making glass with Beda

I mentioned yesterday that I made my own glass in Beda's studio. Here is how we did it:

First you get as much glass "dough" from the oven that you need for what you are making.

If you want colored glass, you roll the glass in these powders. I chose blue for my glass and my friend Jannicke chose white.

In the photo to the left, the glass is put in a mould to make this kind of pattern in the surface. In the right photo I'm breathing air into my glass. (Both photos are by Jannicke.)

Jannicke wanted some silver and peach colored leaves on her glass.

Jannicke in action.

We designed our glasses and breathed air into them, while Beda did all the hard work. She told us it's all about technique and experience. Here she is making the bottom of Jannicke's glass even.

- and here she is opening up the glass, so that it can actually be used for drinks.

Here is Jannicke's finished glass.

- and here is Sølve's new whiskey glass.

You can also make your own glass in Beda's studio. Call her at 480 06 262 and make an appointment.

Beda is one of the artists down at the dock at USF.

Beda glass

I must admit that I've never been a big fan of art glass. But after visiting Beda's studio last week and seeing how these things are made, I got a whole new respect for the craft. Beda's work is really beautiful! I even got to make my own glass. More about that later.

Check out this video to see Beda in action.

Beda is one of the artists down at the dock at USF.

everyday life

Did you know that these kind of tulips with petals that are feathered, curled, twisted or waved are called parrot tulips? I kind of like them, but I think I like the "normal" ones better.

Imported strawberries are not the same as sweet, sunkissed Norwegian strawberries, but still I enjoyed this little feeling of summer on my plate - with a little sugar on top.

I love honey!

My afternoon snack before spinning and Sex and the City on DVD.

New to me. An old bowl from Egersund Fayancefabrik. I already have a few other bowls with the same pattern. My grandmother used to have them too.

yellow

Daffodils from the garden and almost freshly squeezed orange juice from the local grocery store. It's pouring down today, so I really need these bright, yellow sun rays. What's the weather like in your part of the world today?

my Aud Lavik clutch

After the catwalk show down at the dock at USF on Thursday last week, the artists welcomed us all in their studios. My first stop was Aud Lavik's leather workshop where she makes beautiful bags and purses. I fell in love with this clutch purse the first time I was there, and on Thursday I bought it. I'm very happy with it!

Btw, Aud gets her leather from Borge Garveri, the tannery I wrote about I while ago.

EDIT April 27, 2:45 pm: I just read in the local newspaper that Borge garveri unfortunately is bankrupt. Sad!

Jana shoots film

Why do you shoot film, Jana?

I think the thing I like most about shooting film is the time factor. Everyone is always so busy, and everything passes so quickly. Shooting film is completely opposite to that, it includes so many little rituals and it requires you to take your time: to choose your subject, to focus, to find the perfect exposure, to change a roll of film. It's slow, it calms me down, it makes me stop and think.

And then there's the waiting. I forget about most of the shots until I get my film developed and look at the photos. I love to sit down with them, to be surprised by the way every little captured moment turned out.

I also really like how the images of one roll of film somehow belong together, are inseparable. You always get the whole pack and can't just erase some of them. You actually can't erase film at all, that's why somehow it feels more real to me, more tangible. Oh, and i also love its smell.

Shooting film for me is about the texture, too, The colours, the grain, the format... There are so many different cameras and films you can experiment with, it's never really the same. You always learn something new and you never get bored. And that just makes me happy.

You can see more of Jana's film shots in this set on Flickr.

the dinner project, week 16

Monday April 19: homemade meatballs and rice

Tuesday April 20: Knorr Forest Mushroom soup (bland and boring) with mini baguettes

Wednesday April 21: Sølve's pasta bolognese

Thursday April 22: nibblies (including our homemade meatballs) and drinks at the office before the dock catwalk show

Friday April 23: Astrid's home alone dinner: bolognese leftovers

Saturday April 24: Astrid's home alone dinner: salad (store bought rocket mix, a few leftover strawberries, red bell pepper, cantaloupe melon, canned ham and cilantro) in whole grain pita bread (photo above)

Sunday April 25: homemade lasagne (made by my brother-in-law)

Design note: the bowl is from Swedish Höganäs Keramik

easter in black & white

I think I'm starting to like shooting with black and white film. At least I'm quite happy with these shots taken during Easter at the mountain cabin. I like the atmosphere in the shots - both with bright sunlight and snowy weather. The top photo was the last one I took before my old trusted Olympus mju-II (bought in Madrid, Spain in 2000 on recommendation from our friend J in the photo above) decided to die.

Film: Rollei Retro 100

more Easter photos here | more photos from the mountain cabin here

Btw, I'm not done with Easter yet, I'm still waiting for a last slide film to get back from the lab.

early spring on film

I'm sorry for the nature photos overload around here (and on Flickr) lately, it's just that spring makes me really happy and I love nature. These photos were taken the same day as these, on my walk home from the office. It was a really beautiful early spring day.

Film: Agfa Precisa 100

2009: autumn & winter

I have told you before that I have made Blurb books of all my everyday life photos from 2009. Since I have already shown you the first two, I thought I would show you the third one too. You can find some photos of the book in this set on Flickr.

Below are two shots of all the Blurb books I have made so far. In the bottom photo are all the private books. Almost all of them were gifts, and one book even made the receiver spontaneously cry of joy. I have told you before and I'm telling you again; Blurb books make fantastic gifts!


Here is my Blurb book store, and here are photos of my Blurb books on Flickr.

Now show me your Blurb/photo books!

fredag

Snow (again), white blossoms, a brown cheese snack from a colleague (I don't really like brown cheese), pink details, cosmos and Paris je t'aime on TV.

Happy Friday!