happy new year!

We've made a long, 20 hour night train journey up to north Sweden. Hoped to see more snow but only frost and ice glitters here in Luleå. I have fine days with friends, we are planning some sort of ceremony of our own for New Years Eve. How to get rid of old junk and hardships and how to wish for new things to come.

I'm sure we share the same big wishes for peace on this planet. What else do you wish for?

For myself, three things: I hope, next year, I will spend more time with my friends. I wish to be more regular with both physical and spiritual workout. And I wish for focus and energy in my studio work. Still time to come up with more hope and aspiration!

For us all; love and light 2008!

summing up

I hope your holiday was nice, with only friendly faces around you.

Our celebration was fine this year. Warmhearted spirit, no stress, not too much food. We lit candles for absent friends. And the kids got too many gifts as usual and were happy about them all.

I was Santa this year. First time, I did well, the youngest is still a believer! As you can see from the photo, the kids were a bit shaky with excitement.

Started to think of what was important with this year and prepare for next: paying all bills, putting what I can in order and cleaning mental shelves for what is to come.

We'll leave for north Sweden tomorrow evening, will be back before then.

If you need a rest from holidays:
Clare Twomey ceramic installations

and Annie Vought paper cut and installations
via Abstract the day

Somehow they feel related, little fragments of daily life and stories.

ho ho happy holidays

I wish you all happy holidays; love and light!

My christmas gift goes, this year as many before, to an education project in Tibet. I feel happy and fortunate, who can give something; education is for the kids' future.

And as this is also what I give all friends for christmas, you can feel part of it too (it means you will not receive a parcel from me and by that feel very content that the money is better spent elsewhere).
Swedish Tibetan Society for School and Culture
U.S.-Tibetan Society for School and Culture

Don't think I can keep away to long, see you after Christmas days or maybe sooner.

herman for christmas

Herman Fogelin has been a great inspiration for many ceramic artists, me included. He is the kind of person who makes you feel very talented and makes you dare take new directions.

His ceramic is as generous, maybe at it's best this time of year; so much about the pleasure of celebrating together. Lerverk, where Herman shows his work, decorated the shop even more nicely than usual this Christmas.

Short film, the sparkling official version of Göteborg these days, enjoy!

Swarovski glitter:
Interiors.
Chandeliers at London Design week, film.
Trash Lux at Liberty, London, film

Enjoy your day!

brief encounters

Where I live are many pets, maybe because it's so close to the huge park, Slottskogen. Otto, the dog, is my next door neighbor's dog and the cat lives just a few doors away. I don't have have any pet myself but like saying hello to these neighbours.

I'm off for lastthingstodo before Christmas leave. Here are two Christmas free links if anybody have time to look, or save them for the weekend:

Drew Gardner photography, funny portraits and fashion.

Keith Lo Bue, jewellery; life and death and delicate surreal technology (read what they are made of, like this: "Ladies' compact case, engravings, color lithograph, opals, brass, sterling silver, seashells, sea urchin spines, photo-engraving, victorian label, map, paper, text, soil.")
Intro to a film about his work.

Take care, breath deeply.

sheperds, donkeys and marias

In one of Lerverk's windows Annika Kihlman Jensen shows this year's crib. As a tradition she makes a special Christmas display every year. Annika is a long time member of the Lerverk group, well known for her humorous clay figures.





Walking farther down the street I was quite surprised to meet another live crib, staged by one of the important charity organisations, Stadsmissionen, outside the city cathedral.

I met this donkey same day as Katherine at Apifera farm told she had a young donkey named Lucia and made this lovely Lucia painting.

Musing about Mud by Carole Epp is a new blog in my list. She is generous with valuable information for ceramic people and links for artists and events.

Carol's website, where she shows two series of very different ceramic work. Don't miss either of them, especially not the Collection of Small Miseries!

more light in darkness

December darkness makes people gather round the light, that's the best thing with it. Elisabeth Åström invited to Friday after-work in her studio at Konstepidemin. Thank you! It was so nice. Met some people I haven't seen in years and some I see every day.

On the way there, I saw Kwon prepare for a celebration party of some kind in Blå Huset. He didn't see me. Hope they had a nice evening, too.


Set design and costume Elisabeth Åström, Norrlandsoperan Umeå. ”Sjökor och Stekare”
Photo: Malin Arnesson

Elisabeth is a set/costume designer at theatres and opera houses all over Sweden. Photos from different stage sets here, here, here and here.

We first met at the same art school in north Sweden, Sunderbyn, and now we are neighbours, a happy coincidence.

Camilla Engman wishes all an early merry christmas with a present, very sweet gift tags. Thank you, Camilla!

Wish you a nice start of the week!

friday night light

Went with the teenagers to look at the art break shop windows, they approved of my mine (close ups here).





Adrienne Riseley came to Göteborg from New Zeeland, shows "Preparations in the suburb". She mixes images from her both countries "maybe the ideal place" she said.



Michel Drouetto shows 3D animation "No time to loose".

Now it's only one window missing, didn't manage Emma Ströde today. Will come. Presentation (Swedish) of all artists in the "Art break" show here.







This is what the inner city looks like now. Pretty.

Saverio Truglia. Unreal reality. Unreal real people. In photo number 12 the man reads Göteborgsposten, our local paper, that also makes me wonder.
Via Cher Ami

Love and light for you all this weekend!

light is turned off

I didn't see one single Lucia all day! Will just light candles and sing to myself then.

It was dark when I left this morning and dark again when I walked home. Do you wonder we celebrate the saint of brightness now? Need to strengthen ourselves while waiting for the cycle to turn towards light again. Just a little bit more than a week left. Hold on.

More underwater inspiration AND light by Ayala Serfaty
By one of my favourite sea creatures comb jellies

Create some light in darkness with the help of (Swedish) Salvation Army Christmas Gift-machine, by Sandsjö Action

waiting for ornaments

So many Christmas trees lying around town, waiting for their ornaments. So much season's expectations packed in thin white net.

From another world: Maybe because I once was a diver, I was totally stunned by this underwater sculpture installation outside Granada, by Jason Taylor.

Here a TV-interview with the London based sculptor.

The atmosphere is the same as when walking around the garden of Villa d'Este outside Rome a misty winter's day. So much beauty by the efforts of human hands and so much beauty when nature claims the place back.

Have plenty of time now, feel a little confused and don't know what to do with it, like there is something I forgot.

post shows

Every Monday the poster stands are cleared from last weeks events and made ready for new things to happen. That's how I feel, in the process of clearing out the old to make room for the new.

Still, haven't found my bike key and therefore walk downhill to the city center. It feels good to be slow after this intense and hectic period.

Didn't make it to the art advent calendar yesterday, feet refused to move. Maybe today!

Large scale work to be amazed by:
How the SONY Bravia colour commercials where done here, via designers block.
Zhang Huan's Berlin Buddha

ceramics and print

Afsaneh Monemi, ceramic and Shahla Parvizi, painting

Afsaneh Monemi and I are the two ceramic artists at the new members group show, KC Väst. Afsaneh hand builds her high fragile forms, the surfaces are slip painted and printed. Because of the size she builds a ceramic fibre kiln around each sculpture for firing. She works the same way with children groups. Small people work together on large scale pieces, results are fantastic but I can't find any good pictures.

For the prints she uses drawings in a direct photocopy mono print technique, that ceramic artist Paul Scott once shared. Paul's Cumbrian Blue(s) webpage, new blog and his book Ceramics and print.

Paul has curated ceramic print shows and written a number of articles about other artists ceramic prints, like Robert Dawson Aesthetic sabotage


My very free interpretation of a lotus fruit shape, one of the pieces on show at KC.

For the show I chose to show both previous and recent work. It might be more recognizable, as a hello to all members of KC Väst, the West Swedish artist organisation that runs the gallery.

Today I've been really lazy, compensation for hectic last weeks. Will convince myself to move feet towards today's art advent calender opening at Första Långgatan. New piece every day at 6 pm, I've missed all so far!

art vitrines and city in light

Stig Lindholm, textile artist


Jan Persson, painting inspired by an August Strindberg story


Elisabeth Carlsson, textile artist

More art vitrines, the remaining will come later this week.

The opening, in Göteborg inner city shopping area, was a nice and friendly event. A curious crowd walked around as darkness fell over the city and all artists said a few words about their work. Many of us had thought about the human fragility this season; in different ways compassionate.



After this, we all went to hear the mayor of Göteborg hold a really embarrassing opening speech for the whole Christmas event, and for a moment I felt ashamed of being a part of this. But, I finally decided to only feel responsibility for my own intentions and my own work, with the hope that something good will come out of it.

Göran Johansson, the mayor, totally didn't mention for example how meaningful light is in dark times, or the importance of sharing a celebration, or the awareness of not adding to climate disaster by wasting energy. Or even Christmas! Instead he greedily went straight on to say how good this event is for making tourists pay for hotel rooms and for business. Shame.





In spite of this, it turned out a fun evening! And I love my illuminated city, more photos will follow before lights are switched off.

Sandra shows the starry sky this weekend, snowman celebration in the woods.
Kira Kotliar makes angels.

art breaks opening and christmas craft

I'm star no 1 :) on the invitation card, Korsgatan 3. Fellow "Art break" vitrine artists are: Jan Persson, Stig Lindholm, Jan Persson, Michel Droetto, Elisabeth Carlsson, Britt Ignell, Adrienne Riseley, Emma Ströde and Per Peterson. Couldn't find links from all, will show photos.

Our "Art breaks" opening this afternoon is followed by the official opening of the whole Christmas City event (info in Swedish and English). It will take off with a sound and light show on the facade of the Art museum. The whole inner city will be beautifully illuminated until New Year, quite spectacular (lot's of LED lights I was told, or it wouldn't be OK with the sustainable profile Göteborg also aims for). I promise to bring camera along at all times.



Group show at KC Väst, this year's new members, opens Saturday with a few of my pieces in it. My little image is no 3 from the left in top row.

To be a group show it looks surprisingly collected, nice job by fellow exhibitors hanging the show! KC Väst, who runs the gallery, is a member's organisation promoting visual artists in West Sweden, links to many of them here.


Chokladfabriken ceramics, their photo

More craft in Göteborg this weekend: HDK, School of design and craft, student's Christmas market from Friday afternoon to Sunday. See what is for sale, like Sandra's softies.

At Chokladfabriken, Paternostergatan, a former chocolate factory turned into ceramic studios, Ann-Louise Gustavsson, Ingela Jonasson and Eva Zethraeus have Christmas-open studios Saturday and Sunday, 12- 17 both days.

Here, again, addresses to lots of other Christmas craft events in Sweden.

Now I'm off for afternoon opening mingle, wish you a weekend full of joy and light!

preview windows

"Art break" window ready to be looked into, garlands for joy and sorrow.





Not all artists are finished yet, the opening is tomorrow. Per Petersson's and Britt Ignell's can be previewed, more photos will come.

Try the Salvation Army Christmas Gift-machine, in Swedish, by Sandsjö Action