DACE SIETINA / NOLANDHEAD  13.04.78

Latvia, Jelgava - The Netherlands, Gouda                                                                                   

I was born in Latvia in a small town, Jelgava. I grew up in Kalnciems (Hillvillage), which is really a small place. As a matter of fact, there were no hills at all, but a flat landscape with lots of forest and potato fields. The meeting point for locals, was the Fuel station.

I resided in between a German soldiers graveyard, the river Daugava and a Kolchoz tractor repair shop.

I was always playing outside: collecting different tree leaves, picking up the flowers, searching for little, white stones. One day I found a marble in our apple garden, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was deep blue with some air bubbles inside. At that moment I believed that magic existed.

Once, I got 10 markers, and I used them for more than one year. I refilled them with my mother’s finest lilac perfume. When markers ran out of ink, I used fresh flower petals to draw. I definitely love the fact that I have enough colouring markers now, as well as paper and scissors, glue and pencils

I loved to read. I had read every single book we had in the house. When I was 9, my favourite book was “Gone with the wind”. When I was 14 years I finished “War and Peace” of Tolstoy. The only thing I thought about it then was: why he wrote such a long story it could be much shorter.

In the Soviet times, at school I had to wear a uniform. I really hated its dirty blue colour. And a red pioneers ascot was my nightmare- I had to wash and iron it every day.

As far as I can remember I was always drawing. I made my own stories and I had a bunch of thick notebooks full with my drawings. Unfortunately I don’t have them anymore.

 In 2009 I finished Willem de Kooning art academy in Rotterdam as an illustrator. I let the circumstances lead me in my life. As a result, I am a newcomer now in the world of comics, which I find exciting and inspiring. Often the inspiration comes from my childhood. Or I make a mix: the past with the present.

EDUCATION

09.2005 - 07.2009               Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam

                                                 Illustration and photography

                                                 BA Media and Design

 12.2004 – 04.2005              LOI course

                                                 Illustration

12.2003 - 05.2004                ROC Amsterdam

                                                 Dutch language course NT2, level 2

 9.2003 - 12.2003                 Volksuniversiteit van Amsterdam

                                                 Dutch language course NT2, level 1

 09.1984-07.1996                 Kalnciems Highschool, Jelgava  (VWO)

EXHIBITIONS

Haarlem               2010                 Haarlem stripdagen “Comics from the other half”, Gallery 37

Luzern                  2010                  Fumetto-Festivalzentrum Kornschutte,competition exhibition        

Tilburg                  2010                  Museum Scryption, NRC Next competition exhibition

Lisabon                2010                “The Last Match” travelling exhibition

Linz                        2010                 Comics festival “Next Comics” ,

Gouda                   2009                 “Leden van Compositie” photo exhibition

Gouda                   2009                 “Leden van Compositie” introduction expo

Rotterdam            2009                 “First View” exam exhibition

Brussels              2009                  Musma gallery  “Stick it hard” , poster exhibition

Rotterdam            2008                  International concert hall “de Doelen” photo exhibition

Rotterdam            2008                  North Sea Jazz poster exhibition, Ahoy

Amsterdam          2006                  Alphabet in architecture, photo exhibition

PUBLICATIONS

Riga                       2010                 Latvian newsportal tvnet.lv , cartoon

Groningen            2010                 Jan Kruis boek, Maarten Toonder prijs, comics

Paris                      2010                 Café Babel online magazine, comics

Gouda                   2009                  Comic Book “Life is a bitch”

Riga                       2009                  Baltic Outlook magazine, portret

Riga                       2009                  Baltic comics magazine “Kush”, comics #4

Rotterdam             2009                 Krooning catalogus, illustration

Rotterdam             2008                 Nominated for the Zuid-Hollandse vormgevingsprijs

Riga                        2008                 Childrens magazine “Ezis”, illustration

Gouda                    2007                 Krant van Gouda, winning photo

Gouda                    2006                 Krant van Gouda, winning photo

Rotterdam             2006                 R’uit magazine, illustration

BEURZEN

Gouda  (may)        2010                 Strips op de markt

Utrecht                    2009                 Stripbeurs