Where you can buy my books?
Some of my publications, zines, artprints and other good stuff are for sale in various (independed) bookstores:
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Vetgedrukt (CBK/TENT), Rotterdam (NL)
Online bookstore
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Athenaeum, Amsterdam (NL)
Spui 14-16, 1012XA
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Agent Troublant, Marseille (FR)
7 rue Pastoret, Cr Julien, 13006
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Printroom, Rotterdam (NL)
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Renate Comics, Berlin (DE)
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Rubicund Books & coffeee (UK)
St Georges Arcade, 5 - 7 ChurchSt, Falmouth
TR11
https://www.instagram.com/rubicundbooks/
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Hello!
My name is Saskia van Amstel I am an illustrator and indie publisher based in Rotterdam creating works about life and humans, under the name Burning Desk. My markers and pencils are my weapons of choice, but I also like to use mixed media like working with clay, collage making.
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Projects
Next to my illustration works I'm also doing my own projects where social causes & (International) collaborations with other illustrators and publishers have the focus. You may approach me for zine & selfpublishing related things, or if you are looking for a nice refreshing concept for your organization where experiment & connecting people via a lowkey way is your goal! Check my projects HERE
Burning Desk Books
With a passion for (visual) books and zines I fell in love with the selfpublish community. As a publisher I publish my own books and try to build a platform for makers from minority groups (with a focus on artists of colour) to share valuable information about the selfpublish community, help them with publishing books and to promote the publications of other artists of colour.
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I combine my work with a lot of traveling cause I like to explore new places and meet people from different backgrounds. Since I lived & worked for a few years in Berlin you can find me often working from there cause this city inspires me a lot and to visit my friends there.
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Artbook events, projects and exhibitions:
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2024
FUGU collective (UK), platform that connect with video makers and illustrators/graphic designers, member since April 2023
9 June: Tiny Zine Fest, Rotterdam(NL) Organization / exhibitor @ Gallery Niffo
Collab sticker design: 'Shyness is useless' quote by artist & publisher Laur Pontak, design by Burning Desk
19-21 April: South Explorer group exhibition, Rotterdam (NL) @
4-6 April: Collab merch sale with illustrator 'Dirty like the weeds', Berlin (Germany) @ RAW Gelande
17 February: Youpron fanzine fair, Paris (France) @ the DOC
Artweek Rotterdam (NL), group exhibition @ 701 by Werklicht
Zine Fest Berlin: Fight for Argentinia (Germany) @ Neukolln
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2023
Boston Artbook Fair (USA) @ Boston Center for the Arts (BCA)
Tiny Zine Fest, Berlin (Germany) @ Vetomat
MISS READ, Berlin (Germany) @ Hause der Kulturen die Welt (HKW)
Cross Comix zine kiosk, Rotterdam @ Cross Comix festival in Armenius
Cross Comix pop-up store, Rotterdam @ All Caps festival
'POP' group exhibition, Zaandam (NL) @ PLAYroom art gallery
We are Zanna (UK) @online artprint sale
Comics and Beers, Rotterdam (NL) @ Rotown
Shake XL 'some kind of artbookfair', Bristol (UK) @ The Mount Without Church
Artweek Rotterdam (NL), group exhibition @ 701
Artweek Rotterdam (NL), group exhibition 'about a woman' @ 701
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2022
Boston Artbook Fair 2022 @ Boston Center for the Arts (BCA)
Start research 'How to be (more) eco-friendly as an illustrator' sponsored by @stimuleringsfonds
'Grief visualized', 10 month long research about; how young adults deal with grieve and loss. sponsored by @stimuleringsfonds
'LOL FUN' illustration selected by Boijmans for group exhibition @ on the streets at Beurs and Rotterdam Central station
2021
'Give me back my privacy' (painting) group exhibition @ Kunsthal Rotterdam
'Kunst blijft slapen project' @ Kunsthal Rotterdam
Burning Desk pop-up store (group exhibition) @ Kunsthal Rotterdam
All You Can Art (summer recidency) by IBB Curacao @ Kunsthal Rotterdam
'Who's my sugar daddy? / unfairtrade (research about my family name/past)' exhibition @Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
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2018/2020
'Art Sundays' @collabs in my studio in Moabit with other artists
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2019
MISS READ artbook fair Berlin @HKW
Friends with books artbook event Berlin @
Open studio day/artroute @my place in Moabit Berlin
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Book Publications:
Book about my experiences with racism (coming soon)
'How to be (more) eco-friendly as an illustrator'
60 pages manuscript/research
Cover: full color, inside pages black & white
Limited edition (250)
Published on: 27 April 2023
Sponsored by: Stimulerings Fonds
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Zines:
'Living in my own bubble, apparently', (2024)
'Take ur pills and relax a lil'l, (2024)
'Barbara is in the woods', (2024)
'Music saved my soul', (2024)
'Mean things people said about Edgar Allan Poe in Boston' (2024)
'It's a hard world with a lot of dicks', (2024)
'Creepy ass white van', (2024)
'French class in the Netherlands', (2024)
'Berlin du bist so geil', (2021/2023)
'Things I like about Boston', (2023)
'I like dinosaurs', (2018/2023)
'5 minutes recipes' (2023)
'Songs that makes you feel better', (2023)
'Plankton', (2023)
'Weird dreams', (2023)
'Fun things to tell at parties' (2022)
'I like ur nose', (2022)
'I need to do something with cosmos and shit (before october the 5th)', (2022)
'Things I cannot draw', (2022)
'Really bad movies 18+', (2022)
'TV series from the 90's I like', (2022)
'Sharks don't cry', (2022)
'We are not ur little amusement' (2022)
'Things I like', (2022)
'Made in China', (2021)
'Who's my sugar daddy?', (2021)
'Covid 19 zine part 2', (2021/2022)
'Covid 19 zine part 1', (2020/2021)
'Das ist nicht normal, das ist abnormal', (2019)
'I am a bad poet and I know it', (2019)
'Doctor Pill (this ain't my first rodeo son), (2018)
'My sad diary' (2018)
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Renate Comics, Berlin
My little helpers from hell. Tofu and Pepper always love to assist while I'm working, we adopted them from Spain cause they could not find a home there due their blindness. Tofu is fully blind and her brother Pepper halfblind, but don't let this fool you, they are highly passionated in curating my works and trashing my studio <:)
Burning Desk
In 2018 I moved to Berlin to focus on my creativity to figure out what I wanted to do with it. During the 3 years living and working there Burning Desk was born. Tho I was making illustrations in the years leading up to it, I really start using this name in 2019 on social media. I see my time in Berlin as the real startingpoint of Burning Desk. Looking back at the process in the years before 2018, it was all a huge part of me going to be where I am today as an artist.
2008/2014 - Freelance photographer & graphic designer
For a long time I freelanced as a photographer and graphic designer. I worked with clients like; BART Den Bosch, CBK Den Bosch, Maijke Husstege Den Bosch, Aves Internet (Oss), Holland America Line and for small businesses and individual requests. Tho I don't like to do graphic design and photography for a living I still use it in the things I make today.
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2012 - Photographer, Holland America Line
For a year I worked as a photographer on Holland America Line cruiseships. Together with the rest of my team I photographed during events and special occasions onboard, on locations during tours in the countries we visited and shooting portraits of the passengers in our own studio(s). During this job I lived onboard of 2 HAL ships (MS Ryndam & MS Rotterdam) and traveled half the world.
Next to my job as photographer I was also trained as a Traffic Director to assist passengers to their life-rafts in case of emergency. In the weekly crew and passenger drills we got onboard we would practice any kind of emergency to get all the certificates needed.