Tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Jana & I like to laugh, drink coffee, do yoga, sometimes lift heavy weights, box & often go to museums and art galleries. And travel.
Who are you? What do you do?
I am a passionate graphic designer and illustrator based in Vienna, originally from a small town in Slovakia. Apart from illustration and graphic design, I enjoy different genres of art such as painting, modern sculpture or music.
What do you want people to know about you?
I really like to watch true crime <3
How did you get started with art?
As a young child, I would draw illustrations from books 1 to 1 in my spare time & my parents & family were amused at how accurate I could be. So art or drawing was in my life from an early age. During my studies at secondary school it was present on a daily basis as I attended art school where we learnt how to make all the graphic printmaking techniques such as linocut, drypoint, mezzotint or silkscreen.
How did you find your style?
I do not think I have found my style yet. I am fascinated by colours & shapes & patterns, but my portfolio of more artistic, illustration-based projects is rather wild with many styles. I also used to work with fabric & for my final diploma project I created huge 3D objects representing statistics about superheroes. For the last 2-3 years I have been doing more digital artwork or acrylic paintings.
What would you say is your favourite project that you’ve done?
I really like all the books I did with tons of illustrations for a non-profit organization in Slovakia that travels around the world in a Soviet car called a Lada. Very funny books. And also the activities I did for Ladies, Wine & Design. For example, illustrations of Tigress for the Year of the Tiger, which we now have on our socks merch or textile diploma I still find quite exciting piece of work. 
Do you have any big aspirations you’re working towards with your artwork? And if so, do you mind sharing??
It would be great to have a solo exhibition in one of the galleries in Vienna one day. My process is very slow as I have a full time job, but I am creating a series of paintings about Japan over a longer period of time, based on my personal experience of travelling to Japan alone for 3 weeks. Maybe one day I will exhibit this, and also the opportunity to show some of my work in kaffemik is a nice step forward :)
Tell us a little bit about the art pieces
You Should be Dancing Series, digital artwork
My morning routine is not exactly how I would like to start my day. But I can't help it, I like to sleep in & writing my journal, running 10km or starting with lemon water is the last thing I think about in the morning. I was listening to a podcast where a rather spiritual host said something nice about how to start the day. And the recipe is: take 3 songs, your favourite songs, and dance to them in the morning. It won't take you more than 10 minutes. You should dance more!
Kickboxing Cat, acrylic on canvas
Kickboxing Cat is an older painting from when I first started living in Vienna. The cat is a representation of myself. I deal with frustration and anger. Anger & frustration are represented by a blue cloud wearing blue boxing gloves. There is a very interesting quote from the Dalai Lama, who said: "There is no enemy outside our mind. The real enemies live inside us: anger, ego, greed and hatred". I also like other interpretations of this piece, as my friend told me he believes it is about cats having 9 lives. But isn't that a myth?
What's your relationship with coffee?
It's a difficult relationship :) Because I love coffee & not everywhere I can enjoy a very good cup of coffee. My favourites are flat white, filter or espresso tonic. In very hot weather, cold brew is a must!