09.22.06
Outside studio
The weather gods are on my side, it´s Indian summer, and I can still ork outside!
09.19.06
Congratulations!
Yesterday we celebrated Anna Sofie’s birthday. My oldest is now in her sweet seventeens! Actually it seems both my daughters are suddenly growing up claiming their independence. I really sense changing winds are blowing. It´s hard to believe though – it is as if it was just yesterday they started school, what happens to time???
I realize, I have to enjoy every minute they are still here; suddenly they’ll be flying out to seek their own adventures!
P.S. think I won the prize for “greatest birthday present”. In one month we go to London, a big-city-trip for just the three of us. We are all looking foreward!
09.13.06
These mornings…
My school way is a question of 12 minutes of meditation on bike… I love these early, quiet mornings. The sun warms my back, the air enters my lungs – it’s so humid, so pure, and so fresh. Thoughts flow easy…
09.11.06
Sunday
Sunday´s walk at Ajstrup: sea, sand, salt and sun – can you think of a better way of regenerating?
09.07.06
Inpiration
Sometimes it’s great to be inspired by flipping through a magazine or a book. One of my recent favourites when it comes to design is the Swedish book Do Redo – the art of butchering a sweater. The procedure is simple: You wash a woollen sweater in the washing machine at 60 degrees Celsius. It’ll then undertake a felting process (= shrink and turn into felt). Afterwards this felt is a perfect material for sewing caps, mittens, legwarmers, teddy bears, bags etc. It’s warm and soft, you can cut it and it will not unravel, besides I like concept of recirculating your worn out or not-longer-modern clothes. At the moment I’m experimenting with a few models before I introduce it to my students.
Another great source of inspiration is the Swedish crafting magazine Hemslöjden published by The Swedish Crafting Society/ Hemslöjdsföreningarnas Riksförbund. I´ve started to subscribe half a year ago. Sweden seems to have a very vivid crafting movement and a complex and strong tradition to draw upon. Swedish craft and design draws on this legacy but don’t dwell in the past. The tradition lays the ground but the designs are carried out in a very up-to-date manner. All the issues have been great to look at and to extract ideas from!
09.06.06
On a dish of silver
In Danish we have a proverb saying about lucky persons: They are served everything on a silver dish. I hope I’ll soon be one of these lucky persons. These days I’m awaiting the message – if I’m having a grant for travelling to set up my exhibition in Vilnius. Uh, can’t stand waiting…
09.03.06
Blue
This weekend I’ve been making different easy knittingdesigns for my crafting class.
I intend to teach a bunch of chicks how to knit and crotchet. Till now almost all their crafting experience seems to start and end with what can be done with a sewing machine…
Also I’d like to introduce the students to the habit of having an “extra project” like embroidery or some small patchwork; something they can take home or take along outside the classroom – something they can always turn to for instance when they wait for assistance, further instructions etc.
09.02.06
Artist’s blocks?
Somebody asked me if I’ve ever suffered from an artist’s block. It’s said to be a very painful experience where you sit and sit and can’t come up with anything. This can go on for hours, days, weeks even months just like a writer’s block.
Fortunately that has never been my problem. I never feel I’m blocked and about to run out of creative ideas. For me the situation is almost the opposite: My mind is almost running amok with ideas, so my problem is where to start, to give priority to some projects and let go of others. The world seems to be full of interesting possibilities! So I ask my heart: what do you want?
First and foremost I want some more time!!! I always feel I could use more time in the creative department of my life but reality is that daily life department (cleaning, cooking, paying your bills, etc.) always takes the lion’s share so to speak.
Sometimes I dream I want to immigrate to the woods of Sweden, to live a secluded, simple life. I can see myself as a sort of Peddersen-like person (the character from the childrens´book “Peddersen & Findus”) – an original eccentric, living alone with his cat, Findus, in a cosy, typical Swedish style, red painted, wooden farm house somewhere out in the countryside… living a simple life, chopping a little wood for the fireplace, feeding the cat, and for the rest of the time: carpe diem…
I really don’t know why I always think of Sweden as the place with “plenty of time”. Probably because I’ve only been there on holydays…
Well, let’s stick to reality now: I don’t live a simple life in Sweden – I live a busy one in Malling Dk. Let me face facts and seize the day here… today is today!
