VISITING PRACTITIONER Eleni Kalorkoti

We had a talk from Eleni Kalorkoti where she talked about her practice and how she continually grows as an illustrator.

The key points she made which really stuck with me were:
-Illustration is an inventive job, which you make up for yourself- you can do exactly as you like within the field
- She set herself a task of one zine a month for a year- is this something I could emulate? Continuing practice for yourself
- DON'T just sit and wait for the perfect idea- it's ok to make mistakes, as long as you are doing what you want
- Refuse to wait for permission to draw what you want
- Not necessarily story, just exploration of feelings and ideas- not a narrative, just a juxtaposition
- Trick yourself into using new processes by going round the problem

Overall I found her talk really inspirational, as it is a very interesting viewpoint which she holds, which focuses on breaking the rules and making work not to fit a brief, but to fulfil her own creativity.

I found the above work by Kalorkoti really inspirational, as the quiet nature of her work creates a wonderful atmosphere which immediately puts the audience at ease. However, the juxtaposition she poses between serenity and danger add a strong narrative to her work. Also, her gentle consideration for soft tones helps to create a very simple to look at image, which actually contains a lot of detail and information.