Happy New Year!

(my great grandmother in 1904. I've written about her before here)

working, working ...

(my children's book)

fishes

sinking

Merry Christmas!

work in progress; children's book

I actually decided to go for another script than originally intended (that other project needs more time, and will be saved for later) - and made it easier for myself that way. Hard is not always best

(if anyone wonders; I didn't get any heavenly revelation for my public commission the other day ... but it might still come)

three parallel creative projects

I thought I would now just concentrate on two things - my children's book and my upcoming exhibition - but NO. I've now been asked to sketch for a public commission - which I'm very happy about  - YES! With deadline in the end of January (ooops!) It will be a true challenge for me to concentrate on three parallel creative projects. I'm trying to imagine that I'm entering specific rooms for each project and then closing out the other two. I feel I need three months to finish all of them, but have just like one and a half (and I can't skip Christmas) - so I have to be super effective and plan the time really well ... and pray for help from above with an instant superb idea for that public commission when I visit the premises on Tuesday. So until all is done this blog will just be images of work in progress without much text...

continuing: process leading to light signs

So - I had decided I should try to recreate that wrapping, framing, golden effect - but in a more solid way. After some thoughts I decided glass should be the material - I had the knowledge (i e some knowledge) and the access to kilns at the Artists' Collective Workshops.

First I ran a test with small pieces of glass that I already had - and I managed to get perfect curves (how the kiln is programmed to achieve the result you are after). YES! Ok, a little bubble, but that was ok. And the wrinkles I tried to achieve got a little bit too obvious. But - just a test!

Spray painted in gold - got very excited about how it looked. So nice and shiny!

tried it with a photo of Heidi Klum

... and then I tried it out with some cut out faces I already had.

I was very happy about it!

... and then it was time for a one month Christmas break in Colombia ... and another month of administration and course preparation. ..and ... but in March this year I continued the tests

... to be continued ...

retake; process leading to light signs

So here we go again - back to my account of the long process that started more than a year ago (read first part of the process and second part):

November 2011  As I mentioned before I decided to keep the transparent plastic as a mask - instead of a paper one originally intended - as static electricity kept it in place.

When I spray painted I then got this unexpected effect - the plastic curled and created like a frame!

I liked this a lot; it became more iconic, but at the same time kind of trashy

fake, plastic, baroque

I had to take the plastic away though. (In this room and with that light it was still ok, but not as good as with the plastic on)

-

Back in the studio - boring. boring boring boring - Maybe I should try to recreate that wrapping, that plastic golden frame, following the shapes? Maybe I should go for more instead of less? I had started to paint watercolour on canvas to get away from the frame and the "picture on the wall"-feeling - but maybe the solution should be not to have the frame as a necessity, but to use it as a central part of the art piece - to make a statement with it? To use it to support what I was trying to say with the painting? - But how could I recreate it in a lasting way? (this was still november 2012)

I'm still around ...

November blogging was all time low for me - only comparable to vacation month July - but I can assure you I haven't been on vacation ... It's been Pecha Kucha presentation, cultural entrepreneur seminar, completing my art book, two screen printing workshops (long weekends), guest teaching screen printing a week in Lidköping, writing children's book scripts and sketching characters,  attending lectures and workshops in children's books - and working on my art... Probably something more I've done too, that I can't remember right now.  But December should "only" be dedicated to illustrating my children's book (script ready!) and working with my art/preparing for my upcoming exhibition (opening February 9) at Galleri Jeanette Ölund in Borås. So book that date and spread the word - it will be my best exhibition ever and I want the opening to be super crowded!

seeing the light - Instagram!

In double sense  (from my Instagram)

guest teaching in Lidköping

Yesterday, early in the morning, I took the train and then the bus to Formakademin in Lidköping to guest teach (screen printing) - as I always do at this time of the year. At day I teach and play with Instagram (I'm alexandrahedberg) and at night I try to write the script for my children's book.

LAUGH | SKRATTA

a little peak inside my book... 

40 pages photos by Hector Mora.  big thanks to Camilla Engman for helping me with the layout of the text!

no daylight today either ...

... or at least not to talk about. (I know there must have been a sun behind that compact grey cloud cover). So - I didn't take any photos of my book today either, even though it was on my to-do-list.

But I did work on my children's book for the course I'm taking! This week we have the last workshops before the serious work period will begin. In the beginning of January we should present our books.  ... and In February I have my big separate exhibition.  A lot to do! (my ambitious account of my process arriving to my turning light signs will have to wait a little bit more)

finally I have it in my hand

my book with my latest work... I'm still too busy to really be blogging (I just have to get some material ready for the children's book course I'm taking, on top on everything else) ... but hope to be back here soon. And share some photos of my book!

at the printer

Still very busy busy, but I can not resist sharing some photos from the printer today (Götborgstryckeriet).

Ka-tziing; conference for self-employed artists etc

On the 14th of November Ka-tziing takes place here in Göteborg. 

Ka-tziing is a conference for self-employed artists, dancers, writers, film makers, musicians etc. I will give a Pecha Kucha presenting my company (representing the artists!) and take part in a talk about running your own business in the cultural sector summing up the day. There will also be a mini-fair with 21 organizations supporting the cultural sector's entrepreneurs.

Last day to sign up for the conference is the 7th of November >> 

Carrying this figure-group around to different places - from architects' offices to group exhibitions - is one of the many things I do to get more public commissions. This photo might be one of my 20 photos for the peach kucha.

stricken by reality

I have too much to do right now, I'll be back in one week ... (above test prints. Printing next week)

last year; continued progress pictures

after making the painting more distinct and warmer with red, it was time to add something that would give more of a "mirage" feeling (the title of the painting)

... gold! Tried it out with pieces of gold painted paper

... yes, could work.

used a transparent plastic for sketching the mask before spray painting. Made a mental note about how much I liked that plastic look. Static electricity made the plastic stick to the painting and I decided to keep it as the mask instead of transferring the shape to a paper mask  -  a decision that made a huge difference for the next step ... to be continued

sometimes it takes almost a year ...

Before I post more photos of my Merry-go-round signs I think I should explain what lies behind; my thoughts and intentions - and the long road (often uphill) I walked to get there ... I've now got so much material (art) I will never use, because I felt that was not really what I was after. At least I'm not afraid of experimenting and really giving things a try!

Last autumn I really felt I wanted to get rid of the need to frame my watercolors, to get away from that "picture on the wall" feeling.  So I tried painting watercolour on specially prepared canvas. I also wanted to work with a kind of repetition, the "same same but different" you see in models' faces, in stereotypical beauty, in advertising. It's a canon, but also superficial. I was thinking biiiiig, I was thinking billboard. Maybe rising the pointless and superficial to an almost religious level? Overwhelm? Superimpose? Instead of minimum go fro maximum?

These are work in progress images I never showed from October-November last year.

my starting point and "inspiration" - a bikini add from H&M. I was only interested in the faces though preparatory sketch in real size (2,4 meters broad or something like that) mounted the sketch on the stretched and prepared canvas and made some changes (skipped the hand) first blue/red sketch (I never sketch with pencil). Still nothing "new" ... but it is coming ...to be continued

today: screenshot

These days it is mostly Photoshop and InDesign for me  - and decisions decisions. When you want something to be really good you can not take any short cuts! Or rush it...

in darkness

more to come ...

grey

Today I had a screen printing demo with Göteborg Konsthall and we printed in grey, not in silver. And today I suddenly realized that it's the middle of October, that it's autumn dark -  and that I have already started planning for January in my calendar.  I suspect there is a creature stealing some of my time, like socks from the laundry machine ...

Merry-go-round I

Did I ever tell the title of the laughing turning sign, that I completed in June? It's "Merry-go-round I" (there will be three merry-go-rounds). And here is a proper photo of it taken the other day. I have another one too - soon I'll share what that one looks like in a dark room.