Thursday Thoughts – Scanisaurus – Europe’s largest stoneware fountain

12 november, 202012 november, 2020 / Leya / 17 kommentarer

Just outside the Ifö factory in Bromölla, live-sized ceramic dinosaurs sunbathe on a ceramic cliff surrounded by springwater. Or should be, but there was no water when we visited.

Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period, 203 million years ago. They became especially common during the Jurassic Period, thriving until their disappearance about 66 million years ago. They had a worldwide oceanic distribution. Scanisaurus (Saurus from Skåne) bones were found on a small island, Ifö. (Ö means island in Swedish)

Scanisaurus is the masterpiece of Sweden’s renowned ceramic artist, Gunnar Nylund. It is a one of a kind artwork, made by hand and consisting of more than 3000 individual pieces.

In 2014 many of the original plaster forms that were used to make the fountain were rediscovered by Ifö Center’s artists. They are now under restoration at the Center and the goal is to produce new parts and restore Scanisaurus for the 50th anniversary in 2021.

The funny thing is, that the discovery of the plaster forms was what finally convinced ROA to come over from Australia to paint T-Rex in 2014.

This is my third post from Ifö Center. Here are links to the previous posts:

https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/thursday-thoughts-ifo-center/

https://lagottocattleya.wordpress.com/2020/10/29/thursday-thoughts-more-ifo-center/

Thursday Thoughts – By the Sea

5 november, 20204 november, 2020 / Leya / 29 kommentarer

I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.
― Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba the Greek

We all needed a break, so we went to the west coast for a day. To walk by the sea. To sit in the fresh breeze. To wash away November mood.

We found more people in need of the same thing.

Some even tried the waves…maybe 10 degrees C?

I’d rather join the lonely gull…contemplating life and the ways of the world. From a safe place – out of sight.

We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.
― William James

Thursday Thoughts – More Ifö Center

29 oktober, 202011 november, 2020 / Leya / 22 kommentarer

If you enjoyed last Thursday’s trip, let’s have a walk indoors as well!

Artwork keeping an eye on you everywhere…

And us keeping an eye on Teresa (the engineer and coordinator of every activity at Ifö Center) – our guide …this place is so big you could easily get lost. The great insulators made at the factory here looked like gigantic piles of ceramic plates.

We arrived at the bar…built around some machine too big to remove (- according to Teresa -), what else to do than to use it for practical artistic purpose! We were greatly impressed by the light and the large areas – perfect studios for any group of artists.

A piece of cake? I don’t think so – not in any way.

In the middle of a potential crash – tread lightly, move softly, think twice – Corona restrictions? We made it through the cups and plates. 8 people.

My favourite project was the paper works by Sebastian Blomqvist – paper, paper, made only of paper. Impressive! But all kinds of artwork was made at Ifö, graffitti, painting, ceramics, weaving, 3D – nothing seems impossible.

I so loved the studios, the gigantic windows letting in that magical light. As an artist you can apply for a certain time and a place at Ifö – I wish I was – You can also support them in many ways, why not as a volunteer or friend?

Creativity is contagious, pass it on.

Albert Einstein

Thursday Thoughts – Ifö Center

22 oktober, 202028 oktober, 2020 / Leya / 37 kommentarer

Since 2014 this artist run culture project has brought some of the world’s best street artists to paint and create the old ceramic factory area, Iföverken, in Bromölla. This center is located about a 45 minutes drive from where I live. So, I decided to ask some friends to join in for a guided tour.

Please come along you too! The tour will take some posts further on…so stay tuned.

In the opener you see the main outdoor painting, Abstrakt Komikz Palais by D. Brains (2017) from Ronneby, Sweden.

You can see the outdoor works for free if you stay outside the old factory’s fence. This is T-Rex, a painting by world famous Belgian artist ROA. ROA generally paints wild or urban animals and birds that are native to the area being painted. Dinosaur skeletons were found around Bromölla in Skåne, thus a T-Rex it had to be.

*Boy with Stone Face* by Argentinian Milu Correch (2016)

Living Room by Teresa Holmberg. There is sound and light in the ”sofas” and the glass in the pillars are made from discarded Tiffany lamps.

Mandala by Sigrid Wallskog (2018). Made from discarded ceramic pieces found at Ifö.

Thoughtprovoking and important. *Dehorning* by Italian Vera Bugatti (2019). Discussing the poaching of our rhinos – and is dehorning the answer to save them? Is it the *same* animal without a horn?

*We are what we think – Buddha*, Wild Drawing (WD 2019), Balinese artist based in Greece. And…a car

Finishing off the outside of this 42000 square meters’ art factory – with nature’s own art.

Hope you enjoyed the tour – it is to be continued!

Thursday Thoughts

8 oktober, 20207 oktober, 2020 / Leya / 53 kommentarer

Thursday Thoughts – Feeling Blue

1 oktober, 202028 september, 2020 / Leya / 21 kommentarer

What’s in a word? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” says Juliet in Romeo and Juliet.

I have never questioned blue or the phrase ”feeling blue” before. The connection just feels …right. But, when I look it up in various dictionaries, the association has got many explanations. Here are some:

In Greek mythology, blue is associated with rain. When Zeus was sad or crying, he would make it rain. Thus, the connection between the colour and the feeling.

The use of **blue** to mean “**sad**” dates from the late 1300s

Geoffrey Chaucer used ‘blewe’ in his poem ”The Complaint of Mars”. He writes: ”Wyth teres blewe and with a wounded herte.”

Which basically translates to: ”With tears blue and with a wounded heart”.

A naval explanation might be the old custom followed by deepwater sailing ships – If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port.

A scientific explanation is the proximity of dark blue to black on the colour scale, and the results of two studies indicating that feeling sadness may actually change how we perceive colour.

But blue is beautiful. It is the colour of our planet Earth. The Blue Planet.

Thursday Thoughts – Farmland

17 september, 202016 september, 2020 / Leya / 7 kommentarer

Evening – And the harvest is in

Thursday Thoughts – The Sun is Shining In

10 september, 202010 september, 2020 / Leya / 14 kommentarer

Autumn is coming, and the sun is shining in, shimmering in the fading flower beds – finding the last ballerinas – and finally peering in through my windows.

Suddenly there is another quality of light, and a familiar chill in the air…

– even if…in my rooms the warm evening sun is lingering.

A last walk in the garden before the sun sets, and then a silent cup of coffee while cleaning up and getting ready for the night.

I am so grateful to have lived another beautiful day.

Thursday Thoughts – Autumn is Coming

27 augusti, 2020 / Leya / 30 kommentarer

So now we are here…Autumn is inevitably coming to the northern hemisphere.

A short drive to town – and along the road the familiar landscape is slowly turning into soft autumn colours.

Some fields are aglow in the evening light. The harvest is in and a calmness is settling over the landscape.

This year, being a farmer has been a positive thing. Working outdoors all the time, and the weather staying kind to the crops.

We have to take care of and treasure the few positive things this year – the year of corona. I returned home with a calmness in my soul and a soft smile on my lips. Just like natured showed me .

Thursday Thoughts – A Rare Guest

20 augusti, 202019 augusti, 2020 / Leya / 40 kommentarer

Flower chafers or Flower scarabs are not that very often seen in my garden. Once a year maybe. But so very welcome! Love their metallic shield and slow pace.