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After the Snow
I wanted to have a new winter themed piece. The woman’s costume is from a
village close to where my father in law was born in Småland. I wanted to create
a leisurely feeling of going for a walk in the snow with a child who wants to
stop to see the birds. It is a common tradition to set out a sheaf of straw
for the birds in the middle of the winter.
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Cannon Beach
Cannon Beach is a popular Oregon coast destination. The houses along the sandy beach are often greyed with age and the trees are shaped by the wind. There are whole streets with cute cottages with cedar siding. I would love to spend a month or two in a cabin looking out at the waves and smelling the salty air.
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Teapot and Tulips
I set out my wedding dishes for a tea party. It was late winter, and the darkness was starting to recede in Sweden, but we were missing color outside. The answer for me was to buy lots of tulips. Swedes buy lots of tulips!
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We were driving on the island of Gotland in Sweden and came across these fishing cottages. The scale interested me—the ocean, sky, and flat field looked especially big compared to the simple cottages.
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Hydrangeas
The flowers are from my mom’s garden. I liked the simplicity of the composition and the color play between the blue flowers and the orange Dala-horses. The cabinet is an antique radio cabinet from my father’s grandfather.
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We went to Ireland with my family a few years ago. The buildings were so colorful and fun. And jammed up against one another all in a row. This could be almost any of the towns we visited!
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Here are my favorite curtains again! I was looking for some color in the spring after a long winter. I love that I recorded the view out of our window in Sweden, especially since we have recently moved to Oregon.
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Leksand Costume
This is a close-up of the women’s costume of Leksand, Sweden, in the province of Dalarna. I loved the ribbon! The vest is embroidered, the scarf printed in the floral pattern.
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Lilacs on a Blue Cloth
I found a delicate cloth embroidered with a “G”, my initial, at a second hand store in Sweden. I wanted to use it in a painting, so I found some delicious lilacs to match! There is nothing like the smell of walking home past yard after yard of newly bloomed lilacs in the end of May!
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A Swedish saying: “small, small words of love; mentioned every day; spread through the home; sunshine and delight.”
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Spice Rack
This is my mother-in-law’s spice rack in her kitchen. I love that you can read the spices in Swedish. The containers on the top shelf are ceramic. I’ve been on a fun antique hunt for my own set!
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The Garden Poem
I saw this poem at the beautiful Portland Rose Garden. It is near the entrance and cast in metal. I just loved what the message. I would love to have a great garden to take care of one day.
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Vaxholm Inlet
If you go for a walk past the main harbor of Vaxholm, you come to an inlet which is very charming. We usually keep walking and take a fika (often coffee with a sandwich and something sweet) at the café on the peninsula. There you can enjoy the sun and watch the boats go by.
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Vienna Friends
On a trip to Vienna, Austria, I captured a photograph of this little chance encounter. The two women were walking together and bumped into the man. The one woman was just so happy to see him, it was great.