Introductions

A brief introduction to the purpose of our gathering

Welcome to Sonja Bajic Creative - my substack! 

If you are receiving this in your inbox, you probably know who I am. Rest assured, I won't bombard you with spam related to my Substack content. I simply wanted to inform you that I have a Substack now, and I will only send occasional Newsletters to share my writings/drawings/process with you. Like I did until now. Moving forward, I will primarily send these to both free and paid Substack subscribers.

In the event that you have come across this message and are wondering: I am Sonja (sounds more or less like Sonia) and this is my newsletter. I am a mapmaker, designer and illustrator. I am always creating something so I am an artist as well. I live in Paris. 

Me on Promenade Plantee. Photo by a photographer friend Nevena Popovic.

Why Substack?

I wanted to make more commitment to my newsletters (that were on Mailchimp until now) and my musings and I also wanted a new space where I can write/draw/explore (like 100DaysOfParis) and not feel obliged to produce content for the sake of algorithms (like Patreon or Instagram). 

There is a paid option here on Substack - some process and personal stories will be only for paid subscribers. I appreciate the opportunity to provide free offerings for those who may not be able to afford a subscription, while also offering additional content for those who can.

What is Substack?

This space is ever evolving and if you subscribe, besides the newsletters, these are some of the things that you will find in your inbox while I explore them:

• Stories about Paris

• Maps of places

• Creativity ideas, embroidery and art projects

• Hand drawn recipes

• Book recommendations and book covers

• Apartment garden reports

• My favourite (new and old) places in Paris, exhibitions and general musings

• Travelogue

• Digital art experiments and processes

• My book ideas - old and new

• Cheese Diary (of course!)

If you were wondering…

Paris

I have been living in Paris since January of 2012. I am not a francophile, but I like France and what the people of France created over centuries - I have a lot of respect for their efforts and ideas. I write and draw and paint Paris and France all the time. 

I also feel very connected to my hometown of Novi Sad. I like that there are people of all origins there, that the Danube is near and that it is flat. Very flat. I visit my family often and I have a lot of projects, mostly feminist ones, there.

Work

I work a lot and I like working. I design visual identities and I also illustrate and draw maps, books and book covers and life. When I am not working or creating, I am going for long walks, reading, cooking and drawing recipes or visiting exhibitions. Paris always gives you a lot of inspiration and I take it. I also write and I will write about all these fun things here.

My friend Allison told me that she has a friend who writes every day what she experienced on that particular day. Sometimes I paint those moments but I couldn’t keep up with every day drawing/painting. Life is just too busy. So I hope that this space will mark my days and celebrate life. 

Tea

I drink a lot of tea and I really like cheese. I talk about that often.

That’s it for now. Who are you? Don't hesitate to greet and introduce yourself in the comments section. Share your origin and interests with us. What makes you happy this week?

I hope you’ll stick around.