Welcome to my artist web Blaidd!

My name is Maiken Van Lierde and i'm a 28 years. I studied at LUCA school of arts in Ghent for my Bachelor degree "Visual Design", with the main study "Illustration and Storyboard".

 

I was born the third of June 1991 in Aalst.
Since my birth I had only two real passions in life, that is animals and arts. So at the age of fifteen I decided to commit my studies toward animal care in the VABI in Roeselare. Although these studies were a lot of fun I saw no future in this direction and decided to take my chance on my 2nd passion by studying for art teacher and art projects in Artvelde high school in Ghent.

 

Unfortunately after three years I was forced to stop my studies, because my teachers found that teaching wasn't my life call...
After this setback I didn't feel quite ready for the work life, so I decided to follow a study as a graphic designer and desktop publisher at Syntra Sint-Niklaas.

 

It is in this training that I discovered my true passion for illustrations and because of my creative design teacher I took my chance at Luca school of arts. Where I finished my last year (2016) in the main study Illustration and Storyboard (Studio Still).

 

So where does the name BLAIDD come from?

Very simple!

BLAIDD is welsh for Wolf. It's a reference to my studies as an animal caregiver and my passion for my two dogs, Monty (a Scottish collie) and Mithra (Czechoslovakian Wolfdog).
But also like a wolf I'm more like a group person and a very caring person, especially for family and friends (and animals), so the name is also personally bound.

And what about the heart shaped trap?

As a true animal lover I really dispise the use of a wolftrap, but at the same time I find it a fascinating object. The way I designed it as my logo, shows exactly how people see me or how I see myself.
One the one side you have the people who first see the trap and afterwards the heart. These are mostly the people who often see me as a strict person at our first meeting. But the more they learn to know me, the more they find out i'm a very sweet, dedicated and caring person.
On the other side you have the persons who first see the heart and afterwards the trap. These are mostly the persons who already know me for a very long time, and know that I will keep on fighting for my family, friends, my passions and where I stand for.