Grateful goodbyes

Mike and I have been on the move for the past week or so, following are some highlights of our Scandinavian sojourn.

Stockholm was magical with its bridges and glistening waterways, sunshine greeted us each day as we walked across bridges from Sodermalm to Gamla Stan to Ostermalm and took a boat around the island of Djurgarden. One day as we walked back to our hotel we passed an intriguing place where we happened to look in on some people who lived on that particular street..as it turned out Kathleen and Victor lived on the ground floor in their beautiful home in this historic building. 

You can see their building in the top center of this photo with the round spired roof...we ended up making friends and when we came back through Stockholm were invited to a lively dinner with them in their unique apartment. She is from Nebraska but has lived in Europe since she was 18 and Victor is from Argentina and has lived in Sweden for years..fascinating life stories!!

After a few days in Stockholm we took a ferry to the beautiful island of Gotland where we were warmly welcomed at the Hotel Stelor by the owner Karin ..it felt like we had come home when we walked into the informal barn they had turned into a cozy candlelit restaurant. We loved our stay here in the country and could've definitely stayed longer.

They have a weekly community Sunday night dinner buffet that we so enjoyed, wonderful! I was able to get a special secret Gotlandic dessert recipe!

 Next morning we drove to the most southern part of the island and swam in the Baltic with all the vacationing Swedes and Germans..very nice!

Headed back to Stockholm and then came back to Gothenborg. The next day we took a ferry to the archipelago, Bränö island and walked to connecting Galtero island from there

In Galtero island there is a bridge where people swim and horses and lots of sheep graze

the next day we rode bikes to another ferry nearby  to see an exhibit at Roda Sten art center

our last stop was Copenhagen-a colorful and unique city for sure!

we loved this bronze door across the street from where we stayed at the Hotel Opera 

The first morning we took off on bikes which was a perfect way to get in the groove of Copenhagen, 35% of the population rides.

we rode through freetown Christiana, a large self governing hippie commune

famous for pusher street where one can buy hash and marijuana

so many vibrant houses, shacks and funky art, charming!

later took the train to the nearby town of Humlebaek to visit the Lousiana Museum of Art

I had heard from everyone how beautiful the setting was but experiencing it was another story..sitting high on a hill overlooking the Baltic surrounded by Calders and Moores a terrific cafe and even a private swimming area

The permanent collection was totally engaging 

George Grosz was known for his caricatural drawings in the 1920's 

 A highlight was artist and writer Yayoi Kusawa's piece. 

only two people can go in this room at a time to experience her wonderful environmental installation- water surrounds the small walkway we stood on- walls and ceilings are mirrored and lit with multi-colored blinking

 lights

The biggest surprise was the Yoko Ono retrospective! A chance to  see a ton of her drawings, videos, music, installations and other conceptual work along with some of John Lennons.

photo of Yoko in the 60's making a poster for one of her first shows in NYC

Yoko's concept for world peace make a wish tree..wishes go  to the "Imagine Peace Tower" in Reykjavik, Iceland

we took a relaxing boatride on the canals our last morning in Copenhagen, the water was smooth as glass and the brightly colored boats shimmered ..

We passed the national opera house in Denmark on the island of Holmen ..we couldnt get over the cantilevered roof

Our last night we met an engaging man who grew up in Denmark   who now lives in San Francisco, fascinating person

He suggested we see the Museum of Decorative Arts which was a short walk away after our boat ride.

It was worth it, the exhibition presented a selection of unique and non-traditional jewellery art from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Estonia titled "From the Coolest Corner"  ..fabulously displayed!! We also loved some of the pieces in the permanent collection of the history of Danish furniture design.

chair and ottoman made entirely of stacked newspaper, one behind it is cardboard

Two more days to enjoy a bit more of the archipelago and the city here as I pack up to fly HOME SWEET HOME

There is always so much more to share but I will leave you with the following quote I discovered in Gothenburg one day in between two stores.

  Another reminder to slow down and enjoy the moment. I look so forward to seeing you and hearing highlights of your past few months..

sending much love and light

Tidbits of this and that

Last week Helena and Cecilia invited Erdmute and I to their studio to show their work..Cecilia is a theatre director of 
post theatre production and Helena is a talented actress and also
a gymnast of sorts (used to be a circus performer)..she followed Cecilia's directions as she
became mesmerized with her balance beam and other props..they
finished the session by showing a documentary they made last year in Gothenburg that was called "Silent Walk". Helena slowly walked   through the wintry streets of the city with her face painted white wearing a tailored suit not talking to a soul, amazing reactions!

Helena getting on balance beam of sorts

I went to a family type flea market last weekend and when arriving saw a young lady standing there with a unicycle, she said she had always wanted to learn and bought it for $15.00. I told her about unicon and Jess she eagerly took my email

Johanna and her new uni and boyfriend

Last Thursday I went to Brännö island again, they have a weekly dance with live music in a special spot near the water. It was a chilly evening and my friend Malin and I huddled together while we watched couples skillfully dance the Lindy..I would love to learn that dance..Malin is taking classes, the music was jazzy and fun!

On Brännö island Lindy dancing

A few days ago an artist here, Lars had an opening at the Tradgardsforeningens Park...a place where there is 

a huge greenhouse full of mature plants (there is also a Patti Smith concert here tomorrow I may attend here) where artists from Hungary and Romania incorporated art pieces in with the plants..

afterwards I walked outside to the rose garden and was pleasantly surprised by a performance..it just so happened it was a dancer who is part of Konstepidemin who I had met a few weeks ago, her name is Bronja..she and some other performers were entertaining a group of kids and their parents

Bronja in the pond

loved their colorful wigs, Bronja's had a bird on top of it

Bronja looks so hot with her pink hair..

When the weather got nice the other day I had an inkling to do some papier maché, think its just part of summer for me- wanting to be outside, so there was flour in the cupboard and I had bought some fabric cheap at the flea market and had paper towels and newspaper and string- perfect- I went to work, the hours flew by!

I made four strange things.. everyone had been saving toilet paper rolls for me, didn't really plan to use them like this but..whatever- it was great fun!

Swedish beauty :)

That new moon at the beginning of the week totally energized me!Just when I thought I was winding down my art I decided to do a triptych with the 3 pieces of good paper I had left.. I put

them all up and have been working on them simultaneously..

this is a first for me..not sure I like it..but I am

making a huge effort to finish them in a few days..plus

I want to do a large watercolor before I go

this was taken after the first run, the 3 pieces look totally different now

studio mess, this ain't nothing compared to the rest of the room

I decided to clean my studio yesterday (also the moon is in virgo, couldn't help it!) because my wonderful model, Karolin is coming again this morning..this place was beginning to close in on me, stuff all over the floor, things stacked up on the tables..I know when it gets to this point it can be dangerous..and now it

feels so much better..

I have really taken an interest in incorporating printmaking into my work..especially monoprinting but I plan to do some woodcuts when I return..there is an artist here who is a pro printmaker, very inspiring!

experimenting!

In 4 days Mike will be here until we fly home together end of July. We have exciting plans-taking the train to Stockholm, the ferry to the island of Gotland and back here exploring and then we will head to Copenhagen and maybe a coastal village before heading home.

My lovely friend Kay sent me this quote and I thought I would share it with you "Traveling is one way of lengthening life"

Benjamin Franklin, a letter from Paris, 1767

Im off for my morning walk and meditation to one of my favorite spots 

I will post again after travels with my beloved husband,

coming up soon..love your updates..keep me in the loop!! miss you

Happy 4th of July a few days early!

 Our Open Studios tour went well. We moved each half hour from one studio to the next which worked out well with each artist giving an informal talk about their work. I took my talented daughter Allison's suggestions for these tasty hors d'oeuvres and they were gone in minutes!

coined radishes on homemade rye from my fav bakery here topped with salt cured salmon and grated lemon zest

fresh chopped pea pods and chives with ricotta and lemon zest on toasted spelt

nice turn out of artists and others in the community

Erdmute, Ashleigh who left early this morning and me

Last week Ashleigh and I took the bus to Malmo, the southern most province of Sweden, 3rd largest city ..btw- if you are looking for a great watch, "The Bridge" which deals with an opening scene that happens on the bridge that connects Sweden to Denmark keeps you on the edge. I watched all 10 episodes and loved the drama and mystery. 

In Malmo we went to the Modern Museum here which had a cutting edge contemporary painting show and also a fun Edvard Munch show. (the scream)

Malmo's main square

in front of the Moderna Museet (slick brightly painted interior)

one of Munch's pieces

This is my friend Cecilia's family. She is a theatre director here and I am going to visit her studio today. She just returned from a two week trekking trip to Greece wth her husband and 12 year old son, Milou.

She graciously took me to lunch on Saturday.

This was taken at 11:00 PM, I think I am finally getting used to this climate..yesterday we had heavy rain, few hours of sunshine and then cold, hot..crazy! I guess I can't complain, I will send you some coolness to those of you who are having the heat wave pass through.

 beginning a newspaper collage

Be careful what you ask for because you may just get it!

I asked for a sewing machine and to draw from a model and I got both. I have taught figure drawing for many years but have seldom taken the time to practice doing it myself and it was fantastic. Karolin, a dancer and performance artist came to my studio and for 1 1/2 hours she did one amazing pose (this girl was so limber) after the next..it makes me want to do this everyday! she may come back this week if time and money allow

one of my 3-5 min. practice drawings with Karolin, love the pose on the bottom, she looked like a snake crawling on my yoga mat :)

So, I need to rev it up- hoping to get 5 more pieces finished before mid July when Mike comes..we are planning our getaway to Stockholm and the island of Gotland and then Copenhagen and if we can also fit in the little fishing village of Lysekil north of here. We plan to be here in between our jaunts..see how it all unfolds. We booked a ferry to Gotland on the full moon and then I had a dream about a ferry that night( I wont say what happened in it) the Baltic Sea!

it means so much to me to hear from you, so please keep in touch-sending all my love from sweet Sweden! Happy 4th of July

HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE

Happy Summer Solstice! the last week I have been out and about exploring the surrounding area. I was able to use a Swedish artist's car who left for her exhibition in Paris so the other
two guest artists, Ashleigh and Erdmute and I went to Uddevalla, about an hour north of here..we went to the Bohuläns Museum and saw a colorful show of well known expressionist Swedish artist 
Jarl Ingvarsson, inspiring. Then we drove across the Tjorn bridges to Skarhamn on the sea to enjoy the amazing Alice Neel show at the Nordiska Akuarellmuseet (watercolor museum) Not only was the show wonderful- work I had never seen of hers but the museum is placed beautifully on the ocean- wonderful place to visit.

Ashleigh and Erdmute looking at Jarl's show

a charming little watercolor of Alice Neel's

enjoying tea after the show at the museum, landscape was so peaceful

The other morning I went for a walk looking for this place that holds dance classes, a new friend Malin had told me about..I had my map and was standing on the street and a woman walking her dog asked me if I needed help. She proceeded not only guide me right to the place where I wanted to go but also took me halfway back to where I knew the trail through these lush gorgeous garden areas. I was totally excited to find another route which was shorter and went back the next day just to enjoy the beauty. These people have little summer houses and tend the gardens in front of them.

the trail goes between all the houses, each one more fun and charming then the next, everything blooming!

always love stacked wood!

Yesterday it was Midsummer celebration which is the biggest holiday in Sweden, bigger than National Day..everything closes and people celebrate by gathering with friends and family doing  traditional dance and song, then everyone goes home and enjoys a meal together. I was not sure what I would do so I decided to start working in my studio and then after awhile Erdmute said she was going to Branno island to the celebration and asked if I wanted to come, she was leaving in 5 minutes ( I grabbed my pack and threw a few things in there and we were off) We took the tram to the ferry and had a lovely time dancing and then we were invited to Barbro's home for fresh strawberry cake (she is the director of the residency and lives on the island) it was a fabulous spontaneous time!

people enjoying the natural surroundings on the rocks and cove on the ocean where the celebration took place

isn't she adorable? everyone wears flower wreaths

another beauty, fresh flowers so lovely!

an intimate moment

The Illinois Riegel's could easily belong to this country with their blond hair and fair complexion

even babies get into it!

musicians who live on the island played as we danced

great gathering

kids holding hands walking on the island, I couldnt stop taking photos of them all

From outside of Barbro's house you could see the whole archipelago (islands). She bicycles to the ferry from her house, then takes the ferry (only 15 min.), then the tram to work here in Gothenborg every morning and loves it! A place to return and explore for sure!

A few highlights for you to enjoy! My work is changing, I have been having fun trying out a few new materials..Ashleigh, the Canadian artist is leaving after this week so we are having an Open Studios Exhibition this Thursday...will send more info on that soon. Thanks for keeping me updated about you, I love hearing. Until next time

byeeeeeeeee!