I'm home

Happy New Year!

"Fame and Success"

I have a new scanner. I haven't had one for some time now - and now it's so nice to be able to scan my smaller art pieces. Photos didn't do them justice and I had a hard time getting even light on them.

New Years Resolutions?

1. I will kill more dragons (which to me is to do things I'm afraid of. Things I avoid to do because I'm comfortable, or because I risk to embarrass myself).
2. I will continue to collect nice people (ignore the unpleasant ones).
3. I'll be better with my paperwork.
4. I'll listen more and talk less;)

eagle fight

As it's after Christmas I can reveal one of the gifts. This is a t-shirt with eagles printed on it - eagles fighting. But I never got enough time to make something for my son's trains... maybe something for his birthday instead?

Merry Christmas!

I'm (of course) taking some days off for Christmas. And then some days off to recover a bit from a busy autumn. But I might be back already the days before New Year. You never know.

And - crossing fingers helped. I'm going to make the animal enamels in the beginning of next year - with the text under the images.

everlasting enamel story

It's late - almost 23:00 - and I'm still working. Tomorrow I'll meet these people about the enamels for the 11 entrances. Originally it was supposed to be 11 art pieces giving identity to each entrance. Then they wanted to have the number - and then the street name - on the enamel (BIG!). And the names of the animals. I've been trying to convince them to have it on a separate enamel - but I'm not getting through to them. So now I'm trying very hard to get them to understand that having it UNDER is the way to go. Above (which they want) is like putting a lid on it, to take away the importance from the animals, to make it even more into a street sign with an illustration on it - not an art piece. Besides - I'm an artist not a graphic designer. I want to work with the picture - not the letters... (size of enamels will be approx 35x40 cm)

Cross your fingers and think "under", "under", "under"...

Christmas Smörgåsbord at KKV

Darkness, massive darkness. And there it was, at the façade of KKV, Vladimir's angel. Angels must also have been involved in the preparing of the (for members) free "julbord" (Christmas Smörgåsbord). Delicious!

I just came back home from KKV (and the "julbord"). I've not been there lately as much as I used to be. I was on the board for five years responsible for the printing workshop; also functioning first as the secretary then as the vice president. But I "resigned" last spring. KKV is an amazing place with workshops for printing (copper graphics, screen, lithography), textile, bronze, carpentry, metal, ceramics, enamels and glass. And it's not expensive to be a member.

enamel montage

I'm fixing with the montage of the enamels (made in November). These are 20x15 cm. I mount a little piece of wood on the back (where I also hang them) to get them to magically float at a distance from the wall. I made several small ones like these. They are supposed to be together.

I'm planning a new website for my art - so I'm looking around for good (and bad) examples. I also come along a lot of art - like Barnaby Whitfield . I both like and dislike his art.

last Christmas

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart But the very next day, You gave it away. This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special ...

No seriously: Last Christmas I made this little stove (hight approx 40-50 cm) for my son. It looks like our own (real) stove. This year I want to make something as well. But what? I'm soon running out of time. Maybe something for his little trains? We'll see. Anyhow - this week I'm a bit busy with Christmas preparations - I don't know if I'll have time to paint...

wrapping

We started to wrap Christmas gifts last weekend. We alway have so fun making them look different and appealing. It actually feels like a pity to open them - and destroy them - later.

flow

I've had a day of total flow in the studio. I finally finished this big (ca 90x60 cm) watercolour/acrylic and started a new one that feels very promising. Alice in Wonderland - one of the influences for this painting - pops up now and then in my art. Sometimes the reference might just be a bunny. Normally I'm more influenced by the story then the illustrations - but this time I had Sir John Tenniel's original illustrations in the back of my head when painting.

Maria Heed's prints has also something "Wonderlandish"over them. Unfortunately she's not showing that many of them on her website. I share drawer with her at Grafik i Väst - an artist run gallery and bank of prints (is that the way to express it?). Every member has a portfolio of prints that you can come and have a look at. Anyway - me and Maria Heed are sharing drawer so of course I check out her prints at a regularly basis.

light in darkness

Sancta Lucia today. I'm always Lucia to my family no matter what. When my father was still alive I used to bike across town in the darkness to surprise him with Lucia bread waking him up with my song (though singing is not one of my talents!). Today I surprised someone else. We need light and nice traditions at this dark time of the year.

another one

Superheroes are stereotypes. And superheroes are in their original form male. And they disguise themselves not to show who they really are. But what if they were women? I continue with my "colouring" (i.e. filling) - in this close up I hope the subtle details are visible.

Eric Magassa has a brand new fantastic website since last week. Not only is he a good artist and illustrator - but the website itself is splendid. My man made it for Eric!

naked/dressed

I'm continuing to work on my screen printed superheroes as I planned. I colour them (or as I call it in Swedish "fylleri-övningar" - hard to translate) playing with how different you can make them look. Naked/dressed is something Vanessa Beecroft works with in her installation as many know. But she has also made some really sensitive paintings (looks like watercolours to me?) that I didn't know about before (so check the link!).

the Painting Police

Last night I held a workshop painting with the Police in their car repair garage. They totally let go, had very fun - and also achieved to create some fun art pieces to hang in their corridors. Compared with the it-consultants (workshop in October together with Eric Magassa) they let go easier and faster - and they were better at collaborating than the children in the preschool (earlier the same day).

"Art Breaks" (konstpauser i julruschen) are opening tonight in Göteborg. 10 artists are displaying art in shopping windows. Bibbi Forsman writes more about it on her blog. Bibbi is also part of the exhibit starting tomorrow at KC Väst (an artist organization, also running a gallery. I'm a member.) . The exhibit features KC's new members - Lisa Gustavsson who shares studio with me is one of them as well! I'll try to be there tomorrow, I promise.

green gremlin

Today I had two workshops. The first one was with my son and three other children at his preschool. The theme was the colour green. The other little children (aged 2-3 year) listened to me and kind of followed instructions. My son was a gremlin, a green one: didn't listen, hit, screamed and pushed the others. He couldn't take to share me... After painting green we cut some silhouettes and glued them on the green and turned it into something.

My second workshop was with the Police, at night. Different than with the children of course! But more about that later, after they have agreed that I post some photos...

visiting architects: seeing art

Last night Klas Parknäs was showing his paintings at NRF (Nordstrand Frisenstam Rung) Architects. Pernilla Nordstrand - one of the architects - used to share studio with me more then ten years ago. Back then I also used to know Klas. I'm lousy at networking (and staying in touch with friends!) - I need to change that ... so I'll try to keep in touch this time. Besides, they are really nice people!

My art classes spring -08

Next year - 2008 - I'll be teaching the following classes at Medborgarskolan, Göteborg.

• Watercolour Wed 10:00-12.15 (ten times)
• Watercolour advanced level Wed 17:30-19.45 (ten times)
• Oil painting Thu 13:30-16:30 (five times)
• Manga Thu 17:00-19:15 (seven times)

All courses start the last week of January.

One of those weeks

This week is turning out to be one of those weeks when I just run around fixing things and preparing. Picking up material here, frames there, my forgotten mobile phone on the other side of town, making photocopies here, buying glue to mount my enamels there...

I'm storing up on my sons abstract paintings (he makes A LOT) planning to use them for my own work - collage! Kirstine Roepstorff (through Saatchi Gallery) makes a different kind of collage.

.. and the glass?

And what about Ditte's glass that I was so curious about? Did I get to see the result yesterday?

Yes, but it was an anticlimax. Ditte wasn't very happy - the screenprinted plants had more or less disappeared when she fused the two glasses together... She has to remake it in a different way.

The glass on the photo is mine - from 2004. I wish I had the time to explore that material more ... maybe later?