An antique fork turned into two rings

As I've been mentioning quite a few times now, I am taking a jewellery making course at Leeds College of art. No putting beads on threads here, but proper metal work! What I am most proud so far is my project of turning an old antique silver fork into two rings - one out of the handle and one out of the head. The fork is only a tiny dessert fork, and it was just about enough for two rings.

I really like this ring below made out of the pointy bit of the fork. The swirls really disguise that it's actually a fork, don't they?

The handle on the fork had a really swirly pattern, which is one of the reasons why I chose to work with an antique fork. Modern cutlery just don't have that little extra, but they're all very plain. So even though this is a very simple ring it looks extraordinary cause of the pattern. 

Nautical 3-piece painting from 2011

When I first moved in to my boyfriend's house I realised he didn't have any decorations whatsoever. I went a bit mental with the empty rooms since I am one who loves decorations, and who always had my walls filled with all sorts of things, such as drawings, photos, etc. In my opinion every room needs a small decorative item - even the tiny guest bathroom in the hallway! That's actually where I hung up this nautical inspired 3-piece painting of mine. I was inspired by the round window in that bathroom, which very much reminded me of a window in a boat. What better theme to have in that bathroom then than a nautical theme ;) 

This 3-piece nautical painting is made with acrylic colours, and the swirls you can see are simply painted pebbles glued on with superglue. I really think that 3D objects in paintings make a huge difference, and they really draw attention to the painting as a whole. Below you can see each painting as a close-up.

I really wanted to paint a compass, and as you can see that is the main piece of the painting. I thought the text "Wherever you go, take me with you" really suited it, and it sounds really sweet.

Fair Trade art

I've done a lot of inspirations posts lately and this is yet another one.The reason is because I've not been creative enough with my own art. I promise the next post will be about some of my own work :) I've already got it all planned!

There is something about handmade things... Just the fact that someone has spent hours creating something rather than using machines in factories. As an artist I really admire hand crafted things such as accessories and clothing. It feels like those items have got more meaning. I really hope people will have that view on my handmade jewellery as well once I get good enough to sell them.
I recently came across traidcraftshop.co.uk which is an online shop by the leading fair trade company Traidcraft. In their cute little shop they sell all sorts of pretty items handmade by people in the third world, and with the profit they help fighting poverty.
Here are a few items from their handmade jewellery and accessories collection. 

<-- How cute are these silver elephant earrings with swirly little details?! 

I absolutely adore these little ring holders shaped as an elephant and a giraffe. -->

Beautiful amethyst earrings with silver patterns.

<-- I love jewellery made of glass, and this necklace is fantastic!

 
 


You wouldn't think this handbag was made out of a recycled car tyre, would you?-->

<-- Absolutely fantastic work; a nacklade made out of carved out wood with swirly details.


 Aren't these wooden elephant book marks just super cute?! -->

Gemstone Love

As most of you know already, I am taking a jewellery making course one evening every week. So far, I've only made a few rings (post about those are coming soon) and a few weeks back I posted an inspiration post on handmade silver rings. All gorgeous :) That post sure gave me lots of ideas for upcoming designs. I'm still on the sketching stage though, so it may take a while before you get to see any of my work...
This is another inspiration post, but of rings a bit more complicated in their designs. It's my dream to be able to create rings like these sometime in the future. A few friends of mine have said to me "If you're learning how to make jewellery, you should make my wedding ring". I'm probably lightyears away from the day when I will be able to create a gorgeous, sparkly wedding ring, but I can always dream... And practice makes perfect, so I better get started!
I've recently been looking at sapphire rings for inspiration, as I would really like to start working with gemstones. These are some really lovely designs I've found.

Blue, purple and green are my favourite colours when it comes to jewellery, so below are some great designs of amethyst and emerald rings as well. Since I'm a very arty person my motto is that the swirlier and more complex, the better ;) Which one is your favourite? My favourite of all these is the first one of the sapphire rings. I love the fact that it looks simple from a distant, but when you look at it closer you see all the little swirly patterns cut out in the silver. Absolutely amazing! And honey, I am not at all hinting :P

The missing piece for my art room

Call it art or not... but I think interior decoration is a form of art. It sure is a way of showing your creativity. Matching furniture, placing decorations, hanging up pictures... it takes an artist's eye to do it right.
Antique furniture especially just screams art. Nowadays it's all about boring flat packs...

Remember my post about my project "painting a swirly tree on the wall"? I thought I'd continue talking about that room of mine, that I now refer to as my "art room".

After having painted my swirly olive green tree I invested in an antique bureau in an off-white colour. It's all worn and battered, but it's such a beautiful piece of furniture. I got myself a matching bookcase (sure, it is new, but it looks old!) and now all that's missing is a sofa. There is a sofa bed in that room, but it's extremely ugly. It's one of those "boy-room"-sofas made out of a massive futon and a metal frame. Uuuh... (boyfriend's choice prior to meeting me)

I've been looking around and I would really want a sofa that looks like an antique one to match the rest of the room. Right now I've got my eyes on a couple of chesterfield sofas fromTheOriginalSofaCo - one of them would be a great addition to my art room. The colour theme in that room is white, olive green and purple (but more green at the moment) so this purple sofa would suit perfectly! I'll keep looking, but I'll definitely put this sofa on my list of maybes...

Pictures from Pompeii - 2000 year old art

 I just wanted to share with you these amazing photos that I took while visiting Pompeii in May this year. This trip to Italy was the best holiday I've ever been on. 

I spent most of my days in Italy walking the streets of Rome looking at all the fantastic architecture, but one day we decided to take the train down south for a daytrip to Pompeii, which is near Napoli and just by the base of the volcano Vesuvius.

Pompeii was buried in heavy ashes from the Vesuvius eruption in year 79, and the city wasn't discovered again until 1749 - almost 1700 years later! 

The city is still not completely uncovered, but archeologists are still recovering artefacts. The fact that all these items are so well preserved is such a great and interesting way of learning about history.

Walking on the ancient steets of Pompeii was such an amazing experience! It was hard to imagine that everything you saw around you was over 2000 years old. The buldings and fountains were very impressive, but what really amazed me was all the art. Have a look at my Pompeii art pictures below. There are both 2000 year old mosaic floor patterns, and even some erotic art from Pompeii's brothel.

 

 If you are going to Italy I strongly recommend that you visit Pompeii. It's actually not difficult getting there. I took a 2 hour train from Rome down to Napoli, where I changed to the local train Circumvesuviana, which goes around the volcano Vesuvius. The staff at the station were very helpful as well, and even though we were there during the tourist season, there were staff there that helped us get on the right train.

Abstract Art - Not just laziness

Many people think that abstract art is just an artist being lazy, throwing paint on a canvas. Sometimes that can be the case (I know, I have tried!), but usually there is actually a lot of thought behind the painting, even if it doesn't picture anything concrete.
The choice of colour, the movement in the picture, contrasts, shapes... a lot of different things play their part in abstract art. You might want to emphasize something in a room or simply draw attention to it, and you can help doing that by making a painting with certain shapes or colours.

Last year I lived in a big attic room with white painted walls, and I desperately needed some colour to make the room look a bit more interesting. That's when I painted this 3-piece painting above. I chose the colours cause they matched the other decorations in my room (when I hung up the painting, all my other decorations suddenly stood out a lot more), and the reason I made it on 3 canvases was to make it cover as much of the wall above my bed as possible. The bigger, the better, right?! ;) I also did it because I like the way the picture flows through the 3 canvases.

When I paint abstract art I actually prefer to divide the painting up on several canvases. It sure makes the painting look more interesting, and you get a wider variety and more options of what you can do.

Inspiration and Childhood Memories

I came across this picture of two pretty little flower fairy girls when I was browsing the website of my favourite art shop. As soon as I saw it it hit me; My sweet grandma had a big poster of this picture up in her guest room where I always stayed when I visited her. I used to love that poster. Me and my sister used to sit and stare at it and pretend that we were little fairies in a tree

The artist is Cicely Mary Barker, who was an English woman born in the late 19th century. Her illustrations focused on fairies and flowers, and she published several Flower Fairies books and cards from the late 1910's to the 1970's, but she was the most popular during the 20's and 30's.

I think my grandma had a few Flower Fairies posters and smaller images, cause when browsing through Cicely Mary Barker's work I seem to recognise quite a few of them.
I'm tempted to buy one of these books as these fairies really remind me of my childhood and my lovely grandma. Who knows... perhaps I'll get inspired by these pretty illustrations and paint something similar myself :)

The fairy-like lady in the forest - acrylic painting from 2010

I don't know what I was inspired by when I painted this acrylic painting back in 2010. I had bought this massive canvas, and I just wanted to create a fantasy world - a little bit fairy-like. I wanted to achieve a contrast - gloomy and mysterious forest colours with that fiery red hair. Don't ask me why I painted a naked woman in the forest only wearing a necklace with a dragonfly, cause I honestly have no idea. I never in beforehand decide what I'm going to paint, but it just happens... (unless it's a portrait of someone I know) I know I had just read a book a few months earlier that mentioned a dragonfly necklace, so I guess I was influenced by that.
I am not very happy about the proportions in the painting - they look quite unnatural. But I do like the overall look of it - I really worked hard on the colours.
If I had the energy I would change a few bits in it, but after all this time I really can't be bothered. It might just make it worse!
What do you think?

Inspiration on handmade silver rings

My first inspiration post!

As some of you may know already I am taking an evening course in jewellery making at Leeds College of Art and Design. So far I have tried working in both copper and silver, and I must say that silver is my favourite, even though it's more difficult to work in. (I accidentally melted my first attempt of a silver ring while trying to solder it... oops!)

My first ever ring was just a plain copper ring, and the first one I made in silver was also just a plain one. My next step is to do something more creative (=more complicated) and I've started making a ring in silver that goes around the finger 2-3 times with swirly ends. We'll see how it turns out. I promise I'll keep you posted :)

For now, here is some inspiration on handmade silver rings. Hopefully these will get my creativity going.

Although I have put these selected images together they do not belong to me, and if any of them are yours and you wish to have it removed, please just drop me an email to say so.

A selection of handmade silver rings to get me inspired

Tattoo Art

Some people claim that tattoos are not a form of art. I think the opposite!

If anything, you can say that tattoo art is the ultimate art... it stays on your skin permanently after all, and you take it with you wherever you go.

This is not a new trend, as some people may think, but the art of tattooing is ancient. Just look at the Maori tribes of new Zealand and their tattoos. Every symbol has a meaning, and their tattoos tell the story of their family and themselves. Perhaps that is the secret to a great tattoo: get something personal rather than going for the trends.

I have 4 tattoos myself - all designed by me - and I am proud to wear them!

Tattooing in progress - half way there

My tummy tribal tattoo - dark brown

My flower vine tattoo in brown and pinkish purple

 People compliment me on my shoulder blade tattoo all the time, and that makes me feel appreciated as an artist. I'm not saying you should get a tattoo just to show off your art (cause it's not like you carry your paintings around everywhere you go) but I am just trying to make you understand that tattoos are an art. Then there are of course the amateur made tattoos that should be hidden away from the world forever.... Even if the design you have made is great, it might get destroyed by the person tattooing you. So for god's sake, make sure that the tattoo artist you go to is a well respected one with years of experience, and ask to see some of his/her work first. Also, most importantly; make sure you have a proper think about what design to choose... It's no fun if you change your mind in the future.

Jewellery making course

I recently started an evening course in jewellery making at Leeds College of Art and Design. So far I've only been to two lessons, but I'm already learning a lot. I'm not talking about putting beads on a thread here, but proper metal work.

Our first task is to make a ring made of copper. We've learned how to measure ring sizes with the help of a steel wire - this is important to get the right amount of material for the item you are making. You don't want the ring to get too small or too big! We've also learned annealing - which is a technique of heating up metal with the help of fire. After that we cleaned the copper in some kind of acid (I can't remember what it was called), followed by trying to bend the copper stick into a ring with some tongs. Easier said than done!

After having soldered it together we used a wooden hammer and a thick metal stick (the kind you use for making rings - I can't remember the correct term for that either) to make the ring perfectly round.

Next lesson we're gonna make the ring all shiny, and ready to wear. Exciting!

I've got my eyes on this jewellery book from Amazon. A girl in my class bought it, and it includes all the basic techniques you need to know, plus a lot more. There are lots of pretty pictures in it as well :) I really need to read up on the techniques, as I'm clueless about what the teacher is talking about sometimes. I blame it on the fact that I'm Swedish :P The book is only £13.97, so it's well worth it!

Pencil portraits - My friends looking silly

Drawing faces is what I'm best at. I've always been fascinated with eyes especially, so drawing faces is kind of my thing. When I decided to draw portraits of my friends though, I thought; "Why draw them all pretty, when I can draw them making silly faces".
This is how it turned out...

"Activate before use"
It all started with a screen-cap of a video. This girl is really one of a kind. She was goofing around with an O2 SIM card sticker on her forehead (which was being filmed by her sister) and this wonderful shot inspired me to do a whole collection of drawings of my friends making silly faces.

"The imaginary fly on the nose"
She does have the biggest eyes I've ever seen. And she kind of looks like a living cartoon, I promise! ;)

"Finger-mustache"
He does actually have a real mustache-tattoo on his finger! ;)

 

"Goofy"
She's still pretty, even when doing an "ugly" face.

"The classic pig-nose"
Who hasn't tried making this funny face.

"Silly sisters"
My favourite! Blow 'em out, suck 'em in!

 

If you would like me to do a portrait of you, or as a gift for someone else, please contact me and we can discuss things further :)

Andy Warhol pop art

What do we think about pop art a la Andy Warhol?
I just found this photoshopped picture of me in a long lost file on my computer. 

I think I created it on a very boring day back in 2008. 

Guess where I got my inspiration from!?!

Argggh!! (pirate noise) - A look back to 2007...

I really haven't been creative enough lately - lazy me! I intended to paint the other day on a massive canvas I bought a few weeks ago, but I didn't have any motivation whatsoever. All I did was; I took a good sized plate from the kitchen, laid it on the canvas and drew around it so that it formed a ring. So now I've got a completely white canvas, with a penciled ring on it. Brilliant.... hum. I have actually planned to paint something special on that canvas. I can see it all in my head! I just need to pull myself together and actually paint it.

Oh well, you can't always keep up with your creativity. I was more creative a few years ago when people actually came to me and asked me to paint for them. I was once asked to paint some children's paintings of pirates for a little boy who was about 3 years old. You can see the result below. These paintings are from 2007. They're really simple, and of typical "boys colours". What little boy wouldn't want a few paintings of pirates on his wall ;)

Project: Painting a swirly tree on the wall (part 3)

The third and last part of my project where the goal was to paint a tree on the wall.

See below how it turned out!

After another 4 hours (so 8 hours in total) my swirly tree was finally finished!

It had been 8 long hours, with back pain and sore eyes, but it was absolutely worth it.

I am really happy with how it turned out.

Here are some closeups of the branches, just to tease you a little bit... :)

I promise you don't have to wait any longer now to see the completed tree. 

I know some of you have had to hear me talk about it for weeks, or even months!

So, my dear friends, have a look, and please let me know what you think of it:

Project: Painting a swirly tree on the wall (part 2)

I convinced my MD to lend me the company's projector over a weekend. It sure wasn't easy getting the settings and the size right, but with the help of my dear boyfriend it turned out just great.

Once I had drawn up the tree on the wall with a light pencil, I started painting the outlines of the tree with a tiny brush. It was quite difficult painting clean lines, and it took a lot longer than I thought it would.







After 4 hours I was half way there. Phew!!!

Project: Painting a swirly tree on the wall (part 1)

I recently just moved into my boyfriend's house, and I realised that it was way too boyish/bachelor looking for my taste. The house had all the typical manly tech items, like the massive TV, surround sound system, and a whole room just dedicated to his computer. There was nothing wrong with the furniture (they are all really new and stylish) but he didn't have one single decorative item in the house. That needed changing! The house was in desperate need of a woman's touch!

I started off small; putting a nice table cloth on the dinner table, placing candle holders in almost every room, putting up a little wine rack in the kitchen, etc... But that wasn't enough for my artistic soul...

So I gave myself a bigger project. And in this case bigger means that I made my boyfriend chuck his computer out, and I decided to change his office into a nice little arty room for myself. (Selfish? Naah... he never spent time in that room anyway!)

I started painting over the ugly boyish light blue walls, but I wouldn't settle for just plain colours. Sure, I decided to paint 3 of the 4 walls white (I painted the 4th one in a beautiful olive green colour), but my big project is that I am painting a big tree on one of the walls. It's massive actually.

I haven't actually painted it yet, but I projected my design on the wall yesterday, and drew the lines with a light pencil, so I've got a good idea of what it's going to look like.

My design of the tree I'm about to paint (with inky pen on A4 paper)

See how the tree turned out here:
Swirly tree on the wall (part 2)
Swirly tree on the wall (part 3)