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.

waiting for the test print

Last week I finished the final details for the book for the preschool and now I am just waiting to get the test print. The drawing above is a little extra something I put on the last page, as a surprise, to suggest another possible adventure for the main character.  By the way - do you see the child as a boy or a girl?

and the Portal is ready!

Monday was cold and a bit snowy, but the mounting was easy. I tried it out with a curtain right away. The base plate (also yellow) is going to be covered with stone plates, so the little door will come on ground level.

I'm still working every day, but I am finishing things up these days - so I will be able to take the weekend off!

almost there ...

saying goodbye

I've been working every single day (and night) since the 17th of November. Mostly on the children's book for the commission, but also on the portal and teaching screen printing. I don't think I have ever worked this hard and so long days... but now I am almost almost there

Tomorrow we are mounting the portal and I seem to have finished all the illustrations 10 minutes ago. Now I just have to adapt the text, put image and text together in InDesign - and order a test print of the book. And then sew the curtains, of course.

the portal in the book

I'm advancing ...

sandblasted - and putting it together

Today we picked up the sandblasted aluminum parts and started putting the layers together. 

probably progress?

a character for the story - for the preschool - that will come with the portal

... and then aluminum

We are now busy with my portal at the metal workshop at KKV. Everything is proceeding as planned - and I'm so happy having Arta helping me for the third time with one of my commissions.

from paper to plywood ...

the portal is first transferred to plywood so I can test it in more stable material than paper - before cutting it out in aluminum.

my studio ambiance

In July photographer Annika Broman visited me in my new bright white studio. I also opened the doors to KKV for her  - now you can see some of the photos at her website.

not taking anything for granted

The Portal is to come with some theatre curtains. Right now, when just having a month to finish it all, I'm very thankful I was so very thorough when I sketched for this commission - I know what fabrics to use, where to buy them - and how they look in different light. It feels good not to have to worry about that. 

The only thing that freaks me out a bit now, is that I promised the portal would come with a story ... and being me everything I'm coming up with at this point is dark and not very suitable for small children. I thought it would be great to connect this art piece with the new knowledge I got through the course I took a year ago in Illustrated Children Books - especially as this very preschool works with the fairytale, the story, as a central theme in the pedagogic. This way I will be able to really work with the Story/fairy tale as a concept. 

Well, we'll see about that. I can of course always come up with something but I'ld rather not deliver something dull or worse: overly moralizing. 

... and with the surroundings

This is where my portal is to be placed - marked with a yellow X. They are right now finishing those last details of the preschool - I love those playful windows !

 a model of the portal seen from the other direction (preschool behind our back)

planting 1000 flower bulbs

A couple of days ago I planted 1000 flower bulbs to be part of the art piece I'm making for the preschool. On an earlier visit I discovered they had created a slope just behind where my portal is to be ... there was nothing to do but to see how it could be used creatively for my art piece. So I decided that in spring a flower path will magically appear. (Lets' hope we'll not get a winter liked the last one ... the bulbs might not survive that)

something new I'm working on - probably

.. and I've decided I get the nights off from administrative stuff for the rest of the week ...

feeling utterly unmotivated

The amount of time I have to spend on general administration but also applications for new commissions/pedagogical art projects/exhibitions - and meetings - is killing me. I spend like three times the time I spend on making my own art. I have actually come to a point right now when I have a very hard time motivating myself to continue like I have done before ... I have this long list of things I should do at nights this week - and something inside me is just refusing.

a little screen printing

Yesterday I finally got around to do some test printing at KKV (for my own work). I had planned working on this in summer, but other things got in the way all the time - like the two commissions, teaching the summer course - and summer vacation. Actually this year has been like that all the time - not much time for my personal work. But on the other hand I've been working on interesting projects generating incomes - so next year I'll be able to prioritize my own art and no worry much about money. 

"Except" (it's quite a lot to do!) for making the Portal (the commission for the preschool) with curtains and a fairytale, the rest of 2013 will mean material tests and research for some ideas I have for my own art. I think I can see the bigger picture now - I should not hurry.

time for my own work!

YES!

got the commission!

The other week I got approved my sketch for the preschool!