Jun 15

Jun 15 FINALLY AJSA

Ajsa Zdrav is not an artist, not a musician, not a writer but is definitely a jolly human being. She's a graphic designer by profession but also randomly whips out a notebook and oil pastels and will sketch the hell out of you and whatever you're up to.

At 3 am she usually still can't sleep and plays piano. She likes hearing, telling and creating stories and adding a bit of satire and snark in the mixer. That's why I love her. Follow her on instagram; @ajsazzz or @ajsaajsaajsa

Greatest inspirations or influences?

I really get a kick out of sitting somewhere and watching the world go by. Watching people has always been my little safe-place and somehow it gets me thinking a lot.

I used to get inspired all the time, by anything I would see and funnily enough over time things have sort of shifted and become refined. Now it's mainly in music that I find my oxygen, through the notes and the lyrics and how they pull themselves together.

What makes you happy?

Being around people who laugh at me, at themselves and with me about random things in our daily lives. I don't think there's anything better than a good laugh, it just brings out the best in people. It also jam-packs my brain with stories that I'll use in bits and pieces of my work.

I also LOVE making playlists for myself and for my family and friends. I give them silly names. I think my weirdest playlist was called "there's a bat in my kitchen" - true story by the way.

What would be a dream project for you?

When I tell this to people they stare at me and feel uncomfortable but I truly do not have any dreams. I continue thriving to do the things I enjoy and who knows where I'll be in 5 years down that line. I don't have a bucket let alone a bucket list! I just remind myself that if I keep on practicing and get myself out there, I'll achieve so many things.

Most interesting project you have worked on so far?

Back in 2010 I was asked to do live projections on these giant cargo ship containers at a music festival. I had total freedom of doing anything I wanted so I got a big notebook, a big paintbrush and a large bottle of china ink and went absolutely mad, creating stop-motion out of each page of the notebook. It was borderline psychedelic.

Anything else you would like to share?

Actually yes there is. I just read an eye-opening book that kind of turned my world upside down. It's called The Art of Asking by a fabulous woman called Amanda Palmer. She did a TED Talk that's definitely worth watching. Her former band the Dresden Dolls is a must-listen if you're into loaded lyrics and punk cabaret.