a museum, I want to lay on the floor and listen to music, I want to nothing, I want to walk through London, I want to be at Plymouth university, I want to live on my own, I want to cook and eat good food, I want to dress up and wear heals, I want to eat out, I want an effortless, epic friendship, I want love, I want to read Submarine, I want to blog, I want to hand-make something beautiful, I want to not have a deadline, I want to have a free weekend, I want to be talented, I want new make-up, I want to watch Dan Howell.

Yes. It's one of those days. I want everything but this right now. Concentrating is a problem. 

(03-02-15) 

This is a post I wrote at the beginning of februari, which I just found again. Thought it's interesting, so posting it after all. This was near the end of internship and I was feeling very unsure about everything. At the moment I've kind of found my place again, but I can still really relate to all the things I was craving then. Fun to look back on that time like this, even more since internship has been in my head a lot these past few weeks. I tend to really miss being there every now and again.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie.

Image thinkers.

I am an image thinker.

Something I found out today. Something that's going to make the start of our new project at school a bit harder then I'd like it to be.

Image thinkers don't get to the solution the logical way, by walking over the path via the steps you are taught to take. Image thinkers see the solution to a problem, and start working form there. They see the end product, after that they see how they'll be able to get there. (of course, after this, it goes way deeper, but to give you an idea of what I'm talking about here)

But that's not a bad thing, is it? I hear you thinking. No, it isn't. It's just another way of seeing the world and working with the problems you are given.
But for the project I have to make now, I've come across the fact that sometimes, it can be a problem. Sometimes, you have to walk the path you are taught to take. Sometimes you have to go past all those steps to do it 'right'. When thinking of a concept, for example.

For this project, I have to come up with an idea for a magazine with a theme or a target group for which/whom there is no magazine, yet. I have to be able to explain everything behind my idea. Why I chose the target group, why I chose the theme, what I want to tell the audience, what I want to achieve by making this magazine. All very nice, but not as easy as it may sound.

Because I found out I first think of what I want my magazine to look like. From that I start thinking how I could get to this point, what theme would fit this idea. I have been told by my teacher today, that this is not the way to go.

I had a part of my concept going strong, but there were a few gaps I couldn't seem to fill. So she told me to start from the beginning again. Start answering questions, so the idea will stand tall. But at the question of what I want to tell people, what I want to bring into the universe, I blank out. When I try to think of something, every single time, I end up with an idea of what the magazine could look like and try and fill it up from there.

Not sure how to get out of that, to be honest with you. What I can tell you is that it is quite annoying. I just want to have an idea and get started and make something already. Hopefully I will get some closure this week. Not sure how long I can keep this vicious circle going.

Any image thinkers out there who overcame this problem? If so, please share, I need it.

Have a nice life,
Xoxo
Winnie.