It's Natasha Podgoretsky from Moving Image, i'm also using an alias, Tea as this is my nickname and the majority of people that i know now, my friends, family and networking people both know me as Natasha and Tea though the latter is shorter and i've been using it since my old college days.
So i've been mainly working on a series of my own projects since September time after a hellish summer. After coming up with an Autumn itinery with Sarah i went away and have been drawing on putting together my own limited edition zine and making my own merch that includes badges for this zine and to sell, tee designs that i'm looking to take to a company that i know buys independant artists work and prints that i can make into giclees for my portfolio.
I think to be honest i've been very inspired by the tattoo scene at the moment. In august i made contacts with Xam from Frith Street Tattoo and the manager there, Stefano, who have both been intrinsic to helping me in the way in which i draw, so that i can produce faster and better. I was at the last tattoo convention in London and am due to go to the one in Brighton in January.
I find myself getting inspiration to my work from very diverse fields.
For producing merch i've researched into company's that seem to be ethical and produce at a fine quality. Check out this Nottingham screenprinting company. I still have not had the pleasure in using them yet, but they seem pretty awesome and i'd like them to print my designs: www.idressmyself.co.uk if i cannot get into the screenprinting room at LCC.
I think it's very important to be socially responsible and ethical where possible. I recycle wherever i can which is a breeze when you're home becomes a studio space. I also opt for using recycled papers and materials for mailing information and writing on etc.
It's our job as designers to take these sort of things into consideration as alot of people depend and look up to our work and can frown on it.
In the last few weeks i've been commisioned to do a mural piece which is fun. I've been given a wall in a model's house to do whatever i want with as she really likes my work.
It's taking forever but i think it's going to be hot when it's finished. I hope so.
and i've also been approached to do logo work and very recently as in the past week i've been approached by a member of band, Wall Street Riots to do some illustration work with them.
Funnily enough all of this has been through word of mouth, handing out pieces of work to people that are my mistakes and limited badges and showing people my work. I live in London and theres always people over at the flat and my work is always pinned up on my walls so i can view it better and so others can see what i'm doing.
I don't know exactly what you'd call my work, freelance? For all you planning on spending some weeks like this just know that you need to be checking your emails all the time to keep in touch with people! and you'll often find yourself having to do alot of chasing and being assertive but nice to people even if you're having the worse day ever. Don't get arsy.
You have to be strict on the way you structure your days. I have a schedule that i follow otherwise i penalise myself and have double the work to do the next day. Get up early, no lie ins. and work an 8 hour day as you would if you were in an office. Your place becomes your studio.
Sometimes a week can be dead, but you have to keep coming up with things to push yourself and keep you going. There is a definite sense of all at onceness where some weeks your schedule is just so hectic.
Go to as many events as you can to network. You need to be confident but not cocky. It's who you know!!!!
I talk to everyone and reply to every message i get in where i am asked questions.
Hm what else. I think Sarah's emails have been really fantastic for supplying briefs when you don't have alot on. I've looked at a few. Like the amelia magazine issue 10, doing an internship for Amelia, and an animation brief.
Unfortunately at the time when i found out about the amelia magazine issue 10 submitting illustration work i had a week to produce something and didn't fully finish the design i had so didn't submit. The internship was for four months spanning until february, i think for like 4 days a week? or maybe i'm wrong and at the time i was still thinking i am going to be abroad then so again didn't go in for it. A missed opportunity.
The future:?
I had the most fantastic plans to go to iceland to study multimedia over there and i got all my erasmus grants sorted and approved and now am completely unsure as to whether this is feasible. I guess the whole world knows the economic situation of the country right now and that it's pretty bankrupt which is incredible for us if we want to go over but not so great when you're doing an exchange and the exchange student has to come to England with a currency that is worth alot more than their home one. Perhaps i'm worrying over nothing.
I'd quite like to go to Paris or Berlin.
This term i've focused heavily on the fundamentals of my moving image for me which i've found is drawing. I think i want to start merging into animation/ film now. I love drawing though. When you work for yourself so many of your initial plans change. My initial plan was to do this zine (then take it to London galleries and independent shops) and then get an internship with the Container Plus girls who i've met before and interviewed last year. I'd still love to see Nicola and Luise from there again and see how they run their studio.
I need to put a website together that i'll put up a link to through here, facebook and myspace and the other places where i blog. Thats my next big important something to do.
Help on this please?! I don't have a clue about web.
Best, Keep in touch xo
p.s. Anyone going to Luxemborg for Colophone2009? Sure sounds interesting.
and did anyone get the opportunity to check out the Mayfair squat art show that they were talking about everywhere? I checked out the private view a few fridays ago. It was full of installations. How they manipulated space i found more fascinating over the work actually being exhibited.
