signs of the time

A collection of just a few of all the pretty shop signs from the Gambia trip.

Today Galleri hnoss opens the Hanna Hedman jewellery show and also the possibility to shop online: www.konstepidemin.se/hnoss

I'm off to see all the openings at Konstepidemin today.
Those in Lidköping can visit David Carlsson's opening at Galleri Pannrummet, Rörstrands center. Or his website www.dceramic.se

To all a fun weekend!

if i was in stockholm

Started to sort photos from spring and onwards, so many. Röhss museum showed a huge collection of small and big things used to squeeze lemons this summer. I was impressed!

If I was in Stockholm I would go and see the figurine group show at blås & knåda.
And Plywood Palace at Konsthantverkarna

Lidköping printing ladies

It's been a long week, I double office and studio; no time for blogging.

Catching up; these two brave ladies, Iréne Magnusson and Inger Franzén-Storm, deserves their post. Instead of changing their jobs when Rörstrand factory was closed they bought the whole Rörstrand printshop with all equipment and materials and started on their own. Now they make ceramic transfer prints on special orders from their former employer and from independent designers and artists. They can do everything from the original work to print and decoration.

They also kept the old example collection from the Rörstand days, a cultural heritage. Touching examples of high and low.

Their website is in Swedish only, contact them for prices (decent pricing, a start cost for every print and after that price per sheet)
www.printdesign.se

Fabriken LDKP

Fabriken (The Factory) LDKP is an exciting initiative located in parts of the former Rörstrand factory. They have facilities for guest artists or designers to come and work for a period of time or for a specific project. They can develop design ideas and produce them, like a small scale factory. Mould makers, enormous kilns, access to the former factory laboratory, they can press hard fired tiles, they have space and they are super friendly.

They are open for all sorts of ideas that works with their development of Fabriken LDKP. At present the staple production is piggy banks, a production they inherited from earlier days.

Read more here and contact:
www.fabrikenldkp.se

rörstrand, rest in peace

A few years ago the last Swedish porcelain factory, Rörstrand in Lidköping closed down. Rörstrand as a brand still exists and there are new designs. A lot of energy is put into making the former factory area an arena for contemporary ceramics. I must take it in portions.

First, there is a museum with the production throughout the centuries and it's mindblowing to think how many Swedish ceramic icons who worked here. Find all the names here

Rörstrand history (Swedish wikip)
Museum
Rörstrand designers today

The huge sculptures are from an firing event with Danish clay artist Nina Hole last summer, click Beneath the blue to see photos.

violet visit

Studio Violet (Camilla Engman and Elisabeth Dunker) needed a kiln and I packed their work in ours on Friday. Their prints look lovely, I hope it will come out perfect. It's a table ware set for a show Re-Use at Karin Erikssons Manos April 30. Nice having you here!
It's still sunny here, hope your days are light and sunny too.

clearer sky

A day for catching up with things, both sky and mind gets more clear.

Some reflections on being in two places, thanks to Heather:
No, in my 50% office job and 50% studio work life it's not only a matter of left and right brain, it can be more schizophrenic than that...

I keep my office job (at KHVC, a craft promotion organisation) out of the blog, even if it can be interesting and give stuff to reflect over. Having two different professional identities can be confusing both for myself and for others. And I don't want to be mistaken to represent anyone else here.

It's very ego, I want to keep this "my space". Blogging strenghten the artist part in me and I'm very happy for that. I so easily slip into letting office part take more of my focus and enthusiasm. The work I do there is in many others interest and can seem so much more important than my playing around in the studio. I think I share this experience with many artists working in other jobs. Or?


Photos from Félicité L. webpage

Found Félicité L. fil métallique in the French craft magazine Ateliers d'Art.
She makes furniture, lighting and other inspiring wire art objects.

Makes me long for Christmas break and more time to make little things.

Bientot demain blog is dedicated to slow design and now added to favourites.

Per Agelii added one more football player on Lagbygge.

much better colours and big size shoes

Feel a need to compensate for gloomy colours in latest posts, unfired clay is really pale, I know, subtle, dusty nuances. Here is greener green, to start with:



Most colours will fade when graphic designer Laurie Rosenwald leaves her guest studio at Konstepidemin. It's good for you New Yorkers who gets her back, but who will lighten up our lunch breaks now? Miss you already, Laurie, please come back!
See her talk in the "How to make mistakes on purpose" or buy her children's book about colours that she spent last summer working on here.



Another link that will refresh your eyes, photo work by Cally.

And finally an important link for London (and net) shoppers with need for ladies shoes in larger sizes, Janine Dalton did good research.