Ballet and classical music have always enthralled me. They are motifs I love to portray. While I create I almost always listen to classical music. It transports you. You never tire of it; it is complex – I can play the same piece for months and still get goosebumps and fresh inspiration.
Earlier I had the chance to illustrate Tanja Pečenko’s book “Male baletke in njihove cvetke” (Little Ballerinas and Their Blossoms) – such joyful motifs. Through Tanja I met Ana Trojar: an acclaimed ballerina and remarkable woman. Ana graduated from the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London and is a registered ballet teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance. She has performed in numerous productions and worked extensively in educating young dancers. In 2021 she opened her own Ana Ballet School in Kamnik, welcoming the very young, the older, and truly mature lovers of ballet alike. More on her website: https://baletnasola-ana.si/.
Ana visited me for coffee. The moment she stepped in she had this special presence – a little wow effect. Something distinctly different. She immediately struck me as fascinating. She shared her story and vision for the school and I loved how considered she was about every detail. That same care shaped her idea for a certificate presented to her students at the end of the school year. She wanted something unique, not boring or generic. So we created it – really an entire story across the page: what the school is, what it might become, whom it embraces. The responses were so positive. I find her notion inspiring: that a certificate needn’t be just a rectangle of paper with a name, but can become a beautiful, meaningful gift when thoughtfully designed.
