a little place to call my own (art and fashion blog)

Last book I reviewed I described as a journey into a women's soul, a psychological novel with fantasy elements. I could describe this novel in the same way, the only difference would be that here mythological elements are Asian and not Slavic in origin. What book will I be reviewing today? One very special novel! My first book by Larissa Lai!  When Fox is A Thousand happens to be her very first novel, published back in 1995. I was too young to read it back then (this novel isn't suitable for children and it is not exactly YA/ teenager appropriate either) but I'm not too young to read it now.  Who is Larissa Lai? She is a Canadian writer and University professor. She was born in USA but grew up in Canada, where she still lives and works, so she is a contemporary Canadian author. Speaking of Canada, there is another contemporary Canadian author that I love dearly.  I think I mentioned Margaret Atwood a number of times on this blog. She is not only an incredibly gifted...

Are you reading Milana again? Always. All it took for me to become a fan of her writing was one visit to the library. Not so long ago, I reviewed a book of hers here on my blog. Today it is time for another recommendation. This time I'm not reviewing a collection of stories but I'm recommending a novel. What a novel it is! The Street of Unfaithful women would be the translation of this novel’s title. This time it is all about infidelity. Well, not really. In reality, it is about women. You see, there is this street. What makes it peculiar is that all women in this street are unfaithful....or so it seems. Nothing is really as it ought to be in this enchanted little street situated on outskirts of the town. In this street, so close to nature, magic still exists and history has a way of getting mixed up with present. Here the myth can still come to life and the forest still holds many secrets. Sounds interesting? It is. Often called a modern fairy tale, the novel erases boundarie...

Today I'm sharing with you an drawing, only a sketch really, inspired by Capitoline Venus. This statue has an interesting history, but isn't that true of all great art works? I wondered what she might look like today, you know,  if she came to life and we saw her on a street. So, it ended up inspiring me to make a fashion illustration. The medium is coloured pencils on paper. Danas dijelim sa vama crtež, zapravo više skicu, nadahnutu Kapitolinskom Venerom. Ovaj kip ima zanimljivu povijest, ali zar to nije slučaj sa svim umjetničkim remekdjelima? Zapitala sam se kako bi izgledala danas, znate da oživi i da je slučajno sretnemo na ulici. Tako da sam dobila nadahnuće za modnu ilustraciju. Medij su bojice na papiru.

Hi there! How are all of you doing? Why do we like to war jewellery? I happen to think there are many good reasons. Today we'll talk a bit about jewellery (or jewerly if you prefer American English spelling to British English one). From as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated with jewellery. I supposed that is the case with most women. Our tastes may differ but we most of us like jewellery. My tastes haven’t always been the same either. There were times when I preferred minimalistic jewellery and there were times when I preferred elaborative jewellery items. In fact, I’m still often like that. So, I would have to say this may be the case even today. Sometimes I change my mind every day.  Do you? Or do you have your favourite jewellery items that you wear every day? Jewellery is a fascinating subject. Besides, talking about it, today I'll also be introducing   Tiny sand   site to you. This site specializes in selling jewellery items. I will sh...

„ What about- the story? You asked, almost shyly. He glanced at you. Did you, perhaps, bring one of your own stories to show to him? You’re not crazy, you said. He seemed relieved: for nobody despises young, new literature more than a professor of literature. For them, after Ulysses no passage is worthy of attention.  Despite of that, they will continue debating the future of the novel. But not your novel. Mild interest, if there was any, dissolved together with cocoa.”      Don't speak ill of the living *,  Milana Vuković Runjić                                                                                * this book hasn't been translated to English yet, so I'm 'guessing' the title. In Croatian instead of  idiom 'don't speak ill of the de...

This drawing was inspired by one famous old oil painting. That oil painting depicts a woman sitting behind a desk and writing a letter. It struck me that a modern scene would be slightly different. A contemporary woman wouldn't be doing that, she wouldn’t be writing a message on a paper (not as a main means of communication anywhere, albeit she might write a letter if she wanted to leave something tangible in the hands of the recipient of the message). Instead a modern woman would be writing a message on a cell phone (probably smartphone, everyone’s got one at this point) or an iPhone. She might still be surrounded by books, especially if she prefers to shy away from e-books (like myself although I can’t deny that they are sometimes more practical) and prefers to hold a book while reading it. However, what would truly be different? She might still pause to think and gaze into distance. What is she thinking about? Is she writing to a lover or a friend? To a family friend or t...

Today's post is a continuation of the last one ( you can read that one  here ). The location is only slightly different. We’re still on the banks of river Buna, we have only changed the restaurant. The scenery is equally beautiful, that's for sure. Where are we now? Close by, in fact, only about five minutes  drive away. Now, we are in restaurant Kolo. Why are we here? Well, among other things, to try the best fig cake ever. Smokvara is the name of this traditional Herzegovian cake and this restaurant has the best I tried. Do you like figs? If you do, consider ordering using it in cooking, baking and preparing deserts. If you come across it (smokvara), do try this cake. It is really something. Traditionally it is prepared with home made fig jam. Herzegovina, as well as Dalmatia, is known for figs so finding home made products with figs is quite easy. In Dalmatia, we often use dry figs in our cakes. When I find the time, I might a bit about that. Figs are full of vitamins and ...