concrete: one step further

not anything ready-made this time. 100% Alexandra made.

When I teach screenprinting I always try to get my students to understand that experimenting and really learning the new material and techniques is the main thing on a course and that you should never hope to make something good when experimenting. And then I very often show them my first totally boring screenprint (when I learn a new technique or material I always at first make awful or boring stuff). So at the concrete course I tried to keep that open mind myself (but of course I secretly anyway always - deep inside - hope to make a master piece). I made a lot of tests and experiment (I won't show you a horrible horrible little dog I made - good experiment though).  As I got totally blank - not one single good idea - I just reused Snow white with accessories from my commission (she became a bit too sweet though). This piece isn't really finished yet - it should harden for 3 weeks and then I'll treat the surface in different ways and show you.

my first concrete casting

a simple way of casting: a ready made form (old plastic cookie box) with my rubber shapes glued to the bottom. (if any one wonders: it's a basket with apples)

two days later

when the concrete is dry (and paler): colouring with copper sulphate

the right one (isn't mine) is coloured with iron sulphate

Gerlesborg

the schoolbuilding where the restaurant is also located, and where I had my room as well. Gerlesborg has an Art School (many of the students continue studying Fine Art a the schools that really count) with boarding. At summer and during school vacation - when the school is empty - they offer a program of art courses for people in general; mostly in watercolour. The concrete casting course is kind of an exception as it's more intended for professional artists/art teachers/architects.

Gerlesborg was the watercolour master Arne Isaksson's place.

there was a watercolour course going on at the same time. When I arrived they were painting sea creatures Even though the landscape was stunning, the food superb and the accommodation good - that was not my reason to be here. I was here to learn how to cast in concrete. And tomorrow I'll let you in on what I learned.

Gerlesborg: landscape

Yesterday I came back from Gerlesborg where I spend a wonderful six days learning about concrete. This part of Bohuslän has a very dramatic landscape and I enjoyed the scenery immensely. But the first night, just after dinner, I learned that my so had broken his leg in a bike accident and then I couldn't sleep all night ... the very next day I pulled myself together though; me not enjoying my stay and the course wouldn't make him feel any better, would it? (he's got a wonderful father being very capable of taking care of him)

I'll be back on Tuesday

Tomorrow I'm going away for my concrete course and I won't be blogging. But I've packed my camera so I'll fill you in when I'm back.

still summer, but a new year

For me the new year always starts after summer vacation - not in January.  Going back to work I'm always astonished by everything I have to do. It's never a slow start. This new year's start was mounting my public commission and every single day in August I have something booked. On Thursday I'll go away a week for a concrete casting course learning something new. I'm so looking forward to it (and it's actually work - as art is my business)! On coming back the roles will be the opposite and I'll continue teaching the screenprinting summer course to the design students.  But this is actually good planning - September and October will be only studio time!

... and it is completed

I looked at it and I thought it was good.

(I will come back another day and take better photos though - the bright light today didn't do the colours justice. Cloudy weather, like yesterday, is the best)

putting it all together

I'm a bit too tired right now to comment the process of mounting, it will have to wait until everything is finished. We'll continue tomorrow.

before mounting

The façade looking very empty and all the pieces for my art piece inside the sports hall waiting to be mounted.

Camilla's wall piece

The other day I got the opportunity to see Camilla's wall piece for a school (a public commission). It's very good and very Camilla (which is the same thing), but I won't show you more than this... you will have to wait until it's mounted and Camilla has posted about it.

summer sketchbook

vacation

commissioned colours

yellow

Black

Orange

Green and the backside of blue (there are also red and light grey)

black and white

Today - even though I'm still on vacation - I checked out how the powder spray painted white worked together with what I masked out three weeks ago. I must say I'm pleased with the result! The other parts in colour looked fine as well (I'll show you tomorrow), the only thing left to do for the powder spray paint company Guson is to lacquer with a special anti-graffiti layer. In two weeks time I'll be in the middle of mounting the art piece. But until that week: no work ...

studio

Picasso's last home and studio, from the book "Goodbye Picasso" I'm still on vacation, dreaming about a bigger studio... I was Local Pigeon's Storify on July 18th

beach 2011

on vacation

on vacation

we're on vacation now!  I might pop in here now and then anyway, but I won't be back working until first week in August.

white = light

I've been thinking about painting my studio floor white since I moved in almost two years ago. As you can see it's making a big difference when it comes to the light in the room, but it will also help me with my concentration. I mostly use the floor as my working space and I've found it's darkness and colour spots distracting - even though I've liked that rough and industrial feeling.

going to fix that mess

This is the last week of work before summer vacation and I've reserved this time for reorganizing and fixing my studio! I'll be painting the floor and some furniture white and finally think through my storage system - I'm a very chaotic person so I really need a better system or I will get back to this point again in no time.