Hey, I am Alex!
Alex Zappa, or rather, Aleksandra Zapotoczna, - Lower Salesian illustrator, graphic designer, and a painter. My nickname is an anglicized abbreviation of my name and surname, invented for the purposes of working in the UK and Italy, where I lived for several years.
Lower Silesian Witch?
I like to think of myself as a "witch" and when someone calls me that, I thank them for the compliment. For me, every woman who is creative and follows her intuition is a witch.
The Witch Mountain by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
Creatvie race always ongoing in my head
Creating, manufacturing and making something out of nothing is my element. Although I seem to be an oasis of peace, there is still a creative race going on in my head. I would like to do everything, or preferably everything at the same time - paint, sculpt, renovate and travel.
Preferably in the company of my beloved fur babies - the Polish Lowland Sheepdog Marzipan, two mutts from the shelter Gigi and Tota, and 5 cats.
I come from Złoty Stok, in Lower Silesia
I come from Złoty Stok, in Lower Silesia. After many years of finding my own way, I came to the conclusion that I feel most inspired here and this is where I belong.
A sketch from Złoty Stok by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
I don't like when someone calls me an "artist"
I don't consider myself an artist, more of a producer.
The beauty of a small art
My art is small, it gives me great joy to create it and I am very happy when my creations make someone happy. However, I don't think what I'm doing is groundbreaking.
Life as an inspiration
I try to live in harmony with myself and what my fate brings me. I don't like publicity, so it's hard for me to talk about myself, I prefer to do things rather than brag about them. I am an introvert by nature and since childhood I have experienced everything around me deeply!
The golden dear by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
I was born in the second half of the 1980s
I have been living and working in Złoty Stok in Lower Silesia since I was a child, apart from several years of emigration - from which I always returned to my homeland.
My childhood was idyllic
I was (and still am) lucky to live in a beautiful house near a forest, with a garden extending into the Śnieżnicki Landscape Park. My father bought this house in the 1960s. There were always animals in the house
In my house, animals were always present as well
Together with the neighborhood kids and our four-legged friends, we spent whole days in the forest - building dugouts, huts and discovering the secrets of tunnels forgotten by time and people, the entrance to which is guarded by forest thickets.
There are plenty of such places in Złoty Stok
Since my mother loved to read, and sometimes made up on the spot, fairy tales about fantastic creatures (such as trolls or fairies), my imagination was very active from an early age.
I loved all books with legends and fairy tales
preferably the beautifully illustrated ones, which my parents lavished on me. Living close to nature and contact with fantastic worlds created in fairy tales and films, as well as the stories I heard about the history of the region, probably shaped my personality.
The variety of styles
I have quite a wide range of style, depending on the subject matter and media I work with - I illustrate for children and teenagers, I have also created designs for games and fantasy books for adults, but apparently it always shows.
Enchanted castle by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
Lower Silesia - everything I need is here
There is a house near the forest with a veranda, there are my beloved cats, and a dog. There is a forest nearby, my forest, the most beautiful in the world. There are paths trodden by me and my beloved mountains.
Photography - another pasion
There are my kids from the Photography Club, where I was an instructor, and there are a million topics here, in which I would like to be involved. Local people and nature is an unlimited source of inspiration.
Jedlovec (Bílá Voda) by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
Townspeople by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
Once I settled here, I discovered so much inspiration
I received a proposal to develop a visual identification for the Gold Mine in Złoty Stok and for the newly opened Tourist Information Point.
Daughters of the River by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
For many months, I worked on illustrations for guidebooks and creating maps. I walked around the area, taking photos and sketching buildings, streets, and parts of forests in order to collect materials for the publication.
The sleeping dragon by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
It was probably then that the idea of creating illustrated fairy tales based on local legends occurred to me for the first time.
Winterscape by Alex ZappaThe Gold Mine in Złoty Stok
The only problem was that of course - I can create illustrations without any problem, but I don't have the texts. An author would be useful. Then it turned out that my friend from Złoty Stok, Małgorzata Szumska, the owner of Złoty Stok, was the author of the books!
She wanted to write local legends, but she didn't have an illustrator, so the idea began to take shape. Collecting materials and creating illustrations for Fairy Tales and Legends of the Golden Mountains took almost two years.
We both come from Złoty Stok and we love this region, and this book was based on this affection to our homeland.
Local folklore means inspiration
For 3 years, every year we have published a new calendar in which we present our Slavic beliefs and myths using text and illustrations. And my latest works revolve around these topics. They are related to Polish and local folklore, and this is one of my biggest inspirations.
The illustrations used in this story were designed by Alex Zappa.
