Polonia / Which country is better SPAIN or POLAND [118]


And now they have Polish shops too! I was reading an article recently discussing how Poles nowadays prefer to buy a holiday place in Spain rather than in the traditionally popular resorts of Poland. Some of those interviewed said that apart from the holidays they wanted a home elsewhere in the EU in case Russia invades Poland at some point down the line.

Life / Live-in maids in Poland? [12]


It's the unfortunate result of a rapid series of changes to society, rather than the gradual changes that happened in the west. Poland pretty much accelerated forwards 70 years in the space of 10 or 15.

Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [957]

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Off-Topic / Arts and crafts [149]


Yes, that's absolutely spot on as Jon would say.

I love her little cosy corner where she works - how I would have loved that when I was a teenager ;) I can see she's an Ikea fan! I recognise Kallax shelving and Ikea storage boxes and her work table looks like Ikea too :)

The crappy E-book art is probably because a lot those books are self-published by people who have an idea for a children's story but aren't capable of illustrating it themselves. Basically they're would-be writers, not artists. Most of those books make little to no money so the authors either don't want or can't afford to buy decent art so they download free stuff from the web. The quality of legitimately available free images is usually pretty poor. The better stuff has to be paid for.

Off-Topic / Arts and crafts [149]


Probably done using software of some kind.

An illustrator is obviously a type of artist.

Off-Topic / Arts and crafts [149]


The first and second set of paintings looks like a period where he was interested in exploring light. The third and final set, you can see that the brushwork is much looser and the lighting is not so evident. Seems like this is a phase of exploring a different way of using paint. It's fascinating isn't it, seeing how an artist's work evolves? He's very talented. I wouldn't want any of those images on my wall though.

Off-Topic / Arts and crafts [149]


So do I. I wasn't trying to be a smart arse or start a silly argument. It was just one of those musings that invites some kind of discussion on a topic.

There is a distinction though, in my opinion. An artist can act as an illustrator for a book for example but somebody who earns their bread and butter from illustrating books, may sadly never have an exhibition of their work and until quite recently the copyright of an illustrator's work belonged to the person who commissioned it so they actually lose the ownership of their own work.

But in artistic terms, I think there is also a distinction in that an illustrator generally has to have a solid technique while a successful artist can be quite weak technically. Illustrators also need versatility. They may be known for a distinctive style but they can usually work equally well in more than one medium and in more than one style and tackle a wide range of subjects. Finally, they need to be able to give form to somebody else's ideas. A good book illustrator will read the text and create the illustrations in such a way that the author feels 'yes, that's the way it looks in my mind, that's how it would look if I could draw this myself,' - that's quite a special skill.

For example, there was a trio of English sisters who were all illustrators in the early part of the twentieth century, mostly for children's books. One of the sisters, Joyce Brisley, did these, quite different in style, the classic pen and ink drawing and a beautifully rendered watercolour portrait:

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Off-Topic / Arts and crafts [149]


That would be the Irish monks, thank you very much. Where would you be without us? A great bunch of lads!

Re photo-realism, I was really into that when I was a teenager and preparing my portfolio for applying to art college. As Paulina says, I marvelled at the skill of being able to render the subject exactly in its 'real' form. For me it was about mastering the technique (which, incidentally I never did). At the same time I loved the loose style of the Impressionists, the classic 'dappled sunlight' and the atmosphere of their work.

@Paulina, I would classify Annie Stegg more as an illlustrator. Yes, her work is highly skilled. She's very talented. And that begs the question, what's the difference between an 'artist' and an 'illustrator ............

Continuing on the theme of crafts, what about shell craft? Sailors frequently made gifts for their ladies from shells. Here is a beautiful piece from the early 1800s:

There was also a fashion for creating shell encrusted follies in grand gardens.

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Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [957]

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Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [957]

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Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [957]

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Off-Topic / Music Thread - part 2 [957]

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Travel / Bus or Street Car in Warsaw [12]


Why do you think they're safer? There are regular tram accidents, mostly collisions with cars crossing the tracks. Buses are not especially known for having accidents though a few unfortunate pedestrians have been run over by them because they go too fast and don't pay attention to the road ahead. Defensive driving isn't a thing in Poland. There was a woman run over and killed at the bus terminus last year, actually at the terminus where the buses should be hardly moving as they pull out. Unbelievable.

News / 2011 Stats: 80% of Poles happy [60]


Poles are absolute Moaning Michaels as a rule. You've been to Poland, you should know that. You can add hypochondria to the list as well. There was some research done a few years ago by somebody like the UN and nearly 60% of Poles considered themselves to be suffering from a serious illness! And that included people as young as fifteen!!

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]


That's lioness, with one 'n'. Remember what Einstein said about learning .................. I hope you use a Concise Oxford when correcting your students' work.

The Gaelic League ;)

yourirish.com/history/19th-century/the-foundation-of-the-gaelic-league-1893

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

You'll be delighted to know that you demonstrate all the social ineptitude of the average Pole. Wishes for one's health and long life should never be ridiculed but graciously accepted in the spirit they are offered ; even a complete burak generally understands that. So where does that leave you in the food chain ...........

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]


I hope not. 'Lang may yer lum reek.'

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

Take a leaf out of Einstein's book:

"Learning is not a product of schooling but the lifelong attempt to acquire it"

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]

What are you on about you daft moo? And surely 'turds' can be of many and varied consistency. I remember as a teenager thinking that the phrase 'to fall between two stools' was mildly hilarious.

News / POcopalypse of Poland. [28]


I'm merely giving you some kindly advice, thou very paltry knave. How gracious of me.

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Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]


Then just say, 'Mentally, I'm fit as a fiddle now'. Learn, learn, little acolyte.

Study / Various education and school issues in Poland. Opinions, stories, controversies. [1006]


'Fit as a fiddle' or 'sound as a pound'.

News / POcopalypse of Poland. [28]


Careful now ..........down with that sort of thing! You're sailing very close to the wind matey. You'll be up before the beak on a libel charge if you carry on that way.

Genealogy / Looking for Polish Spelling of Last Name [17]


Gosh! That's so weird! I was wondering how on earth they got Sierak from 'Shetakowski'.

But bearing the American accent in mind, what you say about it being shortened from Sierakowski to Sierak makes absolute sense.

Genealogy / Looking for Polish Spelling of Last Name [17]

I think it's most likely to be Siatkowski. (In Polish the 'si' pairing is pronounced like 'she' in English, more or less.) Or it could be Sikowski.

Off-Topic / What's your connection with Poland? Penpals. [595]

Hi John, witam :) A word of warning - this forum was set up by a member of the Polish-American community and is hosted in the USA. There aren't many Polish members here ie. people born in Poland who still live there but there are a few. The rest of us are a mixed bag ranging from those who've lived in Poland for many years to those who've never set foot in the place!

If you're interested in Polish culture, this is a good site in both English and Polish, with articles written by Polish contributors :)):

culture.pl/en/article/dinner-at-babcias

And if you want Polish news in English, this is a good one: notesfrompoland

Work / Is teaching English the only way for a foreigner to work in Poland? [30]


You don't need to be fluent but you do need to have at least basic Polish. If you live in Poland you won't just be mixing with younger people (and although they learn English in school nowadays, very few are confident about using it in everyday life). You will encounter many people who don't speak any English at all so some knowledge of Polish is essential. Apart from that all Polish people appreciate the fact that you've made some effort to learn the language and if you still don't speak more than a couple of words after years of living in the country, it's not well received, as you can imagine.

Food / Help with Polish recipe - Żurek soup? [25]


And it's really easy to make at home too. Just put rye flour in an empty jam jar, add a bit of tepid water to make a paste, screw on the lid and leave it for a few days. Same for the barszcz biały of course but with wheat flour. You can put a squashed clove of garlic in it too.

Real Estate / Build a house Wrocław area [18]


To which she's entitled to half under Polish law, unless you acquired them before marriage or you have a Polish separation of marital property agreement. If you live in Poland, regardless of where you were married, then your marital property is governed by Polish law which is similar to American common marital property. You need to legally separate your property if you want to keep assets in your own name as yours alone. Separating property is less favourable for income tax amongst other things, as you'll be taxed as single rather than married.

Feedback / Who deserves to inherit Polish Forums? [344]

We seem to have stuck at $570.