Skapande

This is my first time I participants in Inspire Me Thursday after thinking many times that I should make something. I have made an easy collage with faces to the body part challenge. Found the pictures in magazines, mostly it was advertisements for cosmetics or clothes. Then I just tore the parts out and then glued the into my collage book. I also printed the text face on vellum paper. I tried to use only faces, but two of the pictures had some of the body on it to. I feel that it doesn’t matter that it became like that. It rather gives the collage more life I think. I deliberate made the strips smaller and smaller as I came closer to the right side.

Photo Friday: “Happiness is…”

After the course was over I went to my friend J and here family and stayed in there summer cottage over the midsummer weekend. We celebrated midsummer by having a party, eating and drinking a lot of good things. Read more here and here about Swedish midsummer. And after that we went up for the hill to an open place there the maypole was put up and after that many people danced around it and some folk musicians was playing. I didn’t dance; instead I took a lot of pictures… In Dalarna, a province of Sweden, the celebrating of midsummer has the most traditional practice. Every little village has its own maypole and ways to celebrate midsummer. It may look funny and a bit silly but it’s a nice tradition and a weekend almost everyone looks forward to.

After the dance we went home again and played kubb, and old Swedish outdoor game. My team was best and we won! Even if winning isn’t so important it always nice to be in the winning team.

I had a great time at J:s place, but the weather could have been better, it was raining a lot. The sun was shining some of the time and then we was out just relaxing in the sun, taking a fika and went shopping some to. We watch some movies in the evening and played some cards and stuff like that. Ahh, I love having holidays!

Beautiful sunset!

I’m back from Sätergläntan and the course in woodwork, “Skureut”, I have been carving patterns for 5 days. It was a great time with nice people, really good food and at least ok weather. The teacher is so inspiring and a really skilful woodworker. And the whole environment at Säterglätan is such a source of inspiration.

It’s always great to do things with other people that like the same things that yourself do. I have got so much inspiration so the only thing I want’s to do now is to carve patterns. But I have to make some things to do the pattern on first. Even if I had carved a lot before I took this course it’s always useful to hear someone else talks about how they see things and think and how they do when they are working. I have learned a lot of new things and how to think in different ways. I’m so pleased with week at Säterglätan!

My mother who also took a course is pleased to. She was knitting and crocheting, she made these nice things.

Tomorrow I’m leaving for Dalarna and Sätergläntan, where I’m going to take a course in woodwork for 5 days, “skureut”. I will be carving patterns in wood, and it will be so great. Last summer I and mum went there to. It was lovely! It will be my third course on Sätergläntan. The first time I was there was in 2001. After the course is over I’m staying in Dalarna, Insjön, and celebrating midsummer with my friend J and her family. It will be really great because I couldn’t visit here there last summer. I don’t really know how long I’m staying there, but at least 4 days I think. After that I drive home, perhaps I stay a day or two with another friend that’s lives on the way home. I will se how I feel.


Don’t know if I will be able to update something, there is a computer room but I think I will try not to use it. I can need a vacation from internet to I think… addicted as I am. Maybe I upload some pictures if I get the time, to show what I’m doing.

This shelf I made last summer at Sätergläntan

I have a thing for skulls, and I like music you could place in the genre rock. So why not combine those two things on a can. Therefore I’m carving a skull and the text “rock and roll” on a can. So I think this one is for a rocker. Me or some else who likes rock music.

The can itself I made last summer I think, it’s good to find when I want to carve something. Have to make more this summer, because I will soon be out of them. How did I make the pattern? First I draw the skull and carved it, and then I wrote the text and carved that to. To get the feeling of some weight in the can I carved all around in the bottom. Otherwise it’s easy to get the feeling of unbalance.

Made the painting easy, black and white, what else.

That was that, simple, but I’m so pleased with the result. One of the best ones I made in a long time I think!

Today the sang ”Sjung om studentens lyckliga dar…” (old Swedish student song) after three years the day finally is here, or not!? I think this can be the happiest or the saddest day for a youth. Most of the students probably feel relieved but I’m quiet sure that some of them have anxiety this day. What will happen afterwards? It’s so simple to go to school. Don’t have to think about many things, except from learning things that you read about and so one. But it so simple in one way, you get up in the morning, go to school, learn things, meet you friends and hopefully have fun to. And then you go home and do whatever you want.

After I had taken the upper-secondary final examination I both felt lucky because I was a bit tired of my classmates but I didn’t know what to do after school. I think the first tree days afterwards I just went round in some kind of bubble. Fortunately I started my summer job and had to think about that. But now after seven years I know one thing, it will always be alright. I went to the university and became a teacher, something I didn’t think of that day seven years ago. And on Friday I start my holidays, and that feels great!

Don’t ask me why he is wearing a kilt, because that is NOT a Swedish tradition; think they made some kind of bet or something. Anyhow, congratulations to you David!

I love the bright nights at summer. For the moment it doesn’t get darker than this. There is however a big problem involved in this bright summer nights. I have really big problem to get sleepy and go to bed. But I only work one more week, after that I get summer holidays for 7 weeks, and then I can stay up as long as I like! Hurray!!

Yesterday me and Hanna went on an utflykt, day trip, which was really nice, we where out driving for many hours. First visiting a antique shop and then Slöjdarnas hus, “the handicraft house”, before going home we took a fika at Kyrkstugan, lovely place!

Okay, one last thing, I don’t want to complain, but I’m still sick and I hate it! Most because it’s sunny and warm outside and I can’t do the things I had plan to do this weekend, work in the garden. I had really looked forward to that, plant some flowers and things like that. But I can’t strain myself, then I start cough.

When my mother was young she had a pen pal from England and she sent this book to my mother. It has almost fallen to pieces because all the pictures were taped to the book and after almost 40 years the tape has lost its function.

I think it’s a nice thing to do for someone. I guess that it was easier to find pictures of the band in England than it was in Sweden that time. On one of the last pages a envelope is tape and in that, this card of the band is, and on it Paul McCartney‘s autograph. If it’s real I don’t know. She, the pen pal, writes that it is, but who could really tell, not me anyway.

Even if my mother wasn’t any big Beatles fan she has saved the book year after year. Which I think is nice. Someone made this, and used her time, and my mother saves it. That I think is a grateful thing to do. Still after 40 years.

I found some old pictures at my parents which I thought would be nice to make collages of. I don’t use the original photos, just a copy of them. Anyhow, the photos are from my grandmother’s youth. It’s her and her brothers and sisters and some photos of my mother and my uncle as children and my grandfather too.

Anyhow, the collage I have made contains pictures of one of my grandmother’s sisters and her husband, Siri and Karl. The meet and fell in love in Stockholm in the end of the 40’s, at least I think it’s still were the 40’s. And they are still in love and alive after all this years. And they are my favourite relatives; they are so kind, sweet and wise only in the way old people can be. Karl or Kalle as we call him is a great woodworker too. They are two of the now living relatives I will miss so much when they not are around any more apart from my grandmother of course. Yes, know that no one can live for ever, but this are two of them I will miss devoutly.

Like I also do with my mothers parents, which became my so far best collage I think.

In the collage I have tried to use some different techniques, because it’s one thing I think is difficult with making collages. So in this one I have really tried to use a lot more colours than I have in the other once I have made. I have used a photo that I sandpapered and painted on, and I also used colour on a printing of one of the photos I made on ordinary paper. The background is old paper from a magazine and some other printings I made. I feel satisfied that I manage to carry out the thoughts I had of using more technique than I have done so far. Also think that the collage turned out rather good to be my first time really trying to use more than just paper from magazines, other pictures and text. Like with this one about the spring for example, even if I’m pleased with the result.

Maybe it was written in the stars



Everlasting love