Museum of Public Art

Last month I went to Lund and visited the Museum of Public Art together with the students at the course in Public Art - Gestaltningsprocesser - at KKV (I'm teaching the screen printing part). I hadn't been there for like 15 years and it's so worth the visit. The museum has a fantastic collection of sketches and models for Public Art Pieces from both Sweden and the rest of the world. Right now they are constructing a section for Mexican murals! 

different ways of sketching, constructing models and parts of the work process - very interesting for artists to look at, of course.

Huge sketches by Matisse for the chapel in Vence-

Sketch for Mexican mural.

close up

paintings by Sonia Delaunay (sketches for murals), among others.

Plaster model for mould for sculpture by Henry Moore

working in my studio

I'm finally really into my own work again and I don't want anything to come and disturb my focus. I'm prepared to eat just white cabbage and carrots for the rest of my life and at this moment I feel that I don't even need any appreciation or encouragement - just let me continue and I'll be happy ... 

Inauguration at Stensjön's Preschool

Today I attended the Official Inauguration of Stensjön's Preschool. It was a grey and chilly day - but the balloons, the children singing and the pedagogues' enthusiasm when acting totally distracted us.

... and then I got flowers. I so love getting flowers.

(the fence behind the Portal is just temporary - to protect the grass to give it a chance to get rooted)

art for the people

drowning it; Attempt II

what to do with all those screen prints?

Drown it 
Attempt II (another screen print)

a sunny day - in every sense

Today the sun light was fantastic and everything felt good in the studio. Somehow I felt fine with the current circumstances - not having any public art commissions going on, no more teaching summer courses in screen printing... My money will last for some time and I should just stay cool - and cherish this opportunity to be free to work on my own art.

I've done a lot of thinking lately as it has been 10 years (in May) since I started my company as an artist. And in autumn it will be five years since I wrote my first post in my Art as Business series. What have I achieved? Am I on the right track?

more screen printing

I continued screen printing all week - trying out some different options. I want to do something new, something different than before.

For two months now I've felt kind of lost. I've been trying to get my motivation and passion back. Could it be the time of the year? Or that I spend almost no time working on my own art last autumn and summer (just working on commissioned art) - and that I just have a hard time getting started again? 

Anyway; last week was fun screen printing!

and some screen printing ...

from today and the other week

Now I know how to weld!

Last week was a busy one; first I taught screen printing four days and then I learned welding and metal construction for three days (thus no weekend off for me!). The very first day welding seemed almost impossible - especially seeing through that small dark square in the helmet, but also keeping my hand steady - but the second day I suddenly could both see and control!

I see so many possibilities with this knowledge and of course the access to the metal workshops at KKV. I'm planning some small practical welding projects for fixing things in the studio to continue right ahead.

sticks and balloons

what to do with all those screen prints III

make discrete street art 

what to do with all those screen prints II

Drown it.

I thought she would drown in style
but she just collapsed
and looked like any trashy paper

what to do with all those screen prints I

make roof art

I don't like pink very much

... but sometimes you don't have a choice ...

more celebration!

My company - as an artist - will celebrate its 10th anniversary in May. Oh, my - times flies! This probably also calls for some serious thoughts about what I'm doing right and wrong .............................................  but for now I will just blow my 200 pink balloons in my studio and hardly work.

I mean work hard.

UPDATE: hardly work turned out to be more correct

KKV is celebrating 40 years!

This year KKV Göteborg - Collective Artists' Workshops - is celebrating 40 years. To celebrate the anniversary KKV will give new members a 50 % reduction on the member fee (this year). So If you have ever thought about joining - now you should grab the opportunity!

And there is this great course in welding at KKV led by Arta Dehghanpour (who has been helping me with welding for my aluminum commissions) - why don't you sign up for it? (I have)

printmaking group exhibit

Today is the Opening of the exhibit "Tryckfrihet"at Kungsbacka Konsthall where I'm exhibiting together with other members of Grafik i Väst (a printmaking associations).

back to my own work - finally

Three layers printed. Next week I'll print the last layer.

Last year, especially the second half of it, I didn't manage to get much time for working on my own art. The eternal story! This spring though, I have less projects booked - no commissions! - and I'm looking forward to some serious time playing around! 

Yesterday and today I was at KKV screen printing. 
Everyone was asking "are you here to here to prepare for teaching?" 
I said "no" and smiled "not this time" 

Like the birds

The book that comes with the Portal is called "Såsom Fåglarna" (like the birds) - here you can see some of the spreads. (Only three of the spreads have text.) Basically it's the story of a child going through the Portal - by following a woodpecker - to the land of the fairy tale where he/she hangs out with some birds doing things birds do. The story is supposed to work for children between 1,5 to 6 years old - which I found to be a challenge; to make it simple enough to be understood by the youngest and still keep the oldest children intrigued ...

playing with the Portal

Yesterday I visited the preschool -  now that the children have moved in - and showed them how to use the theater curtains and read them the book (photos of the book coming up very soon!). And of course I took some photos - but I haven't yet gotten the permission from the parents to use the photos - so therefore I've blurred the faces above . (If I don't get the permission I'll have to switch their faces for my son's face in different ages in photoshop ... so I still can use the photos for applications and such. Because I don't want the photos the blurred way!)

Update: I got the parents' permissions!

2 x Swedish forrest

Nina Bondeson is right now exhibiting at Galleri 1. An exhibition well worth visiting!

The day before yesterday - before we got some snow - I visited a forrest where I'll make a workshop in spring with a preschool on the theme sculpture and nature. I'm planning something that is part installation, part land art, part fairy tale. It will be something like the visual play workshops I did last year. Same same but different.

my screen printing workshops this spring

The new year has started and what could be better than to learn something new?

KKV (collective artists' workshops) has now published the new KKV Göteborg course program at their website (only in Swedish). Many great courses to sign up for!  I will be teaching two workshops  one in March and one in April.

Summing up 2013

Summing up last year is for me the best way of starting the new year.  I'm very self critical and can often be hard on myself feeling I haven't achieved as much as I wished I had. Looking back at 2013 I can't deny I've been seeing some results (worked harder than ever!). But I must say I keep giving a very split impression, at least in my own eyes... (my constant problem)

I exhibited my laughters on paper on white walls in a separate exhibition in a gallery and my sticky smiles in a group exhibition outdoors.

I started the year by finishing my children's book for the illustrated children's book course at HDK - then exhibited it twice with my fellow students and read it for children - and finished the year by completing (another) book for Stensjön's preschool as part of a commissioned art piece (the Portal)

I also moved in to a bigger, brighter and better studio and received the Cultural Grant from the City.

Pedagogically I worked with everything from teaching big format screen printing at HDK to leading a wall painting project with teenagers - and engaging preschool children in visual play in the forrest.

In  autumn/winter I concentrated on completing two public commissions.