Hemslöjden 100 years: The National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies 100 years Part I

Hemslöjden 100 years: The National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies 100 years

The power of folk art and crafts and handicrafts is immense also, or especially, in our time of digital and constant on-line life. The domain of crafts/handicrafts/folk art also is closely interweaved with fields like environment, sustainability and organic materials.
Also, (the from the outset punk and post-punk) DIY culture can be seen as a part of the movement of folk art and crafts.

This year the Swedish organization Svenska hemslöjdsföreningarnas riksförbund ("Swedish handicrafts organisation" or The National Association of Swedish Handicraft Societies) will celebrate 100 years. This will manifest itself as some very promising exhibitions!

One of the most exiting seems to be Väv ("Weave") at Nordiska museet (Djurgården, Stockholm). The museum was from the start created to hold many objects of folk dress as is reflected in the collections.

Photo: Mats Landin ©Nordiska museet.

Väv will feature old textiles from the collection and invited students from Konstfack, HV Skola (Handarbetets vänner) och Sätergläntan. There will also be looms for the public to use. Sounds very nice to me! Opening May 9th (closing September 30 th).

Logo for Power of  Fashion, Nordiska museet

Don´t forget the permanent exhibition Modemakt (Power of Fashion) which shows clothing and fashion from 1780s, 1860s and 1960s (different social groups, for example "folk clothing", very nicely put in a context of fashion). I highly recommend the very well-informed and well-written catalogue written by curator Berit Eldvik (beautiful photos by Mats Landin).
Last but not least, have a look at Nordiska museets Textilgalleri, on-line and IRL.

On June 6th (until September 2), the art hall Liljevalchs in Stockholm will show the jubilee exhibition Hemslöjden på Liljevalchs (Swedish Handicraft 100 Years). I remember the wonderful, joyful and colourful, exhibition Slöjden är här. Slöjden är härlig 1998 at Liljevalchs. I really look forward to this new big exhibition!

Anna-Karin Jobs Arnberg: embroidered mittens. Jubilee exhibition at Liljevalchs

On display will be for example the collective work, "Can you see the leaves on the trees", which will consist of 2000 leaves created by people around the country.

This is part I of my posts about Swedish handicrafts and the jubilee of Hemslöjden. I wish to conclude this post with this picture from Zickermans värld (from Lilli Zickerman, 1858-1949, one of the most important founders of the organized Swedish handicraft movement).



 Check out the homepage of the jubilee year for more info about the handicraft movement´s first 100 years in Sweden (at the moment, it seems to be only in Swedish, unfortunately). And look out for my next post on the topic.

Many new images at Tumblr!

Winter is here in Stockholm, Sweden and I hope for new snow...

Please, come have a look at my many new images at Tumblr (some of them from other Tumlbr bloggers, using the nice custom of "re-blogging", re-using others pictures). My visuals are tagged slow creations - just search them or click in the heart symbol under the image.

Very welcome! I am looking forward to seeing you there, too.

Follow me at tumblr!

Please, come and follow me at slow creations on tumblr! I reblog from others and blog my own visuals and others.

I will continue to post on this, my ordinary blog, too.

Happy New Year!

Painters: Twombly, Monet, Turner at Moderna museet

Cy Twombly at Moderna museet, Stockholm (detail)

Today I re-visited one of my favourite art exhibitions, Turner, Monet, Twombly. Later paintings at Moderna museet, Stockholm, Sweden, featuring Cy Twombly, Claude Monet and J. M. W. Turner. First, I must say that the photos are by me with one exception and not to be regarded as anything else than my own interpretations of the fantastic art works, which I of course cannot capture. So I decided to do my own modification of the images.

I was certainly not alone there, it was rather crowded...

But somehow a kind of peaceful as well as powerful atmosphere could be find amidst the many visitors. The paintings are so visually strong and, also, sometimes very subtle. 


Cy Twombly at Moderna museet, Stockholm (detail)

Image by slow creations

As long as I can remember, I have liked Claude Monet, especially his more dissolved motifs of for example hay-stacks and cathedrals. As the exhibition shows later works, some were really intriguing.




Claude Monet at Moderna museet, Stockholm (detail)

I find the paintings by especially Monet and Twombly to be very sensual (but not in the usual tiresome sexual meniang, of course). This is really Painting in its own right, creating a new universe to become absorbed in. Something in it makes me think of surfaces, textiles, weaving and yarn. Well, I do often think of that... I admit, but this is really in the word´s right sense inspiring. 

Reflections... 

No pictures can show the light shining through Monet´s work...


Claude Monet at Moderna museet, Stockholm (detail)

Sunset by slow creations

My street by slow creations

Cy Twombly at Moderna museet, Stockholm (detail)

Moderna museet has a very good and famous children´s and youngsters place called Verkstan. It is wonderful and awesome to experience how young persons are treated with so much respect and that enough time and space is given to create for them.

From Verkstan at Moderna museet by slow creations

As is probably obvious, Twombly is the one that caught my eye most. I was not actually well aquainted with his work before this exhibition so I am very grateful for this.

Cy Twombly at Moderna museet, Stockholm (detail)

Shawl by slow creations (woven)

The exhibition Turner, Monet, Twombly. Later paintings (until January 15, 2011) is created/curated by Moderna museet (Jeremy Lewison, assistant curator: Jo Widoff) and will travel to Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and Tate Liverpool in late winter/early spring. A must-see. To be recommended!

From the interior of the exhibition

Cy Twombly

Untitled, 1987

© Cy Twombly

Inspiration and fascination...

Tata Christiane Couture. Check out his hairdo, too... 

Intriguing fashion/art and fiber projects like the label Tata Christiane Couture by Julie Bourgeois and Hanrigabriel (Berlin) caught my attention in a new post at Wearable Art Blog. This blog usally features nice stuff, some of it is organic/sustainably made or re-using materials.

The label often features crochet and patchwork like in this one:


Tata Christiane Couture: leather patchwork and crochet

 For me, this seems to be a new turn on the age-old crochet technique, a funny and exciting design that surprise us in its material combinations and colours. The designers work with serial and unique pieces, costume design and cooperations in art performances, film, photography and music. Not very surprisingly, they showed in Tokyo this recent summer.

The label says it is "a vision of the street costume, it proposes an absurd and disturbing vision of beauty, with decline, maladjustment, extravagance and immoderation. It plays with the borders of elegance and bad taste, digging up our old memories, recycling the waste of our civilisation, and becoming a monomania, a machination and a monstruous and sublime unique piece." Wow!
Ambiguity is the word.




Abigail Doan´s work-in-progress



Colours! Nice in autumn and always. Not so wearable, but always fascinating and very creative recent work by Abigail Doan features work-in-progress for Vogue in a post in one of her blogs. Also, often check her very active blog ecco*eco!

slow creations goes English...or Swe-nglish

Neck piece (knitting, crochet) from late spring 2011. Linen, buttons from an old loved 60s cardigan from my mother

Yes, my intention is that my blog from now on will be in English (eh...Swe-nglish, I am Swedish). I took this, for me, big decision after having realized that, after all, Swedish is not the biggest language on earth...and as a tribute to my English-speaking readers. I have found that I seem to have some of them/you.

Wrist piece (crochet), summer 2011. Organic cotton, linen and buttons from my grand mother´s old button box

Anyway, some future posts may continue to be in Swedish, if I feel that it is needed. I have the ambition to gradually translate parts of old posts or at least old tags. I hope that my readers will have some patience with me... And any ideas or comments on how to translate certain words are highly appreciated as is, of course, any feed-back!

I will most probably continue to do "slow blogging", e.g. post when I have the time and wish to do so. Ideas are many, time is scarce. Besides working with textile design (much of it eco/organic yarns and fabrics) my time is devoted to taking pictures (and... working, etc...)



From my "Skies" project



My last words today is that some of you may have seen that my favourite yarn shop and creative place Ateljé Huskroken of course also has info in English.




Neck piece (knitted). Organic wool from Ateljé Huskroken, Gotland.
T-shirt by Camilla Norrback, bought at DEM collective, Gothenburg

See you in Autumn! I long for the darkness that is approaching up here in the North...

Saker som får mitt hjärta att slå fortare...förutom ångest då Part I

In summer, the night. I need not write of the nights lit by the moon, but of the moonless nights, the fireflies' lights crossing in the darkness...


Så skrev den kvinnliga japanska författaren Sei Shonagon på 1000-talet (The Pillow Book, som varmt rekommenderas).


Ja, företeelser som får hjärtat mitt att klappa lite extra. Det är många grejer, det.


Maskrosor i tidig vår. Fjunbollarna när som helst. På väg att skingras, lyfta och landa.

Sol med moln hellre än sol utan moln.

Sönderläst franska Elle februari 1986



Issey Miyakes design, ända sedan jag först mötte hans verk när jag var i 16-årsåldern. Av en s k slump fick jag denna tidning i gymnasiet, för att öva franska...Tack fransklärare Monica Sellén. Du anar nog inte vad du bidrog med.

Snygga bloggen eccoeco med t ex inlägget 'Wires 10.0' Collection by Jantine van Peski. Bloggens inrikting är "Ideas about Fashioning Self and Sustainability". Ständigt spännande grejer.

Ingen bilvän, tvärtom... men estestiskt sett...har "Hundkojan" präglat mig sedan barnsben, då mina föräldrar hade en (turkos!). British Racing Green är nog snyggast. Hade jag körkort, skulle jag vilja ha en cabbad.

Vallmo. Inte minst minnet av den.

White Mountaineering på utställningen Japan Fashion Now vid The Museum at FIT, NYC
(avslutad april 2011)

Utställningen Japan Fashion Now i New York har jag enbart åtnjutit i form av medföljande boken som är fantastisk. Läcker, innehållsrik och mångfacetterad. Klart inspirerande.

Aaaah, garn. Yum, yum. Dessa är miljövänliga från Ateljé Huskroken.


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