MY CROSS

I do love my gold cross above that I carry ever so often. The design is great. It is tiny, tiny and measures eight millimeters. When I was eighteen and living in California for a year, I ran across a quote on a card in a bookstore, a card I have kept all this time. The quote goes:

“I carry a cross in my pocket, a simple reminder to me of the fact that I am a Christian no matter where I may be. This little cross is not magic, nor is it a good luck charm, it isn’t meant to protect me from every physical harm. It’s not for identification, for all the world to see, it’s simply an understanding between my Savior and me.”

HAPPY EASTER !

LONDON CALLING

Being an architectonic freak, visiting London is always great fun. This week I really enjoyed learning both the names and the nicknames of some of London’s buildings that my good friend kindly taught me. It may be part of the famous British sense of humour, but Londoners tend to use unofficial names when referring to some of the landmarks that form part of their city such as Big Ben (lilac above) which is actually named Elizabeth Tower.

I also visited my favourite gallery Tate Modern which sells products by Yoni Alter, an Israeli-British graphic artist who has made success by his overlapping of bright colors in order to highlight the buildings and landmarks in London (above). So if you are not updated of the nicknames, here follows a small guide: The Cheesegrater (orange), The Walkie Talkie building (blue left) in which London’s highest public garden is located on the top, The Gherkin actually a small cucumber used for pickling (pink middle), The Shard (glasskår in Norwegian) which is the real name, referring to the white glass in which the façades are constantly changing colours according to the weather and seasons (yellow).

With a sharp eye you may spot real name buildings such as Battersea Power Station (green), London Eye (middle), BT Tower (blue right) and Tower Bridge (pink right).

Yoni Alter’s prints can be purchased from here !

SHAKESPEARE MEETS VIGELAND

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The Sonnets by William Shakespeare are most popular and some of them, such as Sonnet 18  (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day), is one of the most highly prized poems in English literature. A sonnet is a poem in a specific form, but the word is derived from Italian and means “a little song”. Last year on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, BBC and other international broadcasters released The New Shakespeare Songbook with his sonnets conceived as songs and films interpreted by musicians and film-makers across Europe. The Vigeland Park in Oslo however is one of Norway’s most popular tourist attractions. The unique sculpture park is made by Gustav Vigeland and has more than 200 naked sculptures in bronze, granite and iron which mainly show the relationship between people in all ages.
The Norwegian songwriter and composer Ane Brun makes these two great men meet in her contribution to the New Shakespeare Songbook. Sit back, enjoy, listen and watch Shakespeare’s Sonnet 138 from here.

LOVE IS ALL AROUND

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

It is Christmas and “love is all around”. Well as a matter of fact, love is not all around. Many people in the world are striving this Christmas. There is war, there is fighting and hatred, and all of us must contribute the way we can. But despite of all the suffering we still need to create good spaces for ourselves.

I truly love this time of the year: the preparation for the time to come, the expectation and the enjoyment of wrapping love into glossy papers and shiny strings. The lightening of candles and the smell of oranges with cloves. I always include a new item in the house for Christmas, and I was delighted when I got hold of this snow globe on ebay after having searched for years.

However what has touched med the most so far this December is the epic version of the song “O helga natt” (the Swedish version of O Holy night) sung by The Norwegian singer and the performance artist Nils Bech accompanying one episode in the Norwegian series Skam (Shame) which is about Isak and Even who are in love with each other. If you haven’t seen this beautiful episode, enjoy, watch and listen from here!

You are welcome to dig into my Christmas song list jul on Spotify where you also will find this version of O helga natt .

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !!

THE COLOR BLUE

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Photos: Kristin Bae Mysen

I have always loved the color blue. To me it reduces stress and creates a sense of calmness. Maybe because it is an “earthly” color that I associate with bright blue cloudless sky and the endless ocean view. But not any blue.  My two favorites shades are the deep blue hue called International Klein Blue first mixed by the French artist Yves Klein (1928 – 1962), and Nupen blue invented by the Norwegian contemporary artist Kjell Nupen (1955 – 2014).

To me blue also is a sacred color, a color of serenity, contemplation and prayer. The artist Kjell Nupen must have felt the same way when he made the stained glass in the beautiful Ansgar chapel and in the church of Søm, both located outside Kristiansand in the southern part of Norway. I went there the other day in order to take pictures (above), and the sunlight pouring through the glass was transformed into pure magic. The British newspaper The Guardian describes Kjell Nupen’s art as having a lyrical approach to nature, and I do agree. Read the whole article about the artist here !

Before I released my meditative book Blue horses in the garden of God / Blå hester i Guds hage (Norwegian only), the designer and I strived for a long time to find the perfect combination of blue shades for the horses. Luckily I ended up being very happy with the cover. The book is now out in third edition, and if you haven’t got hold of a copy yet, you might order it from here, and read about it here.

THREE STORIES

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This oil painting Winter Night in the Mountains is a favorite of mine. In Norwegian it is called Vinternatt i Rondane, and a snow-covered mountain massif in full moonlight made such a strong impression on the Norwegian painter Harald Sohlberg who was skiing through the area, that he continued to work with the theme for 14 years. He painted a cross on one of the peaks to heighten the sense of the sacredness in nature also because they resembled an icy cathedral. In 1914 he finished his most famous version which now is to be found in the The Nationalmuseet and is considered a real classic.

HOLMMMMMM

Photo: From the web-site of Carl-Viggo Hølmebakk

Sohlberg painted his picture on a spot near Atnsjøen lake (Sohlbergplassen) with a grand and majestic view over the peaks of Rondane. This summer I went through here with a friend and we had to stop at this famous viewing point (above). Being an architectonic freak I was really impressed by the 19 curves made in concrete that gently go around slender pine trees, created by the Norwegian architect Carl-Viggo Hølmebakk. The platform frames the view towards the lake and the rounded peaks of the Rondane massif almost exactly as they appear in the painting.

LANDSKAPET-RIKTIG

Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

And this is how it looked from the platform. The beauty made med speechless, and luckily I had the best of light for taking pictures. I have always felt attached to mountains, and to me the mountain range Rondane is the most beautiful there is. No wonder Harald Sohlberg spent 14 years working on these peaks.

MY GARDEN GNOME

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

I got this homemade garden gnome (18 cm tall man made out of cement) as a Christmas present from my neighbour who loves gardening as much as I do. I probably looked like a question mark when I unpacked. Who was this Santa Claus look a like, ugly, little fellow? Now I know more. Garden gnomes have been common in Europe since the Renaissance. According to old belief they contribute to the fertility to whatever garden they find themselves in and spread peaceful vibrations to yard and home. They are said to live underground during the day, however if they are caught out in daylight, they will turn to stone which of course lends itself to the idea of garden gnome statues. Now my stands on a rock outside in my garden.

Do you remember the French film Amélie from 2001, which was about an innocent and naive girl from Montmartre in Paris with her own sense of justice? The girl who decided to help those who struggled around her.  Among many things she tried to persuade her father to follow his dream of touring the world by stealing his garden gnome, and having a flight attendant friend airmail  pictures of it posing with landmarks from all over over the world. Watch the amusing scenes from Amélie here !

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

On a stroll in the neighborhood yesterday, I stumbled over this charming, little man who was busy guarding his garden.

GOOD MORNING !

WEBBILDE

Photos: Kristin Bae Mysen

Vacation, finally 🙂 I love it !! The best thing is that it gives me more time to do what I love such as writing on my new book, taking pictures, making blog post on things that interest me and dig in my garden. The garden plan for today is to fill a rather big flower bed with lavender. I will try to create a small sense of Provence here up north.

Thank you for following my blog by the way. If you like to know when I have posted a new blog post, fill in your email on the right hand side, send it and you will receive a mail every time there is something new on my website.

As you see on the pictures above I am also on Instagram on myhomeandstudio. Happy if I see you there.

A CHANGE OF DIRECTION

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

Recently I visited the great exhibition by the Swedish artist Jan Håfström (born 1937) at Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall in Arendal in the southern part of Norway. I specially enjoyed this black statue of Mr. Walker who was walking in all directions. It reminded me of the fact that it is never too late to change directions in one’s life.

According to the artist himself the sculpture has two aspects, one which is mentioned above, but also the fact that when Jan Håfström was a child he enjoyed to read The Phantom comic strip. His father however fancied a good drink and went often out at nights. Then the creative mind of the little boy pictured that his dad actually was Mr. Walker who went out in the dark to make the world a better place.

In 2014 another Mr. Walker, a seven-meter statue, was put up in the railroad park close to the central train-station in Stockholm, Sweden. Seen from the north it is red, seen from the south it is blue. Mr Walker has always been a source of inspiration in Håfström’s artwork.

Listen to the interview with the artist here (Swedish only) and read the article about the incident here.

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MI DALÍ

 

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Photo: Kristin Bae Mysen

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Salvador Dalí’s famous picture “The Persistence of Memory” is a favorite of mine. It has many interpretations, but for me it simply says something about the small importance of time and age. And of course I love the great colors.

The Spanish surrealist Dalí was once asked if Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity was depicted in his picture. He replied that it was rather the inspiration of watching a Camembert melting in the sun. I find it humorous the way we sometimes tend to intellectualize art more than the artists themselves.

More facts about the picture here.

Yesterday when my husband returned from Spain, he brought me this Dalí inspired clock. Great fun! Now it leans on the bookshelf next to another Spanish favorite: “La catedral del mar” written by Ildefonso Falcones.