ITW – Dailydoodlegram, the Instragram phenomenon
Dailydoodlegram, created by Geffen Refaeli a young illustrator from Tel Aviv, has become a true Instagram phenomenon. The idea: each day, she posts an illustration on Instagram, drawn from her collage of inspirations from objects and pieces of photos on Instagram or inspired by her friends’ photographs, creating a fun and dreamlike world. Between serious and completely crazy illustrations and a constant search for a style, her work in black and white and watercolour evolves with each new post and collaboration. We caught up with the artist to ask her a few questions.
Did the Dailydoodlegram project start after you posted your first doodle on Instagram, or was it a project you had thought through beforehand?
The project totally created itself! I didn’t know what it was in the beginning; I was just doodling for myself, using people’s photos during a boring class. When I uploaded my first doodle, it turned out people were really excited by the idea, and witnessing something they saw and photographed become something else. Instagram was still not THAT big at the time, and using it as a platform for art or illustration was pretty rare. So it was very different back then and I decided pretty randomly I could do one each day. In the beginning, my style was very different; I think I developed my technique and aesthetic as I went along.
Could you describe your first doodle?
The first one was just a random collection of objects from many different photos, a collage and mix of things. It was very basic and rough, nothing like what I do now.
When did you start doodling? How did you find your style?
I haven’t found it yet; I’m still searching for it! I feel I have many different styles, that my work is a bit scattered: more or less naive, in color or black and white, more serious or really silly. But people tell me they recognize my drawings, so I suppose, even if I can’t always see it, that there is some kind of link between everything I make.
You wrote on Facebook that your mission is to have fun; do all your doodles have a funny story behind them?
I don’t recall EVER writing such a thing! God help me, I wish my mission were to just have fun! But I am too neurotic for that. I think I’m mostly trying to get things right, to figure things out, and on the way, if I’m lucky, also have some fun!
Where do you need to be to be able to create – a quiet space, a crowded place or to listen to music?
It really depends on what I’m working on. Sometimes I need to lock myself inside a room and not go out until I have created something. Other times I get inspiration from being away from my regular surroundings, by seeing new things, being in nature or in a foreign city.
I have learned that if I need to produce anything, I need a few weird elements: a safe space, somewhere I feel secure, quiet and stable, a space that makes me calm; only instrumental music in the background or (yes, this is strange) very monotonic and long lectures on different subjects, like physics, that I only understand 30% of; plants, I need living plants around me. Another thing I found out is that I work better with limited materials. I feel more able when I have only what I need around me regarding art supplies etc., and not a ton of materials, colors and books. That took me years to figure out, and it was especially hard to comprehend as I am a collector by nature.
What tool do you favor to draw with?
I love ink and watercolors – that’s usually what I use. I like their immediate quality, the fact that by nature, they stop me from being so obsessive and a perfectionist. Or at least they help moderate it!
You collaborated with OLOW for the 2017 Fall-Winter collection. You also have your own online shop. How does it feel to see your doodles worn by people? You must be proud!
I really am! I’m so happy about it. The other day when I walked into the shop to visit and saw my shirts there, hanging on the beautiful racks, I was so proud! I love the clothes OLOW makes, but also the brand’s entire aesthetic and mindful agenda in the making of them. I can’t wait to maybe see someone walk by me with my illustration on their shirt!
Who else have you also collaborated with? I have done a few fashion collaborations. The latest is a collaboration I’m super excited about with a brand from Tel Aviv called Shuff. It’s a collection of 6 different silk scarves, beautifully made and printed, which will launch this October!
What’s next for Dailydoodlegram?
Well, I’m working on a number of things that are still a secret, but I hope to do as many collaborations as possible with artist and brands I love, to do more fashion collaborations as I want to create more patterns. I also really want to draw something really big in a format I have never experimented with before.
Buy now Dailydoodlegram’s items !
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More information about Dailydoodlegram on her website and her Instagram !
