Anka Kočevar sharing her impressions on staying at Studio Asylum
“In the period of three months, from October till December, Studio Asylum has been my temporary studio for my working on animation and illustration. By far most time spent there was used on my drawings for a full-length animated documentary film with a working title “The Second Ivan’s Death”, directed by Dušan Moravec and made in production of Friendly Production House and Slovene Radio and Television Broadcasting House (RTV Slovenija). My work consisted of making drawings of animated shots, which were cartoon images that captured the contents of narrators (different historians, literary theoreticians), who are telling stories about the work, life and character of the slovenian writer Ivan Cankar, as well as of important historical happenings and their impacts on general living conditions of population at that time.
An animation for the animated documentary film: “The Second Ivan’s Death” (Friendly Production House and Slovene Radio and Television Broadcasting House).
In the light of my work Studio Asylum has been a suitable place for occasional meetings with the director of the film, with the producer Matjaž Mrak and two animators, Zarja Menart and Lea Vučko, who both were of much help to me during my cartoon work for that film.
During my stay at Studio Asylum, besides doing drawings for above-mentioned animated documentary film, I have illustrated several short text by Slavica Remškar, that is being monthly published in the child’s literal magazine Ciciban (ZMK – Mladinska knjiga Publishing House) in 2017/18. Preparing colouring books with different exercises for child’s magazine Galeb (Publishing House Tržaški tisk) was also one of the things, accomplished during my stay at Asylum.
In October I have prepared a selection of my illustrations and took part at this year’s December’s Fair of Illustration at Vodnik’s House. A general assembly of the Slovene Society of Animated Film was also carried out at the Asylum in the end of December, and because of the fact, that the Society doesn’t have its own place for such meetings yet, the Studio Asylum proved to be an excellent choice and a pleasant sanctuary for that purpose.
All I could say about Studio Asylum is that, it is a wonderful place with great light and much space, namely, you can put three working tables in it without any difficulties. In Studio is very quietly, although surrounded with lively happenings of Metelkova, which are mainly placed in numerous nearby studios during the day. Coincidental short meetings with people, who are working at Metelkova, were also a pleasant experience. This dynamics of tranquillity, silence and creative atmosphere of the neighbouring surroundings influenced my work in the most beneficial way. Many warm thanks to Nataša Serec and Julij Borštnik, who have made this extremely pleasant experience possible to me.”