Designstudents

Hey Ulicamers!

The last year of my bachelor is turning out to be more fun then the last ones since our class has changed a bit and there is a bunch of new fun people added to the group :) The ones standing up are my old friends but the new ones are(from left) Drew from USA, Sasha from Sweden/Canada and Joyce from Germany.

I wanted a cosy "autumny" student-like photo but the sun was so harsh that I didn't really manage. We'll do a new one on a more cloudy day! But this is the best I could do...

And yes, how fun was it to shoot some other people than myself? Superfun!

I'm on facebook now too - Ulrika Kestere Photography and Illustration

Lady Lioncat

Hello hello!

I see now that I accidentally oversharpened Lady Lioncat...oh well, I'm sitting at my laptop now just about to smush into bed so I'll take care of this image tomorrow on the big screen.

Lady Lioncat was expecting company on this picture, yet no one seems to be showing up. All you can hear is the puttering purrs from the lioncats and the wooden clocks ticking.

Some calendar foxes have already gotten new homes, that makes me really happy.

I hope you've had a good start on the new week!

The 2012 Calendar is here!!

Finally!

Next years theme will off course be THE FOX!!

These wonderful calendars get sold out pretty fast so make sure you're out in good time to get your copy. All the illustrations in the calendar can be seen here.

The price is the same as last year;

The small calendar (16 x 30 cm)

150 SEK

The big calendar (21 x 42 cm)

250 SEK

GO TO SHOP HERE!

I ship to the whole world, if you have problems ordering, email me at info@ulrikakestere.com

The calendar has a sand brown color and is shipped with a protective cardboard.

The Payment is made via Paypal for a secure transaction. Please note that you do not need to have a Paypal account in order to pay, you can also pay with a credit card (VISA, Mastercard, American Express, etc.)

The old printshop is still open, find it here.

Welcome autumn

Although the rain is colder when it hits your cheek, the autumn is a wonderful season. Everything starts... school, work, projects... you can feel the air buzzing with people being busy. And I like when people are busy! And also, the air is moving... after standing still and warm during summer it is finally fresh and strong.

That's why I could never live at a place were it's warm year round. I have to have some real weather! And also, I am way to fond of wool to live in a warm place.

So - welcome autumn!

(Also, dear friends, If you reblog my photos, please refer to Ulrika Kestere and link back to my homepage or blog.)

Sami Fox

Sami Fox with lusekofta is what this will be called. I have something similar to a lusekofta, but like a Latvian version. I got it from my mum and it is one of those garments which would make me heartbroken if it disappeared. When I went to visit the sami people I bought a white reindeer hat from them... samistyle, which I also love very much. I could live without a lot of my clothes... but if I lost my lusekofta or my samihat I would be really sad.

SCHOOL, behind the scenes

A few of you have asked what I do when I don't blog. Well, like any kid I go to school! I somehow ended up at the bachelor program for Industrial Design in Lund, which isn't ideal for a character like myself, but I would like to think that I'll be able to use my designknowledge in my future career. So I thought I would give you a little sneak peak of were I'm at. In this first picture I'm at my desk... lucky me - got a window seat :)

We had a day full of presentations so this was a golden opportunity for me to draw on my illustrations. It takes such a long time to do all the details so it's great to get it done while people present.

And if I'm really lucky I get one picture done and can start sketching on a new one. Lady fox with cat-lions will be seen soon.

I sneaked into the 2nd year students workrooms and found them working really hard. After I took this picture I discovered that there was a guy sleeping on the floor behind this guy.

Some of the chairs people have made for our current project. We had to transform this ugly plastic chair to fit a subculture. The one on the right with an owl on is mine (duh). I can't really say that anyone managed to get it looking good. This chair is and will always be ugly.

And here we have a shot from the workshop. My little owl had a nose job and that big blob on the right is a bear in the making. I can't seem to find time to finish him.

I finally have my own powertool! This little dremel helps me make all the details on my wooden things. When I use this I usually have a mask on as well (since it get's really dusty) and everyone keeps saying I look like a dentist, especially with the little drilling sound coming from the powertool.

Playing piano for your fish

Thanks for the great respons about the last photograph. Every time I build up a set with a lot of objects I want to do it again... and again... because it gives the picture so much life. But... with school starting I don't seem to get much time left for playing.

However, during some workshop breaks I have managed to put together this illustration of a fox playing the piano for his pet fish. The piano music did however lure some badgers too.

Next years calendar is finished by the way, it'll soon be in the shop!

Royal brunch

Hello hello hello!

I felt so bad for not producing a single photo or illustration this week that I thought I had to produce a good one today. So I pimped my garden and then I pimped myself and here is the result. I'm not quite done with the color rendering... but this is a first draft at least. My photos are so big with the new camera that I keep using a feather that's too small... I think.

By the way, have all you scandinavians heard about Terje Hellesø who photoshopped his animal photography? Hah, I thought that was so low. And also really poorly photoshopped, so I kinda think that the people who gave him the "Naturephotographer of the year" award are some what dumb-balls as well. That just shows that getting an award doesn't mean you're the best! And that silly stuff about his wife not knowing anything... haa-haa... yeeah right! If you take a picture of a lynx four feet away from it - I think you're gonna tell your wife about it later! If I manage to shoot something cool I tell my boyfriend at once. Or what? Do I call him and say "Hey, I just photographed a badger in my garden!" and then photoshop a picture together? What a great relationship that would be. I'm honest with my boyfriend when I meet him at the end of the day and say "Hey I'm sorry, but the most exciting thing that happened to me today was that my cat looked really cute yawning".

But just to make things clear - this photo is photoshopped :) It would be hard otherwise to have myself in two places at once.