30.3.11

Danish Inspiration









My friend Libby and I are doing monthly projects to help spark our creativity. The March project was to chose a time in our life and create something on a 12 inch square of muslin that represented that time. I have recently met Dorthe who blogs at Den Lille Lade and lives on the beautiful island of Bornholm in Denmark. Memories of my trip to Denmark and a weekend stay bicycling and hiking Bornholm came back to me. I decided this had to be the inspiration for my March project.


I have always had a fascination with block prints and decided I would carve some stamps and make concentric borders within the 12 inches. I printed on both muslin and paper. I was using Colorbox inks for the fabric but it absorbed the color and I am much happier with the paper print. This has a shadow underneath because I photographed it on top of the paper print. In reality it is much cleaner.


We were there in April and the bare trimmed trees were the inspiration for the outer border.


We came upon runestones and so I carved a set of runes. However I forgot about carving them backwards so they print in the right direction. C'est la vie! I decided to just go with it!


As we were biking we came upon a marker for a Viking dwelling. On one side it looked like a hill with trees on top but on the other was a stone entrance and this photo shows the construction with large boulders and stacked slabs of stone. It was a magical feeling place and so ancient. That is the inspiration for the third border.


The inner image is a church window.
If you ever have the chance to visit this wonderful island don't hesitate! Have you ever made art inspired by a place or a time in your life? I'd love to hear about it.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I LOVE the idea of creating something on muslin, and what you have done amazes me. Especially the tree border - it's exactly like your picture. I love those ancient stone structures too. I've thought of doing a stamp on muslin and then embroidering it, so I am very inspired by you! And Susan, congratulations on being today's featured Inchie with your gorgeous wings! Have a good week!

Joanne Huffman said...

I love making art that's inspired by special places or people. Your Danish piece is beautiful.