Med nål og tråd / With Needle and Thread

Jeg har blitt kontaktet noen ganger i forbindelse med å få brodert et monogram på sengetøy som skal gis til brudepar. Det syns jeg er en veldig koselig idé som gave. Personlig, unikt og vakkert. Jeg lagde kun monogrammet til min første kunde som ville ha et broderi lagd av det og fikk dessverre ikke sett ferdig resultat. Denne gangen lagde jeg monogrammet OG brodere selv. Det var veldig spennende og her er resultatet.

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I have been asked a few times to design a monogram which is going to be stitched on to bed linnens. The first time I did not do the stitching myself, but this time I will both design and do the sewing, and I am really looking forwards to it. And here is the result :)

Oslo Middelalderfestival / Medeival Festival Oslo 2009

It is yet again almost ready for the Medeival Festival in Oslo. It takes place on 20-21 June in the Medeival Ruins in Oslo's old town. The Calligraphy group SKRIFT is going to demonstrate calligraphy, lettercarving, bookbinding etc. Welcome!

Nå er det snart klart for Oslo Middelalderfestival. Det skjer 20.-21. juni 2009 og du finner den i middelalderruinnene i gamle Oslo. SKRIFT - forening for bokstavkunst vil demonstrere kalligrafi, steininnskripsjon og bokbinding m.m. Velkommen skal du være!

Sjekk gjerne ut mer på deres hjemmeside (klipp og lim): www.oslomiddelalderfestival.org/

Spring is in the air

I'm on a roll now...
I have had a lot of commissions, some books have unfortunately been with me for too long. It is hard to get things done when I have another full time job and two small kids etc. But my goal now is to finish project before 17 May, so that I can slow down for summer. Then I would like to spend more time outside in the garden.

My recent projects have been repairing different books where the spine has come off. Also I made a "Hyttebok", a diary for someones cabin (Is it called a log book, maybe?) I have to make a logo for a small company in Trondheim, and write a poem for someone's Mom's 50th birthday who lives in Bergen. Yesterday I also received a book-project, I'm making two memoire-books that will be given as confirmations gifts this spring. It is great to receive such personal gifts, and I am so happy to help out with this to make just that special binding one needs.

It is also great how well the internet works. I am able to receive commissions from all over the country. It is always someone who are getting married, are beeing baptized or have their confirmation, or just have a whole lot of damaged books lying about.

The image I have put out (I took out the parent's names...) I made actually some years ago. I just wanted to show a traditional layout of such an invitation that I usually make. I like the fact that it is asymetrical and that some things are bolder than others. It may look easy, but my students often struggle with this. One have to be very patient and presice when ruling up and also when doing the writing.

So what happens next:

In just two weeks, on 17 - 19 April the calligrapher Lieve Cornil will come to Oslo to teach a weekend course, "When Calligraphy Becomes a Logo". On Friday she'll have a lecture about herself and her work, the course is Sat-Sun.

I'm teaching a course in Coptic Bindings on 8-10 May at Folkeuniversitetet Oslo.

I am looking forward to The Medeival Festival in June, I think on 20-21 June in Oslo, Gamlebyen, Middelalderruinene. I will get back to that in more detail on when and where. The calligraphy group SKRIFT has a stand there every year where we demonstrate calligraphy and lettercarving etc.

AVLYST - Kurs i japansk bokbinding

Sømmelig legger ned, og kurset som var planlagt onsdag 1. april 2009 er dessverre avlyst!

Dette er triste nyheter, men sånn er det dessverre.

Jeg håper jeg kan tilby et liknende kurs om ikke så lenge. Følg med på bloggen min så får dere vite hva jeg planlegger fremover. For de som er interessert så ble kurset i Koptisk bokbinding utsatt. Dere har muligheten den 8.-10. mai til å delta der. Les nedenfor så får dere informasjon der.

Kurs i Koptisk bokbinding vår 2009 UTSATT!!!

Kurset i Koptisk bokbinding har blitt utsatt til 8.-10. mai 2009.

Kopterne er de kristne egyptere som lagde de første "moderne" bøkene vi kjenner til i dag. Denne typen innbinding er fra 700-800 e.kr. Tidligere skrev man på skriftruller, men kopterne delte opp boken i seksjoner og vi fikk sider å bla i.

Bøkene har en dekorativ søm på ryggen som er eksponert. Omslaget kan være lagd av hva som helst, skinn, papp trukket med stoff eller papir, tre o.l. Når man åpner boken, kan den ligge flatt på bordet. Teknikken kan brukes på album også, men på kurset kommer jeg til å gå gjennom en bok med vanlige seksjoner og papp trukket med stoff eller papir.

Påmelding kan gjøres til Linda Bjørsletten på Folkeuniveritetet Oslo .

Velkommen på kurs!

New year, new possibilities...

It's getting close to 2009 and it's quite common to look back at the year that past. I had to pack up my workshop already November of 2007, and it was a challenge to get anything done this past year. I did, however, get some books made or repaired, and it has proved to be quite popular for people to get a monogram made. I think that's a great thing to get. People tend to follow traditions more, I guess. I take it as a challenge and try to make something special, thinking about how to create something traditional but also with my own slightly modern interpretation of a way to combine the letters.

I moved this past August and it has proved to take a long time for me to set up my workshop again with a full time job, two kids and a house that needs refurbishing...I also was teaching a course in calligraphy that stretched over 8 weeks. That was fun! This time there were 12 participants listed and having so many was a new experience for me.

Next year I will teach a bookbinding course (or maybe two?!) and I will try to arrange a new calligraphy course next autumn. I unfortunately did not manage to finish my book for the international bookbinding competition which was arranged by Designer Bookbinders. I kick myself for that, but I just had no time to do something wortwile. Therefore I will do my best to send off my book to Iceland. It's due in mid January so I still have time, and I have some ideas coocking already in my head. The book is beautiful, a long, portrait format with selected poems from Nordic poets, and my favourite Norwegian poet, Stein Mehren, is in it.

I has also been asked to have a lecture on goold tooling for the Leather Guilder's guild in January. That is something I have never done before, but I am looking forewards to it. I have some research to do first, though.

I have high hopes for 2009. Finally settled in my new house, things can only get better :)

Kalligrafikurs høsten 2008

Nå er det ikke mange plasser igjen på høstens kurs!
Kurset holdes på tirsdagskvelder fra 7. oktober og 8 uker fremover tre undervisningstimer hver gang fra kl. 17.15.
Jeg kommer til å gå gjennom Italic-alfabetet og kurset passer for nybegynnere så vel som litt mer erfarne.

For påmelding, ta kontakt med Linda Bjørnsletten ved Folkeuniversitetet Oslo. Annen informasjon kan du få ved å kontakte meg. Velkommen på kurs!