Always dreaming, always imagining
Hi! My name is Cleo Rinofner, the person behind polterink. A lifelong weirdo with too much imagination and too little time. In some ways, still that same kid that first picked up a pencil and started drawing. In some ways, far too lost in the bitterness of adulthood. But always ready to return to pen and paper and lose themself in their own worlds.
Currently, I haunt the lovely city of Graz in Styria, Austria. You know, the little European country everybody mistakes for Australia. We are the ones with Mozart and Schnitzel, not kangaroos and Steve Irving. – Verdammt noch a mal!
But ultimately, I’m most at home in my own imagination. Conjuring up fantastical worlds inhabited by strange and beautiful creatures and people. And my humble goal in life and career as an artist is to share as much as I can of these worlds. Or help others bring to life their own imagined worlds.
I want to make life just a bit more wondrous and strange. Additionally, I want to create space and community for those of us who refuse to give up our dreaming, wandering imaginations. Which feels ever harder in a world getting increasingly hostile to them. But I believe they are a core essence of our very humanity and we should fight for them, tooth and nail.
Mixing Things up
In my work, I like to experiment and try out new things. Be it through different drawing tools, programs or ways of working. I also really enjoy mixing up different art mediums in a single artwork to see how they interact with and complement each other.
It’s important to me to not stagnate. To be open to new approaches, ideas and inputs. Art and creativity are all about forging new paths and making exciting discoveries. Not about trudging along a beaten path.
Quality First
While I enjoy staying flexible and experimental in my art, the one thing that always stays consistent is my effort to produce quality work.
In my own projects or when collaborating with others, I will do my utmost to deliver consistently great results that I would be proud to share with the world. I don’t really operate on “good enough”, but on “excellent”. Does that sometimes mean I end up producing more work for myself? Yes, but it also means that my artistic contributions will be the best that I can give at that given moment.
WHAT I’M THINKING ABOUT at the moment…
“Hollow” by Brian Catling
I am a huge fan of FromSoftware’s video games, like “Dark Souls”, “Bloodborne” and most recently “Elden Ring”. So on a whim, I searched for books that have a similar vibe to FromSoftware games. Because they do have a certain atmosphere that is very unique to them and that I deeply enjoy. Also, I was curious if there is literature that might feel similar to it.
Which then led me to stumble upon the late Brian Catling’s novella “Hollow”. And it really delivered on the FromSoftware vibes, and so much more. Not only is this book incredibly beautifully written, but the world Catling creates is strange, wondrous, absurd and utterly captivating. From eternal wars fought between the living and the dead, Oracles fed with bones infused with the sins of men, to old women forging pacts with misbegotten creatures, this book is unlike anything I have ever read.
Creating a digital Garden
I have been on a journey to decouple myself from the mindlessness ways we have been conditioned to consume media. Like watching shows while simultaneously looking at your phone or scrolling Instagram Reels for an hour. Little things like that.
One of those ways that really has helped me forge a new relationship to my media consumption is the creation of a digital garden. This video by YouTube creator Anna Howard explains pretty well what that could look like and how it can fundamentally change the way you interact with media.
The TL;DR version of it is meticulous note-taking. – When reading, listening to podcasts, watching movies, or playing games. And then using a software called Obsidian to digitize those notes and create an interconnected web of all your different thoughts, insights and ideas.
I am still very much in the beginning of creating my digital garden, but I have definitely already seen the benefits of this practice. It already has fundamentally changed my own way of thinking, experiencing the world and learning from it.
“Company of one” by Paul Jarvis
For the longest time, I’ve had the feeling that the way I approach my freelance business has not quite been working. So instead of stumbling around in the dark, I decided I wanted to educate myself on the business-side of things. And this is when I found Paul Jarvis’ book “Company of One”. This book really resonated with me. It has a huge focus on debunking the idea that businesses need infinite growth and puts its focus on detailing the ways in which small business owners, or “solopreneurs” can find success and community precisely by staying small.
It is a very insightful read, and I will definitely return to it and reread it again and again. This book gave me hope, it gave me actionable ideas, and it gave me perspectives on how I can create a business that is sustainable and hopefully profitable without me having to abandon my values and ideals.