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February etnies Girl Of The Month

by: Alex | Thursday, February 7, 2008 | 9 comments

Meet Ania, February's etnies Girl Of The Month. Hailing all the way from Warsaw, Poland, Ania is a traveler, film buff, photographer and skimboarder. She's actually a whole lot of other things but after our little Q & A sesh, one thing was super clear: Ania is a very inspired artist and a total etnies girl! Read on and see for yourself.

Give us the basics: your name, age, town/city, school, grade level/year and your favorite subject.
My name is Anna Baranowska. I live in Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, where I was also born. I’m in the 3rd year of gymnasium school (this means 3 years left to university here) and I’ll be 16 this April. However, I prefer saying that I’m 15. I really enjoy English as a subject as well as history, because they both let me be somehow creative.

Is art your main interest?
Actually, art is my main interest, but not the only one. I’m also very keen on film (though it’s a part of art). I love watching movies and then discussing them with the others. They give me an opportunity to see some new aspects of matters and points of view. I’m making my own short films at the moment and I’m willing to develop this passion in the future. Psychology intrigues me a lot recently, some special cases, human’s brain. But the real masterpiece is a psychological movie.

Any hidden talents?
Hmm… maybe an ability of seeing situations as photographs? I’m so used to taking pictures that my eye is gradually becoming a camera. It works as a lens. I’ll put some exposure inside and I’ll be the first living camera ;). However, if the talents are hidden, they are hidden probably also for me!

Do you like boardsports?
I’ve tried skateboarding some time ago, but I’ve left it for the pros to ride. I started skimboarding last summer and I’m really getting into it. It’s a slim board , which you throw on a shallow water while running, jump on and just skim. It’s great fun, although there are hard times at the beginning. It can be called a form of surfing and lets you feel the atmosphere of surflife.

What do you enjoy most about art?
The best thing about art is that it lets me express myself. I can show through it what I feel, what entertains, thrills or intrigues me. It’s a specific form of my thoughts that are out of my head. If you achieve your aim by art, like showing a message, it gives you an extraordinary feeling of fulfillment. What’s more involvement is crucial there. Without it, it’s not even worth trying, because if you don’t feel it, it means you should look for some different hobbies. Art has to satisfy you and it does me.

What do you like about etnies?
I love the fact that etnies supports young talents. It shows that everybody is special. This breaks some worldwide stereotypes and by being a skateboarding company, the thought gets to many people. The Seed Project is a great idea. I always support projects that help the environment or people. Sometimes you have to act to make the world better.

Why are you an etnies girl?
I am an etnies girl, because I’m creative; I try to make some unusual events out of a trivial or casual situation. I look not at the world’s surface, but deeper. I am who I am and I’m not trying to change it. There’s just no point in pretending to be someone else.

What do you do for fun?
I travel for fun, because I love discovering new places and experiencing new things. I consider even a small trip as a big journey, because you can always feel something new. Life doesn’t require sophisticated means to be interesting. Apart from art, which is my biggest pleasure, I write some scripts for short movies. I wish to film them someday.

Where do you find inspiration?
All the journeys inspire me a lot. I meet people, experience new situations, new cultural motifs and matters. Casually, what surrounds me, gives me ideas for the works. This means even a small pattern on the sidewalk, a map in the subway or simply some situations. I talk through art about some disadvantages. I also love urban architecture which I use especially for my photographs. Recently, I’ve been looking at some art deco paintings. The 1920s is a great period in every aspect for me and if I were to move back in time anywhere, I’d choose it. I was in New York last year and it gave me a great opportunity to develop my photo skills. This city is so magical. My real involvement in art started after I got back home and produced my first collage inspired by it.

What’s your biggest accomplishment?
I consider every accomplishment to be a big one. Step by step trying to reach new challenges. At this point I’m sooooo glad to be the etnies girl of the month!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten, who gave it to you, and when and why did they give it to you?
My Parents give me advice all the time and I really appreciate it, because it’s somehow the basement of my life. They are not just "do-its", but more indicators for me to use. My most valuable art advice was given to me by my teacher, who told me that you have to last in what you’re doing, because it’s the only way of achieving your aim, even if it was to happen after extremely long time.

What’s really important to you (and why)?
It’s again my Family. It’s the most important ‘thing’ in my life. Apart from it, people that can bring something valuable into my life mean much to me. Some advice, absorbing time spent together and exchange of the experiences. I rate highly some kind of "varied constancy". Hard to define, but literal.

What’s the one thing you want us to know about where you live?
My city is a specific one. It really doesn’t have a real downtown, there are many "main points" depending on which one you consider to be the centre. However, you can find there undiscovered nooks and enjoy your time there. Skyscrapers are growing really fast. I’ve had once an illusion of being in Manhattan. When I looked down, it was a big disappointment for me. The funniest thing is that I live ten minutes by subway to the Palace of Culture and Science, which can be called the "centre of the centre" and ten minutes on foot to a forest called the lungs of the capital. Firstly you can feel the man of the world and within an hour observe wildlife!

Tell us about Watermelon and Prompt Box and how you got involved?
I’ve created these two projects to get people committed in some art venture. I like organizing things to involve myself and the others in. I decided not to wait for a good moment, but to work and set them. Watermelon Project is a place for creative people, whose minds are wide open for new experience and fresh ideas. It’s meant to show that art’s an expression and a spontaneous release of ideas that are in your head. It’s an opportunity for people to share their works with the others, inspire them and make them act. Why is it called “watermelon”? Because this fruit is so multidimensional! You can cut, smell, look, knock, hold it. It’s your fruit like it’s your art. Do whatever you want with it! The aim of Prompt Box Project is to make art that has some targets and brings a message to people. Art that's created for something is positive and extraordinary and it can create an impulse of a sudden thought that can bring something new into your life. The project is meant to force artists to put a message into their work. Art can become through it a means of communication, creating a specific relationship between the artist and the receiver. Both of them are located on myspace as “watermelonproject” and “promptboxproject”. I hope that some day every artist will take part;).

You signed into etniesgirl.com as Apre. Is that a nickname and how did you get it?
Apre is my artistic nickname. I needed to sign some of my works and my full name and surname didn’t just suit in, because they consist of about 15 signs. I decided to create something and the first thing that came to my mind was an apple. It’s already connected with some things, so I turned “ll” into “r”. Here it is!

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself?
"-I... You know, I'm not a good driver. I can't chase somebody in a car. I'm gonna have an accident. I'm, you know, I'll-I'll-I'll wind up hitting a school bus or something. -Look, it's nighttime. There's no school buses at night-time. -Don't tell me that. What about night schoosl?" It’s actually one of my favorite quotes from Woody Allen’s film, because it presents my personality somehow. I love irony and you have to know that you aren’t perfect. Though, there are many people who appreciate you just for being yourself to them. I try to be positive- there’s no point in worrying about small things. At myspace.com/aprerockandroll I try to put all the works I’ve done, coming back to art at the end.

Ania's favorite things

Place: NYC
Animal: My beloved Yorkshire dog Skippy<3
Color: turquoise
Hangout: places worth seeing or being in
City: ”I wanna be a part of it, New York, New York”
Song: Smiley Faces by Gnarls Barkley, all by The Rolling Stones, Raining again by Moby
Album:18 by Moby
Band: The Rolling Stones are the best rocking band ever! I just love them! I could make a 120-minutes film just to engage Mick Jagger even in an episode of it
Book: all by Ryszard Kapuscinski
Movie: Pulp Fiction, Leon Professional, Notebook, Aviator, Kundun, 3 Days of Condor, Finding Neverland, K-pax, Edward Scissorhands. I’m a great film enthusisiast. I’ll use this place also to show my shorty
TV show: Hotel Babylon
Sport: skimmboarding, swimming
Game: Mario Bros., Mario Cart, Donkey Kong
Food: pizza, Thai food, chicken with pesto, tiramisu
Candy: Twizzlers
Holiday: Christmas
Smell: Watermelon
Hobby: arts, traveling, film, aviation
Guilty pleasure: eating sweets all the time
Athlete: I won’t be original, but Ryan Sheckler (anybody can contact us;P?)
Hero: My closest Family
etnies shoe: Chambosa

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