Creativity & Crafts

I love my hands. They are, together with my brain, my favorite part of me. With them I can create, craft and construct. I can imagine something and make it real, be it a story or a wedding dress, a bunk bed or a bag. I can transform a blank page into a meaningful pattern, or some materials into something three-dimensional.

While I like little details, I’m not very concerned with perfection in my art- and craftwork. This is unlike in other areas, unfortunately, where the drive for perfection has become a nightmare. This is, I’m sure, a reason why I love working with my hands so much. It is forgiving, and the problems become assets. Some of my most creative and fun results have come about when I have done something wrong and have to be imaginative to solve the problem. I love the fact that the problems open up new ideas and turn into unique results.

When I was sixteen I did art A-level at St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of my best years. I spent 14 compulsory hours a week (plus many extra) in the art block. I did sewing and painting, sculpting and screen printing. I studied art history, and colour theory. I loved every second of it. At the time, I wanted to go to art college and become a theatre costume designer. I never did, and I often regret it.

I can’t resist telling an anecdote here: For St. George’s centenary celebrations, Queen Elizabeth came to visit. She saw an apron I had designed, printed and sewn, and said “Oh, that’s very nice!”. It is my claim to fame…

Anyway. Not a theatre costume designer, I do still spend as much time as I can making things. Not that there is much time, but still. My favorites are fiddly things like calligraphy and sewing, but I also enjoy carpentry, knitting, crocheting, painting and printing. The image heading this page is a patchwork baby blanket I made for my nephew Eje. It is made of old, soft corduroy and a smooth summer top. His twin, Julius, was also given a blanket, but in very different colours. The blankets aren’t spectacular, but I still quite like them.

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Julius’ baby blanket

This page is to collect and remember some of the things I make, and to some extent also to show them off to others. I’m a little shy about this, but I’m working on my self confidence and part of that is to see and accept that although I’m not an expert at much, I can do very many different things. Also, as I work in the academic world, I need to remember that making beautiful or practical things with my hands are a necessary antidote to disappearing into my brain… At some point, I would like to develop a range of things to share with others – maybe even at some point to make a tiny little living from it.