Siglufjörður

Iceland : Part Thirteen

Time is passing quickly here in Iceland. I wrote a post about the Jan Voss show here in Siglufjordur and it was posted on Printeresting, you can read it here. Also, while I'm here, I had a couple of letterpress prints in the .918 show at Samford University pictures of their reception are up here. They also made printed a catalogue, chock full of great print work. I also have a couple pieces at the Making IT exhibition at The University of the Arts, a juried exhibition of work by recent alumni. More exciting projects in the works. For now, eating, sleeping, drawing, walking, listening to podcasts and having a lovely time. 








Iceland Part Ten: The Herring Era Museum

On a clear crisp day, I got to visit The Herring Era Museum, a beautifully curated, crafted, award winning museum that tells the story of the herring industry in Iceland. The museum is actually three separate buildings, these images are all from "The Salting Station." The third floor of the building remained untouched, including the "brakki," sleeping quarters for dozens of girls who worked in packing herring, and the office of the herring speculator. Örlygur Kristfinnsson, artist and director of the museum, is also one of the founders of the Herhúsið residency. 

:: looking out on the old piers ::










Iceland: Part 6

Afternoon walk today, the wind picked up and made my ears hurt. It's now whistling all around, the clouds are moving unbelievably fast. Looking, listening, picking up things. Painting bones. Making little scratches. Happy. 

 :: treasure! I hid it and am coming back for it ::

 :: "orange peel fungus," or Aleuria aurantia ::
 
:: tangled threads and nets ::

 :: seaweed ::

 :: collecting ::

:: little messages ::

Iceland: Part 4

:: Herhusid house ::

Today was bright and clear. Working on a big drawing, and little silverpoint drawings. Drawing shapes I am drawn to, that hold significance and memory for me. Fish scales, nets, animal heads, bows, pyramids, and bones. Old shapes. Thinking about the sea. Feeling a little under the weather, but went for a walk to my favorite place, the beach behind the industrial buildings, and the dump, where the waves break.

"On the sea, sea, sea, where the gods sit."


:: favorite place ::




Iceland: Part 3

It is snowing today, when I woke up the mountains were clouded in white. Yesterday, I started making little studies in silverpoint, pencil, and gouache. Grass, coastlines, mountain shapes, muted colors, layers of white. Today, I started a large drawing on the wall. This evening, I sat around a table with the director of the residency and others and I listened to and sang along to Icelandic folk songs. It was amazing.

 :: snowy mountain ::

 :: the studio ::

 :: the studio, with big paper on the wall ::

:: little study, silverpoint, graphite, and gouache ::


:: little studies ::

Iceland Part 2

First impressions of this island. There is so much texture, everywhere, I don't know if it's the air but there's a clarity and detail in the landscape that is overwhelming. The air smells like salt and earth. It's a beautiful smell that is something forgotten. The feeling of something forgotten. Monolithic shapes, black against white. White bone, white snow, black and white birds, black rocks, black bread. The grass that leans against itself, like sleeping heads. 








Collecting, Preparing...

This last week, I started preparing for my trip to Iceland in October. I didn't know where to start so I started with the practical things, what to bring, what to pack. I learned a few interesting things, that I should bring my own cold medicine, it's difficult to find, and that a bathing suit is a must, because in the words of a blogger, "swimming is socializing" in Iceland. 

When I was looking up the town of Siglufjordur, I found a lovely picture of the Herhusid house where I'll be staying, from the website of a previous resident, Julia Lohmann. She even had pictures of an incredible haul of mushrooms! It's like destiny.

:: The Herhusid House, which will be my home in October ::
:: another view, in the show from resident and poet, Mark Wunderlich ::

Siglufjordur is in the Northwest part of the island, the country's northernmost town in fact. It is 40 km from the Arctic circle and is home to about 1300 people. The town has a great deal of history connected to the herring industry, it was only connected by road to the rest of the island in 1940. 

:: Siglufjordur, the town where I'll be staying ::

I am in awe of the landscape already.

:: Wren feathers, ceramic, and shell ::

As my departure comes closer, I'm thinking more and more about what I will be creating. I don't know for sure what it will look like, but I do know I want to observe and collect, think and write, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

July!


:: summer in the studio ::

Hello! I hope your summer is going well!

:: handmade bookbinding tools, handmade by me ::

I just got back from a two week workshop at Penland School of Crafts in toolmaking for book artists. The workshop was taught by Shanna Leino, who makes beautiful unique handmade books and tools. It was amazing, challenging, fun, and incredibly satisfying to make a set of tools that I will use every day. I made a paring knife for thinning leather, with a blind tooled leather handle and case. Working with leather is incredibly fun, I would love to do more.

Let's see what else, this post is a bit of a catchup post to share projects that may have been overlooked.
I mentioned a few weeks ago about an unusual opportunity, me and my studio were filmed for a commercial. That commercial finally came out and you can see a peak of the Huldra Press shop and desk in the footage. Here's a link to the video on Youtube.


:: I was in a commercial! ::

That was a crazy day. I've also been keeping busy in the studio, making books, cards, working on a collaborative and custom projects, making new little things...


:: books all in a row ::

:: a new design, leather business card holder ::

:: a custom portfolio for a talented photographer, Katrina d'Autremont ::

I got to visit artist Gerard Brown, the Borowsky Center for Publication Arts run by Amanda D'Amico and look at the giant presses and chat with Gerard about his amazing signal flag inspired print in progress.

:: Gerard working on the registration for his offset edition print ::

:: me, photo courtesy Gerard Brown ::

I had a piece in a group show titled Facts and Fictions in New York at Recession Art Gallery. This same print, Red Fire, will be included in the Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction.

:: a piece in a show in New York! ::

The biggest thing on my mind though has been my upcoming residency in Iceland at Herhusid in Siglufjörður and the Due North exhibit in January. Due North will be an exhibit in conjunction with Philagrafika projects. I've been reading and collecting images, thoughts, ideas, theories, in preparation. One book I read was Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. There was a passage in Arctic Dreams that particularly struck me. where the author observes that the Arctic ecosystem is the youngest ecosystem, the last to develop post Ice Age, and that is why it's unvaried and simple relative to other ecosystems like the jungle. What he posits and what I keep thinking about is his observation that the Arctic ecosystem and landscape as we know it today is the same age as us, modern man. So we are in a way evolving, figuring it out together...


:: Siglufjörður, photo by Andres Thorarinsson::