Maja Julijana B

Telephonic Pathways

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, collage

The recurring presence of a telephone in all of collages in this series is intentional and holds personal significance. The telephone, as a symbol, represents communication, connection, and the transmission of ideas. In today’s fast-paced world, where we are constantly bombarded by messages, calls, and information, the phone serves as a reminder of how interconnected we are, both in positive and overwhelming ways.

Additionally, the telephone can symbolize a bridge between past and present. While modern smartphones represent the current age of digital communication, traditional telephones can evoke nostalgia and a sense of simplicity in how we used to communicate. By incorporating the telephone in all my pictures, I aim to convey the tension and balance between these worlds.

On a more personal level, the telephone might also reflect specific moments in my life where communication has played a key role—whether in relationships, important decisions, or personal growth. Its consistent presence serves as a motif, tying together these experiences.

The telephone, as an object, is more than just a tool for communication—it represents the invisible threads that link individuals across distances, cultures, and time zones. It serves as a powerful metaphor for how words can bridge gaps between us, bringing people together through conversations, shared ideas, and meaningful exchanges.

Moreover, the telephone in my pictures underscores the idea that words have power. Every call has the potential to change lives, to create memories, to resolve conflicts, or to offer comfort. It reflects the notion that spoken language is at the heart of relationships—whether it’s a quick “hello” or a deep, vulnerable conversation, words are the bonds that hold us together.

n a broader sense, this recurrent symbol highlights the dynamic, ever-evolving nature of communication. As technology advances and we find ourselves constantly talking, texting, and calling, the telephone becomes a metaphor for the network of relationships we build and sustain through these interactions. Through words, we form connections with people we might never meet in person, extending our influence and presence beyond physical barriers.

By including the telephone in every image, I am emphasizing the fundamental human need to be heard, understood, and connected through dialogue. It serves as a reminder of the invisible, yet profound ties that bind us, reminding us of the importance of staying connected, sharing our thoughts, and reaching out to one another, no matter the distance.

In the context of human connection, the act of listening or offering comforting words is one of the most meaningful gifts we can give to each other. A heartfelt conversation can help someone feel understood, valued, and supported, even when physical presence isn’t possible. In this way, the telephone represents not just the transmission of information but the exchange of care and empathy—those intangible elements of communication that strengthen relationships and heal emotional wounds.

From Blue Dress to Yellow Book

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, chalk pastels, collage, creative process, drawing, reproduction

That blue dress got me.

I was searching for inspiration among great paintings in “Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien” (KHM) in Vienna and while I was wandering around making sketches I stopped in a front of only Vermeer picture in possesion of KHM.

It was this one: The art of painting .It poped against the background, drawing me in like a magnet. The way it drapes, the way it catches the light—it’s captivating. The dress seems to tell a story of sophistication through its fabric. Each crease and fold appears meticulously crafted, almost as if the artist delicately painted them into existence, making the dress come alive with elegance. So I stayed with this detail of great picture for 7 weeks producing versions and versions of that cutout and trying to get at least simmilar grace and beauty like Jan Vermeer did.At some point it started to be my motif, and let me creating my own picture out of it. Here is my journey in pictures..

I started with sketches, that’s how you should do as a good student.

First one was drawn in a front of original painting with reduced palet of color pencils. Then in did it in watercolor, and then I tryed with contrast background. It was clear for me , after this sketches that I do not want to work with whole picture, I just want dress, evtl women in a dress.

Don’t inquire about the mechanics, but somehow, I found myself unable to shake this idea. It lingered, becoming a constant companion. I toyed with it incessantly, pondering it before sleep, carrying it through my days, and occasionally, images formed purposefully while at other times, they spontaneously emerged.

As pastel chalk feels familiar to me, my initial attempt resulted in these two versions.

Not bad, it shows that I learned how to reproduce pictures in this technique. And resulted in pictures of dress with a book , and with pretty much of shine like in original !!! Interessting to see how book as well became important as a part of a motif

Next was watrecollor, but this was not shinig so strong like I wanted. Then I draw it once again, and tryed to do it comic way.. in watercollor as well + fineliner.

For my next attempt, once more using pastel chalk, I experimented with a different background. The image motif seems to be taking on a life of its own, departing from mere reproduction and evolving into a unique, increasingly personalized picture—hopefully, more and more my own.

My teacher introduced me to a new technique involving pigments with casein, so I decided to give it a try on my motif. The first attempt used only pigments, the second involved struggling with the technique on an improper background, and the last one stands as one of the most successful outcomes of my “Blue Dress Journey.” By incorporating a vibrant background and layering bright pigments, I managed to create a luminous rendition of the dress.

Journey was still not over, those were still more or less reproductions. How to get this picture enriched with my soul ?

Well, I love collage. And this is collage version, I love it !!

I also lean towards crisp lines and defined color areas, so I created these pieces accordingly. There’s no shine present anymore; instead, the focus is on the shapes, with the book taking on a more prominent role.

Finally, abstraction, which marks the third of my favorites in this series of work. It signifies the start of something fresh, and it’s possible that I’ll revisit it in the future to create more pictures stemming from this point.

To be frank, throughout these seven weeks, it wasn’t always simple to remain focused on one topic. However, in conclusion, I’ve found that dedicating more time to a single motif can be quite productive. If anyone out there finds inspiration in this, I’d love to hear from you. Are you embarking on a similar journey, and is it proving as satisfying for you as it has been for me? Let me know.

Inspired by dancers

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, collage, drawing

This series was inspired by a collection of photographs found in a theatre magazine. The photographs were beautiful and artistic, capturing the people in them.

I began this project with the intention of achieving abstraction while keeping the source material recognizable.

It started with simplified drawings.

The next step was to try something with color, but I produced only one, it looks great, but it is not abstract enough..

I created a series of dynamic sketches, resembling graceful dances on paper. Not bad I would say..

The following series of graphics emerges as my best work on this topic. They exude an aura of creepiness and danger, possessing a will and expression all their own. Surrounding them are clouds of letters, akin to weaponry, showcasing their inherent danger. The static, lady-like figure, while slightly peculiar, is undoubtedly only gentle and friendly. Welcome to their realm.

f you have been following my blog for a longer time, you would know that I cannot resist collaging whatever comes into my hands. The same happened with this group of dancers. Maybe you’ll prefer this variation over the previous one; it’s much friendlier and more playful

And one more variation of the theme, to conclude, larger than the others (A2). Here, I succeed once again in placing composition ahead of form; despite the abundance of dark colors, it exudes positivity, dynamism, and decorativeness.

Walk the Book

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, art therapy, collage, creative process, drawing

I had the luck to buy an interesting ‘coloring book’, obviously published by some graffiti enthusiast. I was not able to contact either the author or publisher to check credits for this. Companies were transforming and closing. So I am leaving it like this, no references to sources. But it was inspiring for me as a collage artist to walk through these photographed backyards and give them new meaning and new context, and express my thoughts and feelings.

It was called Street Book ‘Writers Walk’, Now it is Maja’s Street Walk.

I was working on it from time to time starting with 2019 and ended up in May 2023.

Pictures are not small but very long, real city prospects of a modern kind. Maybe it is interesting to see this time what are the emotions behind these works.

I will start with one called Chance. As I see it, every new visual input may be the chance to learn, enjoy, or change it your way. Chance is something you can take, or not. It is a gift, you are allowed not to accept, no one will be insulted. But it is also one door to the world that you may open to get your life be more rich, more like you want to have it.

I will not show you all the pictures I made or recreated, but some.

The next one is called ‘Good’. In May 2023, the good color for me was orange. It was good traveling by local train from the suburb to the city (you can see a round building on it, looking like my train station), since all other means of public transportation were chaotic due to reconstruction work. It was good having time to visit a baroque castle with my niece, it was a time when I had a lot of tasty dinners in good company, so that’s why this one is called ‘Good’.

The next one is about conquest (Eroberung), here beautiful nature is trying to conquer the gray landscape of the suburb. The sky is already very successful in it, views to old villages in Istria (my favorite Croatian landscape), are opening, the city is changing its look. Even the block of flats could not resist.

I love this absurd creature, the giraffe. It is perfectly adapted to the area where it lives, it can feed on high trees, it even has a special mechanism in its throat to be able to drink with its long neck. I spent some time drawing giraffes, and I wanted to have them here in ‘My City’, forever (immer). And of course, I am aware of the fact that this highly specialized creature is not very much adapted to changes, and I am afraid that we can lose it. That’s why I wrote ‘forever’ with a ‘.’, to give it even more weight. May luck stay with you, giraffe

Some things are more intuitive, like this one. Concrete pyramid in the background, reminding us of the Mayan pyramids in Mexico, concrete wall in the front, everything so rational… It was necessary to contradict. So there is a great jungle plant filling the whole sky, and there is a small mythical creature greeting you. That’s what helps to survive all the necessary rationality.

Autobiographical, that’s what all the book of collage work is. Also, in my opinion, a lot of modern art is autobiographical. And this special collage captures on one hand the spring green that entered my life in those days, and also some other pictures I was looking at, that made me feel like a new year and new life is coming up. It maybe transports some of this spirit of optimism I also had thinking about chance, or not. It is up to you to judge.

This is the last picture in the book. It says ‘travel further’. It gives some hints on how and where. It gives me some energy. It is about traveling in time, in pictures, in feelings, and in my mind. It could be good, it could be difficult, but there is energy in it.

This was not the first time that I used provided material, and transformed it in my way. See my posting on transforming an old calendar. The difference is that this time the book on which I worked was made to be transformed and inspiring. But it took me some time to understand that this is an exercise book for Graffiti Sprayers more or less. Still, its spirit of challenge was so present, I could not avoid buying it.

As I am tagging this posting with art therapy, I want to once more underline how important it is for me, and may get for you, to give expression to your feelings and thoughts with means of art. I wish that this posting again gives my readers inspiration and courage to start creating their own pictorial world, which would enable them to create also their own world around them in ‘real life’.

You learn on your way …

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, art therapy, collage, creative process, trash art

… to satisfying picture.

This is one of my llatest projects, finished in May 2023. It was inspired by Exibition in KHM, called “Naked Masters”, where great art from 15th,16th century was combined with art of modern artist , who also was lucky to get possibility to select and combine works by himself. You can take a look at link if you are interested.

We went into exibition and as first we did a lot of drawings, observing carefully and with interesst but also sometimes with not so much of understanding.

At some point , maybe after 3 to 9 hours of working, sketching and search after inspiration, way to own thema was found.

One of my first idea was to get all those people together on one page , to get a crowd…

Next, on my opinion very good draft, for wich I still have no idea how to tranfer to some bigger format is here:

I am proud of this one, and I am still searching how to show this work on a wall. Maybe you notice, It is still just this one women, I am working on.

It is inspired by Sündenfall (Fall of Man) painted in 17th century was my inspiration. I liked how she stands, her pose and her aura.

So next try..

Much too static, like a “Statue of Liberty”, aura left, but beauty is gone..

Then I broadened my perspective on naked bodies to encompass other pictures on display. As I explored further, I discovered a welth of positions, perspectives, and great lines waiting to be drawn. This leaded me to another series.

This was fun, finding exact line, wich makes difference.

Then I started to play trying to add colour to my work.

Drawing with chalk on acrylic..

Collage with packaging paper.

Obeying form and working with color became aspects of my process. I embraced the discipline of capturing the true essence of shapes and figures while incorporating vibrant hues to breathe life into my artwork.

And finnaly, I got it ! Master series..

This is exactly what I was searching for. Shape and colour cherishing beauty of human body and playing with old masters art in a new way. It is series of four. And all are women.

This was somehow iritrating, so I went for a man. Also not so bad. But I was done with this topic for now.

And then, returning to the picture that initially inspired me, “Sundenfall” , I allowed my mind to wander freely, opening myself up to playful exploration. With a deliberate choice, I picked up a pen with my non-dominant left hand, fully aware that this hand, unburdened by skill, often has a way of distilling the essence and unveiling the truth.

This journey led me to immerse myself in the world of great masters within one of the largest picture galleries in the Western world. Alongside supportive colleagues and an exceptional teacher, I experienced a combination of challenges and enjoyment. It was a time of profound learning, filled with moments of self-reflection that were integral to my growth as an artist.

As you have maybe noticed, my english got suddenly better. Thanks to Chat GPT.

Or as he/she/it says:

“As you may have noticed, my English has suddenly improved. I owe this improvement to Chat GPT, a remarkable tool that has assisted me in refining my language skills. I am grateful for the assistance it provides in enhancing my communication abilities.”

But pictures are produced just by me !!!!

Cross references

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, collage

Here I present work I did 2003, where it is very obvious how our biography influences our work, but that not enough, everything we see, read, hear about influences and interferes with our artist work. Still it is originally our creation and authentic and unique just as we are.

Collages I produced are using as starting point one old calender of Zagreb Artist Marija Braut. I am born in Zagreb, I lived there in 1980s, and lisened and sometimes I still listen music from that time. And one my favoritesZagreb Rock Bands was Azra. But we ar now in 2023 and ChatGPT is all overo modern. So parts of this text is created with it (thats why it is so fluent 😉 ). So lets see some explanation.

Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, in the 1980s was a vibrant and dynamic place, bustling with energy and undergoing significant social and cultural changes. This period marked an important chapter in Zagreb’s history as it transitioned from a socialist city within the former Yugoslavia to a city seeking its own identity.

The music scene in Zagreb during the 1980s was vibrant and diverse. Rock music, in particular, gained immense popularity. Local bands like Prljavo kazalište, Azra, and Haustor emerged as leading figures, pushing boundaries and challenging the social norms of the time. The city’s nightlife flourished with numerous clubs and venues hosting live music performances, attracting a young and enthusiastic crowd.

Marija Braut was great photographer, sited in Zagreb, worked when I was young. I got photo calender with pictures made by her. And 20 years ago, I did those interventions on her pictures, thinking about my birthplace, beeing of course nostalgic, thinkig about my youth.

ChatGPT is an advanced language model developed by OpenAI. It is part of the GPT-3.5 series, based on the GPT-3 architecture. GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer,” which refers to the model’s ability to generate human-like text based on the input it receives.

Jednog dana nema me (One day I’m gone)

It is the title of Azra’s song, it is the name of this collage, and it reflects my reality in relation to this place, Rokov perivoj, one of the beautiful parks in Zagreb, a hidden gem near the main shopping street. I used to play there as a child sometimes, and Marija Braut captured the November atmosphere so perfectly here.”

Fantom slobode ( The phantom of freedom )

Again, the name of Azra song, the name of my collage and one of the beautiful old staircases connectig “Stari grad” (old city) with the lower town. Beeing young and exploring the town by your own, making your own traces there.. that was freedom..

Spring attack at “Strosmajerovao setaliste“

This time just me, Marija Braut, no music, no Azra, but memories of autumn, sometimes feeling like a spring, when you are young..Go end explore this green place in Zagreb, once you are there, it is a terrace in a middle of the city.

Filigranski pločnici (Filigree pavements)

Early morning, after the cleaning of the streets, long before I started spending time in the city, at that time. Maybe a picture from the 1960s. Such a poetic Azra title, for me, it exactly captures the particular atmosphere of calmness, cleanliness, and innocence. It’s so precious and tender, and it can and will be disrupted once masses of people start crossing the main square of Zagreb, “Trg Republike”/”Jelačić Plac”.”

Rucola “Štros”

This looks good, this sounss good and I feel good about it. This time withoth poesie from Azra. “Štros” is “Štrosmayerovo šetalište”, in old city of Zagreb. It was nice place to be in the night, nowdays often used by gastronomy, loosing a bit atmosphere of 19th century city. AS you can cee Marija Bruat again did great work capturing night light.

Božič u Zagrebu (Christmass in Zagreb)

It is probably not Christmas picture, but just normal snowy day, bach in1970s in Zagreb, main sqare, but since I am spending almost every Christmas in Zagreb I just made it up. Added some blue, sope peaces of Christmas gifts wrap paper, and here it is, a magic.

Vrata podzemnih voda

Vrata podzemnih voda (Groundwater Gate)

Here you can meet even Paul Klee middle in one of the Zagreb Parks, “Tuškanac”. And this time again Azra poesie,looking souns suprisingly good also in english. Here even link to lyrics.

Skalinska Ulica (Scale street)

This place you will not recognize anymore when you are in Zagreb. And thats pity. And I know it sounds very old , and it sounds like I am consevartive and against cahne, but not all change is for better.

And I asked ChatGPT to paraphrase me, and this change is for better, look:

“You may find it difficult to recognize this place once you’re in Zagreb, and that’s unfortunate. I understand that my viewpoint might sound old-fashioned and conservative, and it might seem like I’m opposed to change. However, it’s important to acknowledge that not all changes are necessarily improvements.”

So I hope you enjoyed my collages and my thinking and cross references I made.

ANGUISSOLAtion

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, chalk pastels, collage, drawing

I got fascinated by autoportrait of one artist from 16^th century, Italy, I sow in Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Sofonisba Anguissola.

I spent 2 months trying to get copy it, to work with it in techiques I am used to, trying to understand why I am so hooked, what this eyes are saying to me, trying to get rid of it.

I never ever did something like that before. It was fascinating, it was isolating, it was painful and also satisfying. That’s why I created own word for this period of my creative time Angu-Issolation. Here as a first original portrait, wich you can find in much better quality in a collection of KHM.

I read about artist learning from others in copying their work, so I tried that. But never went so far to try to copy it in oil, like original painiting is. Maybe next time. I was so fascinated by her eyes that I could not stop painting and drawing them.Few versions of it are here.First picture in this blog is a final product of that phase.

We have war in Europe nowdays. I sow one very brave artistfrom Moscow producing posters agains war. So I produced my version of it, still beeing intrigued by that serious eyes, I found some other portraits with serious eyes wich I used to draw that poster, also Rembrant came my way…

Finally, I tought, maybe try to get abstract ? First try was just drawing.

But then, my love for collage came trought.

Then I asked mysself, how she would look like, when she would live now ?

So I got my favourite interpretation, maybe the one I feel most connected with.

And then I created also stencil.

And those are stencil products, another way to create abstract copy of this great picture.

And then, as you can see bellow, one can go even furter on creating abstraction. Reducing number of lines necessery to still keep some relationship with a source.

With this two “drawings” I was able to say goodbye to this fascinating artist, and now I am free to start some new project.

I hope this was inspiring for you as a reader. Please leave a comment if you get in resonance with my work.It would help me to stay on track and keep publishing my works and ideas.

Even if I knew that the world would end tomorrow,I would still create new collage

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, collage

In a March of 2022 I like probably most of peoiple in a Europe, and a lot around a World got schocked by what is happening on a near borders of Ukraina. It was a time where my creativity stopped flowing. After few months of living without significant creative activity, except crocheting and kniting, I am back to my path of sanity trough art. It was helpfull for me to change format, to buy new book I can fill with pictures, and also to decide that beauty is allowed and needed dispite of all.

Creating picture abowe all this toughts and feelings got clear structure and now I am ready to publish my last production.

Texts are a part of picture, and I look at them as kind of haikus belonging to picture.

I am lucky to have collection of japaneese decorative paper (chiyogami papier) snippets,and I really love sometime just strolling trough them. This time lot of them found way to my collages.

Internet is not medium transporting haptic of some of them. Once I will have to have physicall exiption of my work.

Also to transport golden glowe of those paper, is not easy, not with my camera and my photographer capabilities, but I hope you see a bit of it.Some of this papers deserve to be pictures of they own.

Even a big Albrecht Dürer found a way to my pictures. No one can escape ;-).

Second important inspiration for this series is a “Kunst Tagesabreißkalender 2022”. There is a one picture of art object per day here, and some of them were inspiring me to start daily work. Also some other were just fitting to already composed setting.

I started learning to work with aquarell paints around Christmas, and peaces of my not so sucessful paintings also found ther way to my compositions.

Last picture in this series reflects experiences I made in days where I had lot of emotional interactions with people around me, and then additionally informing myself about what is going on in the world last days, too much of everything. Also in this situation, beeing able to express myself, helped me to find my way to cope with all this.

Old Calender, new life

Featured by Maja Julijana B, posted in Art, collage, trash art

We have new year and last year calender for which I spent lot of times to find is now over.Often I can not just trow them away, mosly I admire pictures in them, at least 80% So, I let them inspiring me to create something new.

For example, I used great nature photography by Yann Arthus-Bertrand from “Earth From Above” calender from 2017 as backgrounds for new stories. I just let colours and atmospehere of landscape to guide my imagination and of course, it is all higly dependant on material I already collected for collage, or picture material crossing my table on that specific day.

Some of them needed time to grow, get completed, and some poped up in a session of one hour, all peaces of picture just jumping me on and asking to be used.

Look at this snail paradise with cauliyflower, it is not a place I would like to walk around, but one can smell wett plants and feel how vivid this place is, full of hidden life.

Karavan picture seemed to be great place where one feel safe to try different poses, show up in different clothes or just hang around and do nothing. Anyway I had fun creating this..

No, this is not Phuket, where James Bond film was made, there is someone there who wanted to hide..I could not resist to give him a place in this beautyful calm lagoon.

Montseratt, Barcelona taken over by Civilization

Red, red and instead of warmth, somehow agressive, at least thats what came out of it.. Maybe not the best composition, but it helped me to overcome blues I had.

Vienna, art nouveau, and this peaceful place, they realy do not belong togehter, and I was not sucessful in reconciliation of those. I think this one is not so good, but i decided to show also less sucessful works, since this is also part of the creative life.

Since one week I am trying to “produce ” one more picture to show it here but it does not work. In a course of last year I learned to wait, and keep my plan in mind. One have to be patient with him or herself, and wait for inspiration to come. When I relax, and do not urge, ideas are comming, and then, here we go.. New pictures are apearing in mind, and asking to be produced and materialized.

So, I am showing you six collages based on pictures from this callender. I hope you like some of of them, and maybe decide to give your last year calender second life.

	thongdykhallie87 on Telephonic Pathways
	suweipert on Telephonic Pathways
	Maja Julijana B on Inspired by dancers
	suweipert on Inspired by dancers
	Sandra on Walk the Book