This week we are starting to look back… each month or maybe every 6 weeks, one of us in the LAPC – team will repeat a PREVIOUSLY USED subject for the week. We will share a link to the old post, and then create a new post on the same subject. This will also give us all a chance to address challenges we may not have done before.
In 2019 we had a challenge on Creativity – I have picked that one as a starter for this series. Much because we need to be creative in life’s ups and downs, and I guess most of us also love being creative. Blogging is one creative thing we have in common!
Here’s what I wrote on Creativity in the first post, #42: ”… is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something new or somehow valuable – inventiveness. The created item may be an idea, a scientific theory, or even a joke; or a physical object, maybe a new invention, a literary work – or a painting.”
Last Sunday I met one of the most creative souls I have ever met – Susanne Demåne. We went with some friends to see her studio and garden – she calls it ”The World of Demåne.” In 1998 she bought this old schoolhouse – rather dilapidated and no garden worthy of the name. Over the years she has created a fantastic place filled with creativity and fantasy, which also involves animals like beautiful black horses of the breeds Frieser, Knabstrupper, Arab and Shetland pony. Horses she trains with nothing but her voice and the bond she makes with them.
In these photos here, of Susanne’s own, I hope you can feel some of the magic …
How much they love and respect each other…
How much her horses trust her…
And how much she trusts them…
Susanne works in various materials, living, clay, metal, enamel, wood etc. Maybe her most famous works are in wood – made with a chainsaw…
And while we were admiring her studio – Susanne herself suddenly appeared in the doorway. Silently waiting, graceful and humble. So beautiful – a creative witch, a troll from the deepest forest. When she walked into the room – she filled every inch of it – her energy was tangible.
Susanne is a hard working woman who made her life the way she dreamed and wanted it to be. I read about her son, Kim Demåne (also a brilliant artist), how he stated that she was the most hard working woman he knew – and how much he admired her.
Many questions whirled through the air, and she was happy to answer them all. She was so natural, so down to earth, and so humourous. She laughed and told us she had worn out several men – because she was not that easy to live with… I can imagine not. Creativity was written all over her. A passionate woman!
The final gallery shows her work at Bredåkra cemetary. She was asked if she could make something out of the many dead elm trees there – and she did. She made magic. In these photos you see: ”We are all someone’s child”, ”Madonna and child”, ”The Elm Angel” .
Someday, early morning and late evening, I will be back for the perfect light…
Hope you will enjoy this concept of looking back! We are looking forward to seeing your new take on (or first take on, if you never did ”Creativity” in 2019)! please use the Lens-Artists tag and link your post to my original post.
A big thank you to Anne for her wonderful Reflection challenge. You found reflections we never even had thought of! Next week it is holiday time, so we hope to see you July 12, when our guest host SH will be your guide. Please visit his site for inspiration.
Have a great holiday you who celebrate!
Leya 
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Trulycreative call Ma and here is mine: https://suejudd.com/2025/07/05/lens-artists-challenge-355-looking-back-to-42-creativity/
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Here’s mine for the week
https://norasphotos4u.wordpress.com/2025/07/04/lens-artists-challenge-creativity/
Thank you, Nora!
Great prompt, Ann-Christine. I liked Susanne’s carving of a baby in the tree. Your portraits of her with the horse were wonderful.
Thank you – so glad to share her art. A gifted woman and a very gentle soul.
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A lovely theme and a fantastic post Ann Christine. The first image of Susanne Demåne with her horse is just awesome.
Thank you! She was a fantastic woman.
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Not sure if there’s one I like more than the others here, they’re all equally appealing to me : )Nice range of moods, I think, as well as subjects. And quite interesting, they are.Here’s mine for this one:https://stupidityhole.com/2025/07/03/tree-cradling-light/
Thank you so much, SH!
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What a fantastic imagination she has. Thank you for sharing Susanne’s magical works of art with us! Here is my addition to the creative fun. https://lindylecoq.com/2025/07/02/lens-artists-challenge-355-creativity/
Thank you – and what an addition! Love it!
Thank you, Lindy!
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Wow, great artist this Suzanne, and I can just imagine the projects unfolding on her property over the decades –
Also, the creative theme is truly one worth offering us again – very good….
Thank you! Yes, we need creativity to stay sane…
yes!
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Wonderful post. I like your photos of the artist with the horse that she has trained. That first photo is outstanding: backlit through the mist.
Here’s my take on creativity and AI: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/is-there-an-universe-of-patterns/
Thank you! And it was a lovely meeting!
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My contribution, AC,
Always interesting answers from you!
Thank you. AC.
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Always thought provoking making us think and revise!
What a spectacular artist! And her garden — woweee!
♥️
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What a terrific post, Ann-Christine! These sculptures are so beautiful and engaging. I loved your gallery. Here’s my entry:
https://throughbrazilianeyes.com/pushing-the-envelope-on-creativity/
I’m glad we are revisiting previous challenges. That’ll give me a chance to participate in them.
Thank you, Egidio! It is great to see what people choose to show!
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I’m always astonished at what people can do with a chain saw…for better, as in this case, or for worse. I love the tree art and, of course, the horse part. ❤️. Thanks for sharing the creativity and beauty.
Thank you, and in fact I was thinking of you with the horses! You still have a horse?
Yes, we have two at the cabin in Wyoming. One is getting older, though.
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What an incredible artist to feature for this post – so creative! I loved all, but especially the tree sculptures. There’s an inner vision that comes through in all her works. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for issuing such an interesting challenge.
So glad you enjoyed it, Joanne! I just want to go back again. She is such a fantastic woman!
What a fabulous place to visit Ann-Christine and so lovely you met the artist too! Our contribution for this week’s lovely challenge is here: https://tranature.com/2025/06/29/creativity-from-within/
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Thank you again for a lovely theme this week, Anne-Christine! Here is mine:
https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/06/29/sunday-stills-show-your-patriotism-with-flags/
A timely theme, Terri. So many good quotes as well.I agree!
Thank you, and for the prompt this week.
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Great tribute and a wonderful challenge. I wasn’t blogging yet when your first challenge came out so here is my take on the topic: https://wanderingteresa.com/creativity-for-me-and-my-fam/
❤️
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A nice visit with two creative people, Ann-Christine. It’s a great start to the challenge reboots. I am looking forward to looking back in the next few months!
Thanks, John! I am looking forward to all the entries!
Hi Ann-Christine
Interesting art (except the photos of the lady with the horse). We especially like the tree-art at the Bredåkra cementry.
Thanks for sharing
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you – those ones in the cemetary are really beautiful., I agree. She has also made artworks for our king and queen in the garden at Solliden.
Wow, Susanne sounds like an amazing woman and one it would be a privilege to meet and spend time with as you did. Her wood carving are exceptionally beautiful, especially the group of standing figures and the last two in the cemetery. Thank you for introducing her to us 🙂
I wasn’t blogging when you originally posted on this theme but I have shared some creative people in the past and I thought it would be fun to round up some of the more eccentric artists among them: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/creativity-meets-eccentricity/
Happy to share about her! Looking forward to all the posts!
Thank you, AC, for this beautifully rich theme and for sharing Susanne Demåne’s magical world. Her life, art, and bond with her horses breathe creativity wild and human. From chainsaws to silent grace, she doesn’t just make art—she is the art.
Love those tree sculptures.
Thank you for a beautiful comment!
You are welcome, AC.
What a wonderful commentary on this artist, who seems to have found just what she needs, in wood, to express herself vibrantly. A great challenge, Ann-Christine.
Thank you, Margaret! I will never forget that visit. And the challenge should work for most of us!
👍
Great challenge Ann-Christine, I love this. I do love that last lot of photos. They are really beautiful.
Thank you, Leanne – then there are two of us!
What an amazing person, her work is magical. How lucky you got to meet her. This post captures my 2 passions, art and horses. Now I must scroll back to 2019 and see if i did a creativity post back then
You might have done the post then – it would be fun to see both, old and new. Happy to hear about your passions – hope you can join in!
Susanne does some lovely work. I really like the cemetery sculptures.
She really does seem like a beautiful – a creative witch, a troll from the deepest forest indeed.
A lovely creative inspiring post Ann-Christine 🥰
♥ Thank you, Brian. She is fascinating.
This is awesome!
Thank you! I will go back for more!
She is an amazing artist!! The elm carvings are unique!
So glad you liked them! I love them, and cannot understand how she makes the wood so soft – with a chainsaw?
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Wow. to even think up these ideas is extraordinary, to pull them off is at a whole new level. You know what I loved most about the portrait of her? Her hands. Look at her nails, her fingertips, they speak volumes, don’t they?
I especially love the work she did at the cemetery. A nice challenge to revisit.
Thank you, Donna – so good to hear from you! And yes, her hands speak of hard work, tough work, art work. I loved them too. She was so natural, right out of the forest, out of nature, a witch or a troll with magical, powers. I can tell you she also made sculptures for the king of Sweden. They stand in his garden.
Her work is extraordinary, Ann-Christine, but I don’t pretend to understand some of it. Where does a woman like that come from. with all those ideas and energy? I always admire your photos and creativity but this is on a whole different scale xx
Jo, I too wonder where she comes from – nothing really to find on the interenet except her exhibitions. A witch…
A friendly witch xx
🍓
First of all, its always fun to re-use themes for photo challenges (I do, LOL). Great idea, Anne-Christine, and I’m amazed at your chronicling Suzanne’s incredible creativity in her work. I love the horse images; you captured her work perfectly and with heart. I’ll join you Sunday morning.
Thank you, Terri – looking forward to seeing your post!
hello a.c.,
an interesting idea and wonderful pictures you chose for challenge theme i like them very much. especially the 1st, 6th, and the last two.
it’s not so easy after all, unfortunately i can’t say anymore what kind of pictures i showed back then, because my former photo roberts blog doesn’t exist anymore. so i picked out a few pictures from the media library that i have already shown you in the last two years.
here is my contribution for this week https://wp.me/pfnz9O-LI.
many greetings robert
Creative solution, Robert!
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Thanks for a fun challenge Ann-Christine and introducing us to Susanne. Her wood art is fantastic!
Thank you – isn’t it? So happy to share!
So happy you liked it!
I loved John’s comment Ann-Christine – it pretty much sums up my own thoughts on this one. What an amazing woman and even more incredible is how welcoming she was to you. A fantastic experience and a wonderful post about it. 👏👏👏
Thank you, Tina! And yes – meeting her and her art in this open and friendly way was fantastic. ” I will live on this for a long time” we say in Swedish. Maybe something like ”this will stay with me for a long time” in English?
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And – I loved your first post too! Beautiful as allways.
Wow. I’m speechless. Creativity such as less is difficult to comprehend. (Great photos too!!)
”Creativity such as this…” is what I think I meant. Mine: https://fairplay740.wordpress.com/2025/06/29/lens-artists-challenge-355-looking-back-to-42-creativity/
!
♥ Thank you, John!
Ann-Christine, this looks like a truly magical place! Her creativity comes through in all the different types of materials she uses. Visiting with her must have made your time there even more special. Your images of her and her art are amazing. Thank you for sharing this with us.
So glad you liked it! She really was special, and I cannot say how grateful I was that she turned up. And was so sweet and communicative!
The perfect theme to start looking back, Ann-Christine. I love the artist you picked to highlight, stunning work and you captured the feel of it like only you can. I ended up having focus on only one artist too, the opportunity was too good to miss.
Here is mine:
Sofia – just came back from your post. Highly interesting! The snakes are almost alive!
Thank you!
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Susanne has such amazing creativity. Thanks for sharing her art. 😊
Thank you – glad you liked it. I picked a few to show her variety!
what a wonderful tribute this very talented artist, your photography of her art, and the place is beautiful. I can easily see why you wanted to share her art with us. Love the images of her and the horses, very beautiful 🙂
After that my post feels very amateurish, as it is, but the creativity is still there. https://sillarit.com/2025/06/28/lens-artists-challenge-355-creativity/
I bet not amateurish at all!
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