Chihuly exhibition at the Halcyon gallery in London

Just over a week ago, which was the last weekend of January, my dear boyfriend took me down to London for a couple of days. I haven't been to London for years, so this was really appreciated. 

We hadn't planned to do any touristy things at all, but we simply had some nice strolls around the city. We visited Covent Garden market - I love that place (but not as much as Camden, of course!), and we had a very short look on Oxford street before we got bored. What's the point of going there when you've got the exact same shops in Leeds?

Anyway, when we turned off Oxford street we got to New Bond street, on which the Halcyon gallery is. We looked in the windows of the gallery and were both gobsmacked. In there was one of the most fantastic exhibitions I've ever seen! I've always been fascinated by glass art, since I come from the part of Sweden that it known for glass blowing, but this was truly amazing.

The gallery was hosting an exhibition by Chihuly, and I was sold first thing! Just look at these fabulous pieces.

The glass pieces are all inspired by shapes you can find under the sea. The massive ones you can find in the gallery's two windows (one blue and one purple) look like octopus arms and sea shells mixed together - twined and twisted in every angle imaginable. It's very mesmerising looking at it all. Unfortunately my camera doesn't do these pieces justice, but you really have to see them with your own eyes.

Chihuly also exhibited a few abstract paintings with "splash" effects. I love abstract art, and it's what I prefer to paint myself. These paintings with simple yet beautiful patterns, and the contrast of colours, are gorgeous. Just my style! I wish I could hang one of these in my livingroom. They're definitely something to get inspired by next time I decide to be creative enough to paint. If only I had some motivation!

Fascinating staircases

When decorating a home there is so much to think about – tiles, wall colour, fabrics… you name it! But have you ever thought of doing something as extreme as changing your staircase to something more creative and eye-catching? Most people think that stairs are just stairs, and that their only function is to take you from one floor to another. I guess this is true on one way, but just take a look at the creative staircases below, and you might change your mind! 

Stairs aren’t just stairs, but they work perfectly as book cases as well. The one that really caught my eye is the first one of these four (could it be oak?). I like the fact that it’s so chunky, and that the shelves are square.

If you have a small home, space saving stairs could be a great option. And they look so extremely stylish too! But oh my, it sure must be scary walking in them. Better watch where you place your feet! I absolutely love the staircase made out of wooden boxes that have simply been hung up on the wall. If you are looking to do something like this for your home it might be easier to build it yourself, rather than buying a ready-made one, in order to fit it in perfectly with the angles of your home. But don’t think that you can just build a staircase with any creative materials you find (like the wooden boxes below). Remember that each step needs to be able to hold a heavy weight, and therefore it’s essential that you buy some high quality, professional stair parts, like the ones in the range of Richard Burbidge from Flyde Stair Parts.

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 A set of creative spiral stairs can be just enough creativity in your home if you’re looking for something that stands out, but not too extremely. The wooden stairs with chunky steps have a really natural feel to them, and they would fit in most homes. If you prefer to style up your staircase with patterns, a great way to do so is to opt for a printed or painted banister, like the one with the tree motif below.

If I could change the staircase in my current house I would definitely go for any of the two below. The black one cause it looks so dramatic (just imagine that black and those patterns against a light wall – what a cool contrast!) and the one with the tree banister because I’ve got a bit of an obsession with trees since I recently covered a whole wall in my house with a big tree painting. And also, the tree staircase is the most similar one to the stairs I’ve already got in my house, so this would actually be feasible to create!

Beautiful Sister

A portrait of my beautiful sister, made in 2009.

A little extra present I gave her for her 20th birthday.
I've used acrylic colours, and I believe the painting is 50*50 cm. 

Don't ask me why I chose to make a swirly greenish background!
In the original picture she was standing on a boat with lots of trees and water in the background - I just couldn't be bothered painting so many details!

I'm sorry about the poor quality of the photos - they have been snapped with my mobile phone camera.

As you may recall, I posted a silly drawing of my two sisters making funny faces a while ago.
Click this little image and it'll take you to the original post. 

Orange Swirl

New abstract 3-piece painting made with acrylic paints.

This is no complex painting in any way, but it's only a bit of doodling. I simply needed to fill a space on our livingroom wall that looked extremely empty, so I got inspired by the decorations that were already in the room and tried to match the colours. As you can see I've got a thing for orange ;)

Inspirational wedding headpieces

The second term of my jewellery making course just started this week, and I found out that my class mate just got engaged and is getting married later this year. I am so happy for her! Naturally, I started thinking about wedding jewellery. Would this be something that I could create in jewellery class? I've had a browse online for wedding tiaras, and I've understood that I'm far from being able to create anything as gorgeous as this!

That didn't stop me looking though. I know I couldn't possibly create vintage looking headpieces such as the one above - there are way too many little complicated details. But I am sure that with some practice I would be able to create something more simple and contemporary. 

There is an evening course in millinery at my college as well, which is a fancy word for hat making. Perhaps if you mixed the skills you would gain from that course with my jewellery making skills, you could create some pretty side tiaras such as these:

After having had a proper look online for some wedding headpieces I found my favourite one. I absolutely adore this vintage looking piece with a dragon fly. I love the whole motto of the dragon fly - to seize the day.

Carpe Diem

Some old finds from back home

Happy New Year everyone!
I went home to my family in Sweden for Christmas, and I haven't really realised before - but oh my they've got lots of my old paintings and sculptures up in their house! Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I only snapped a few bad quality photos with my mobile phone. Here are a few of the things I made between 2003-2006. Nothing great, but it's fun to get reminded of them, and think back about the time when I made them.

This black rose with the barbed wire and the blood drop (I know, how dramatic!) was made during my college years, either in 2003 or 2004. It was simply my dark period, and I loved everything black. This painting was made with aquarelle (water colour) on normal paper.

One of the first things I made in ceramics class in college was this swirly vase made of red clay.

Vibrant colours - african women. Two tiny little aquarelle painting made on A5 paper, and mounted together in a big wooden frame. Made in 2004.

What can I say... feet. Imagine them sticking our from underneath a duvet. Acrylic painting from 2005.

A simple red rose with a drop of water that I painted for my lovely grandma in 2005. Nothing special about the painting, but it's very simple and it has got a lot of contrasts.

These two paintings are about opposite feelings, or something like that. "Dream, Fear" and "Light, Dark, Love, Hate". They were simply made on a rainy day when I had nothing better to do than to take out my acrylic paints, and doodle and splash on a couple of canvases. I must say, drenching the brush in red paint and splashing it on a pretty much finished painting was a surprisingly good feeling.