a magical ceramics atelier

i visited a magical ceramics atelier out in the countryside today. it's the kind of place you imagine exists, but you don't really fully believe it - oozing with atmosphere and humming with creativity.

danish ceramics artist nina lund and her french husband, also a ceramics artist, jean-francois thierion, own a former insulin factory in the danish countryside. it's both home and atelier and shop for them. it has the feel of an old dairy with big windows and white subway tiles. it has the most amazing atmosphere.

they have a couple of very large kilns and the front window (which i apparently failed to photograph) is where they sit and spin the potters' wheels. i actually completely neglected to take my proper camera with me and only had my old iPhone 4S along, so these photos are all from that. i guess it just means that i have to go back.

these are some of jean-francois' gorgeous vases. they're very large and the kind of thing you see in the lobby of a big company or bank, so i didn't even dare to ask how much they cost.

the same with his big platters - what i wouldn't give for one of those - imagine how many strawberries i could put in there!

nina was working in the studio, but took a few minutes to talk to us as we looked around the shop area upstairs. she told us this stool is a first attempt at making stools and talked about the tweaks she'll make in the next round. it was really beautiful, but i didn't try sitting on it.

i couldn't resist a few of her unique candleholders. i'll definitely be headed out there the next time i have to buy a gift for someone - so much better to give a unique, beautiful handmade gift from the local area, don't you think?

i bought the one with the yellow flowers in it and i was tempted by the little yellow dotty one you you can see in the foreground on the right. i may have to go back for that one. i suspect they are the kind of thing that one could begin to collect and amass quite a nice collection of them.

another shot of jean-francois' vases. we didn't meet him while we were there, but i'd love to see him working as well. i definitely have to go back with my proper camera.

here are some of nina's larger works - intricate candleholders and large vases. it's so wonderful to visit a place where artists are at work and clearly able to make a living from their creativity. at the same time, tho', it made me feel a bit like i've obviously not done enough with my life or believed enough in my creative abilities. but there is hope that it's possible.

i like nina's more practical pieces as well - like these little oil/vinegar bottles. so cute and cheery. you couldn't help but smile while you're making dinner if these were sitting on your stove.

in denmark's soil

out in the ål klitplantage near oksbøl, there is a very interesting exhibition going on. there in the forest, in 1946, just after the war, there was a camp with 35,000 german refugees. artist kate skjerning and her husband, photographer niels linneberg (who is a flickr friend of mine) have created an exhibition entitled i danmarks jord (in denmark's soil), that's a memorial of sorts to those refugees. guided by poet agnes miegel's poignant, sorrowful poem of the same name to 4,132 children who died in 1945 on their way to the camp, the 1km route through the cool, quiet forest features larger-than-life photos of 175 contemporary residents of the area, fixed around the trees, as if they're standing there in the forest.

i love that this guy was actually photographed in front of this tree originally - even the bark matches up!

there's something piercing and intense about her eyes.

the portraits are striking, but there's no real connection, other than location, between the people depicted and the german refugees - no indication that they stayed behind and made their lives in the area, producing descendants who are still here.

it was quite funny with this family group, because we had seen them in real life at the beach about 15 minutes before we visited the exhibition.

at the beginning of the route, there are people here and there, one at a time, but then it opens up to a wide area with many people on many trees. the effect is striking and a little bit eerie. the girls said that they wouldn't want to walk out there at night.

mostly, i love the idea of a photography exhibition out in nature and i think it was a brilliant means of accomplishing that. the fact that at least some of the people were photographed in front of the very tree where their photo is displayed is really cool. i don't think all of them were, but on those that were, the effect was somehow strengthened.

but i will say that it didn't provoke me think that much about the german refugees. despite the sorrowful words of the poem guiding our way, i couldn't really conjure them or their ghosts in that place. maybe it just affects me less, growing up as i did so removed from the war. even after all this time, it's just so much more present for europeans than it is for me as an american (not to mention that i wasn't even thought of at the time it occurred).

what it did make me think about is all of the talk of udkantsdanmark - the outlying areas, where it's hard to keep people because of a lack of jobs and opportunities in the smaller towns of the periphery. these faces of those who stayed are a fascinating essay of sorts into which all sorts of sociology could be written. i might have to go back and ponder it some more.

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i've just updated my photo portfolio blog with a cool new pinteresty template.

i'm liking how it looks.

modern mosaics

generations (slægter følger) by carl-henning pedersen, 1987

after the flood (efter syndfloden) by carl-henning pedersen, 1985

the cup of life (livets kalk) by carl-henning pedersen, 1986

the acension of elijah (elias' himmelfart) by carl-henning pedersen, 1985

jacob's dream (jakobs drøm) by carl-henning pedersen, 1987

mosaics by danish artist carl-henning pedersen adorn the cathedral in ribe, one of the oldest towns in the country. it's a very pretty place, idyllic little winding cobblestone streets and the cathedral in the center. i love the atmosphere of churches - the hush, the way people whisper, how often they are over-dimensioned, especially if they're called a cathedral. it is a bit surprising to me that carl-henning pedersen was contracted to do such mosaics for the church, and i don't know if there was controversy at the time. i see it as only being able to happen in more open, less correct times (were the mid 80s really like that?). i love the irreverence of the mosaics and the way that i can't really see much religious imagery in them at all. i think it fits perfectly with the danish lack of religiosity  despite their love of spring holidays and having a state church. these mosaics provoke me to think far more than some fresco of an overly-adult-looking baby jesus on mary's lap. i say bring on modernity. especially in religion.

inspired by china

as the course at anne brodersen's studio ended, she showed us some of her work in which she had used the techniques she taught us. these were all inspired by her travels in china. there is no question at all in my mind that what she does is art. wouldn't you agree? it's my intention to own several of these pieces (i need goals). the colors are so wonderful. and the pieces are compact and magical. her work is simply singing with color and inspiration.

a saga in stitches

these small works are part of anne brodersen's sagaland series, inspired by a trip to iceland.

she's used photographs, printed on ordinary paper and soaked in some kind of solution as the base. i didn't quite understand how it works, but i will take a class with her and find out. as you know, i love the idea of stitching on photos, so this version of that idea is very appealing. i think it turns a photo into something somehow natural and earthy and i like that idea.

today i'm baking cakes - red velvet with a raspberry curd layer inside, covered in merengue buttercream and sabin's made a rich vanilla sheetcake that we're going to decorate as an iPhone. photos and a report of our television debut, as well as the results of the contest sometime on the weekend!

happy weekend, one and all!

fragments of a long journey

long journey

more of anne brodersen's amazing, fascinating work. this one is called long journey. i could have studied this for hours. (and i might yet.) each little fragment is packed with meaning and there are similar motifs/techniques in each line, tying it together - figures, symbols, transfer techniques and stitches. it feels at once deep and laden with meaning and so light you think it might float away. it's filled with contradiction somehow. i imagine you'd see something new in it every day, even if you looked at it for the rest of your life.

what i love is that i didn't get the impression that anne brodersen thinks for a second that what she does is more handiwork than art. it is art and she seems sure of that. perhaps because it's second nature to her - in danish, embroidery is broderi and her name is brodersen. it's the most unapologetic, fully-executed embroidery as art that i've seen. not the slightest hint of angst about craft is present here. and that's a breath of fresh air. because this really is art.

intriguing embroidery

paraphrase

paraphrase

paraphrase

must find out the name of this piece

must find out the name of this piece

must find out the name of this piece

behind glass, hence the reflections of the lights. 

i saw the most amazing embroidery art today at my favorite little local museum in randbøldal. it's by danish artist anne brodersen. anne and her husband were there, setting up the exhibition today, so i got to meet her. anne is a longtime weaver who turned to smaller embroidered works after some health problems a few years ago. the works are tiny but have a big impact.

i found myself quite emotional looking at them. they're evocative and have so much going on in such a small space. they provoked quite a longing in me...for ancient times, for symbols, for travel, for cave paintings, for small stitches, for some random yet ordered.

anne uses some very interesting techniques with tarred paper and a glue transfer of photos printed on ordinary paper and soaked in water. i so want to take a course with her. i will share more photos of her work tomorrow. i think i'm still letting it soak in.