Skapande

Just a little look inside one of my sketchbooks for Studio Friday. This is a sketch for one embroidery that I’m working on. It will hopefully become a pincushion when I’m finished…

Studio Friday June 29th. Later on this summer the studio snack can be cherries from the tree outside my house. I can even pick them from my balcony. Last summer the looked like this.

Its many weeks since I participated in Studio Friday, so why not write something… The topic for Friday 25th is May’s studio treat. It became very easy to write because Monday when I was in Stockholm only in the purpose to shop I bought some stuff to my “studio corner”. At Panduro I bought four small jewellery tools, because it was a special offer that was really good. And I also went to Pärlshopen and bought some pearls that I of course was in great need of.

No more, no less. Just a great little treat!

What gives me hope? That is the topic off today’s Studio Friday.

And the answer is family and friends, life, literature, work and so on. There is not only one thing that gives hope. There is always a combination off many things that brings it into my life.

Some people give me more hope then others. For example, my grandmother and grandfather, whom I have written about many times before, give/gave me hope. Even if they are dead since many years. But they were strong and struggled along with there life. It gives me hope thinking about them. I have friends that are creative like me and we talk a lot about stuff we make, how to come further in our work and of course we talk a lot about life too.

Literature can give a lot of hope. Depending on what mood I’m in a book can save my day. To read are a great way to charge the battery and regain new power.

But most important for me is that I have a positive way of looking at life. I don’t know how I became this happy girl. Life gave it to me. But of course my really good childhood and that my parents gave me the solid ground I stand on when I grow up has a great meaning to. So even if everyone needs hope I think I always have it in me, it has never abandon me! I can’t imagine how it is not to be able to see the good in life.

And today, when I walked outside with my niece when she was sleeping I felt a lot off hope, walking in the sunshine, feeling the wind against my cheek. Thinking about that she has the whole life in front of her, so cool. And I have the pleasure to watch her and my nephew grove up!

This week’s topic for Studio Friday February 16th: Drawing a blank!

It’s one of the most feared events in the life of an artist. Sometimes it can take a long time to overcome this sudden stop of the creative juices. What do you do? How do you act and react? How do you get back to splashing around in all colours? Do you fight it or work with it?

One really good thing with working in many different materials and genre like I do, are that I seldom or never have a totally stop of creative flow. Of course I sometimes have a hard time too get started. It happens when I have to think a lot on how I will do something and can’t decide how I will make it. But when I get stuck in one thing I most of the time only change project and work with something else. I have always ideas of stuff I want to do. But for example, if I have a lot at work I sometimes get problems with focus on my project when I come home from work. But that I don’t call a stop, it’s more that I’m not in the mood. And then I give it a day or two and then I’m back on track working again.

Like now for example: I’m working with wool embroidery. I made the pattern Sunday but didn’t feel 100% sure that I found it perfect. Therefore it took med five days before I could start sew on it because I hade to think, and rethink again. But now I have started to sew. I don’t call that a stop, I only don’t like rushing things out.

If I have problems with my ideas I surf some of the blogs I like, looking true my notebooks and old ideas that I don’t had time to carry out get. That always helps too.

I’m feeling happy that I don’t have had any bigger stops or totally meltdown in my creative work. I guess that I probably will experience it sometime or somewhere. Don’t we all do that?

Or maybe I should put down the spade and just rest and don’t create or work with any projects fore a while sometime? I don’t really know? Have to think about that…

Studio Friday

This week’s topic PORTFOLIO! February 2nd

“I’ve never put one together. I would be very interested to see and hear what everyone else has as a portfolio and what makes up one”~ Jo

I don’t have a portfolio in the way Jo probably thought of a portfolio, but I have my blog and that is a big portfolio of all my stuff, I would like to say. In one way I see my blog as an online portfolio for me and everybody else surfing it. Like a big folder torummage around in and finding nice things to look at and get inspiration from.

Having a portfolio when you work in wood is a bit hard if you feel like store the stuff in there, but sometime when I get the time I will put together a photo album with my best things in there. That will become a portfolio. The way I see a portfolio, of course there are other ways to look at it.

Having a portfolio makes it easier to show your stuff for people that are interested in what you do and it can be good to have it if someone would like to order something from you.

Some art not stored in a portfolio, they are hanging on my wall. Love them both.

To the left “Ella Darling” by Lisa Rinnevuo
To the right “Gata i Reykjavik” by my friend Jonna

Whiplash

DECEMBER 2006 - JANUARY 2007 is officially GIFTS AND DECORATIONS crafts that you make for the holidays or for gifts.
Show off your traditions, your enthusiasm and your holiday spirit This is meant as a fun end to the year, and to give everyone an opportunity to show off their skills and creations.
Only two categories - GIFT or DECORATION

I feel that I have to participate in this whiplash; I mean I have made 9 Christmas gifts this year. With other words, this will be a long text. When I started to think of what I would give away this Christmas I first thought of my niece and nephew because it’s fun to give them things that I have made. One other good thing is that they are children = I don’t have to make bigger things. So I started to make one small little dress and one t-shirt in the same striped tricot that I found in a store and couldn’t resist.

My mother helped me making a pattern on the dress to little Wilma, 4 month, because I didn’t have any. I added a small pocket on the front, because I found them so cute. To Linus I made a t-shirt just by using one of his own t-shirts that I borrowed from my sister.

I once received a smaller piece of fleece with skulls on, of that I made a sweater to Linus. It’s one really easy pattern. One front and back piece, the arms and the hood. After cutting it out I first sewed the back and front piece together, added the arms and last I sewed the hood to the sweater. The whole thing is made in one and a half hour! So fun to make this kind of sweater to a child!

My father always brings lunch to work, and instead of using a plastic bag I have made him small bags that he can carry the food in. And I noticed that the one he has now is rather well-worn. Therefore I have made him one new bag, the third one I make to him. Some days ago I made a new cover to my calendar and there I used an oh-paper to make a small window. From that I came to think of that I could use the same idea for a bag. I decided to add some pictures that my father probably would like, so I selected one picture of cars and one with car parts. The red picture I have taken myself and the other one I found in a magazine. I sewed them on the fabric and then made a bag of it and added the handles.

At work we made some glass necklaces last week, and they became really good gifts. Therefore I have given away 4 of them. I have given them to my sister, mom, Hanna and one other friend also, Åsa. I think the technique to make this kind of glass things is could fusing. It was fun to make them, to choose and to combine different kind of glass. And then wait with tension for the result after the burning.

Finally I have made one gift in wood to, a shoe-shelf which I made at work one afternoon when I didn’t have so much things to do. First I had to use the plane so I could get the boards as I wanted. Then I cut the parts in the right length and put together the sides. Before putting all pieces together I put on a layer with coat to protect the wood from water and dirt.

Studio Friday topic for Friday December 22nd

RITUALS & WISHES!
” So many of my friends have certain little rituals they adhere to when starting to work, or finishing work. I do too. It can’t be that unusual, and some are very sweet or amusing. Although some are maybe too embarrassing to share? Another thought is:
If you could make one or two changes to your studio, by magic, what would they be?” ~ Nancy Bea

I have tried to figure out if I have some rituals that I use when I create. But I can’t think of some kind of ritual that I have. Of course I have it when I’m of to my work. I do things in the same order every morning. But that is something else. Maybe I tend to spread my things around in my apartment, but calling that a ritual feels wrong.

What about my wishes then? They are much easier to write about. I dream of and wished that I had a place to work with my woodwork, my own snickarbod, workshop. That would be so great! One day, don’t know when, but I will own one, that’s for sure. I also wish that I had a lot of tools and woodworking machines. Like a plane and stuff like that.

One little simple wish, I hope Santa brings that to me… or maybe I haven’t been that nice this year?

Studio Friday

This week’s topic for December 1st: MY FAVOURITE COLOUR COMBOS!

(I have problems with posting my entries at Tinesparkles, I think it has something to do with blogsome and squarespace not liking each other or something else.)

I don’t have any especially colour combinations that I use frequently I like many different colours. But I prefer a sort of green that looks almost like green peas or green olives. I have been a blue person before; when I was 15 I think that I only had blue and maybe some black sweaters. I still like blue, but not that much anymore. I have made one small shrink box, krympburk, this summer that I painted in a sort of turquoise colour and the lid is kind of pink. That is my favourite combo for the moment, looking at it makes me smile.

Krympburk, färg

Studio Friday

This week’s topic: COMFORT!

(I have problems with posting my entries at Tinesparkles, I think it has something to do with blogsome and squarespace not liking each other.)

Comfort can be a good office chair by the computer, or a nice sofa in the living room. Owning a car or taking the aeroplane when you travel somewhere. But I don’t know if I have done something to make my studio corner more comfortable. I have a blue office chair that my mother gave me. It’s nice to have it, but I don’t think about it like something comfortable even if it’s a good chair to sit in. I have tried to arrange my studio space as practical as possible because I don’t have so much space to use because I don’t like to have my creative stuff in my bedroom. But I work a lot in my kitchen too which has a really good work bench.

But I find my home comfortable and nice. So my working environment is quite comfortable more or less. I have tried to find a main theme in my apartment to make it personal and I think it reflects me. I have a lot of vintage furniture’s, mostly from the 50’s and 60’s and of course some new stuff to, like the blue sofa. But I think its seven years since I both it now, so it becomes older too. It has soon past one year since I moved into this apartment I now live in, and it has felt like my home almost from the start, al though I have some things left to fix. For example, I have to paint some door frames in my hall and I have some things left in my living room. I have a wall with a backdrop and on that wall I haven’t hanged something yet…

Hmm, I could have written just, my home is comfortable. No more than that.