Sola Arena - Entrance to the velodrome for the cyclists

This painting was something extra I wanted to do for the cyclists using the velodrome, both for training and for competitions. It is a bit hidden and can be seen on the way up to the tracks.

The idea for it comes from something my partner told me about years ago, and I haven’t been able to forget it. He told me about early childhood when he saw crowds of little people, flocking around him everywhere he went. Every time he did something, they cheered and made him feel special. And this happened whenever he did everyday things, like tie his shoelaces, make his bed, brush his teeth, etc. It must have been amazing!

This is the feeling I wanted to give, the experience of being totally amazing every time you come in and use the velodrome.

Entrance to the velodrome for the cyclists

Entrance to the velodrome for the cyclists

Sola Arena - Cadence

The last meeting room in the Velodrome was a tricky one. It has a challenging architecture and is quite dark. The room is actually two rooms, with glass doors dividing them.

My original sketch consisted of 4 paintings in this room, but I was afraid of overdoing it and decided on 3 paintings. I didn’t want to have another experience as I had in “Strength” and chose to lower the number, but use colour where I found it appropriate in stead.

“Cadence” is the name and I must admit that it was a new word for me. It can relate to music and different activities, but I had the cycle reference in mind. Cadence is the speed of the cyclist pedaling.

The inner room, I looked at as a sort of rest, and the cyclists are off their bikes and there is no cadence in place. This was the last meetingroom and it became natural to have a “quiet” zone.


Process // Prosess

Process // Prosess


Sola Arena - Frequency

During my planning and sketching period, I spent some time in the Arena to observe and get ideas. I wanted to decorate the meeting rooms according to their names. With the room called Frequency I had to think to find the link between the name and cycling or sport.

But it became clear when I watched one of the cycle rides in the Velodrome and there was a bell that started chiming, announcing the last lap. I knew this bell had to be used - to symbolise not only the last lap but also music, and therefore frequency.

In this room I used the pipes to connect the bell, so that it became a more natural part of the room.

The bell ringing for the last lap // Bjella ringer for siste runde

Sola Arena - Mastering

Can you remember the moment you finally “broke the code” and were able to find your balance on your bike? No need for support wheels anymore! Or when you, after hours and hours, trying to teach your kids the art of bicycling, you could let go and let them ride into another level of independence.

Pure magic! This is what I have tried to capture and portrey in the meeting room called “Mastering”.

There are two paintings, one with the young girl riding away from us with her support wheels. The same girl is facing us on a bike without support wheels, where her father has just let go and she is excitedly finding her balance.

finished painting - father letting go of the girl, without support wheels // ferdig maleri - far slipper jenta, uten støttehjul

finished painting - girl with support wheels // ferdig maleri - jente med støttehjul

Sola Arena - Strength

This meeting room has been a bit of a headache for me. The paintings are big and powerful, as it suits a room called “Strength”. One of the paintings ended up, yet a little bit too large, even for this room. And I have worked it, overworked it, worked it yet again. I have spent so much time on it that I have refused to admit my overscaling and tried to insist on my “error” in the hope of making it right. That never works…

I ended up on a ladder with a sanding machine, sanding down my insisting lines. And for now, it is still unresolved.

More information about this specific painting will come in due time..

But the room will consist of 4 paintings, and I have focused on “Strength” and a little bit of the history of Sola. The first painting is inspired by the Stone Age. Sola has several findings from this period. It is even suggested that the oldest, Norwegian village was to be found in Sola!

Sola Arena - Flow

Early this year I received good news! I was selected to do a public decoration in Norways first velodrome (indoor cycling hall). I will decorate the meeting rooms, and a couple of more locations I will share in the process. The decoration will consist of painted blind drawings on the walls.

All of the meeting rooms have specific names and I have created sketches based on the various names. The first meeting room I started with is called “Flow” and is a venue for different activities, i.e. “Rookie”, a group for kids and teenagers doing crafting projects.

To me, flow is the feeling of loosing myself in artistic expressions. The painting in the room is of a girl drawing on a piece of paper - and opposite of the painting is her finished drawing.

This is only the beginning of the project - more to come!

ps. I apologise for the crazy image of me - just to give you the impression of the size - and what too much work can do to your sanity 😅

Lend me an ear - continued

“Lend me an ear” is now in Ukraine and will be a part of a large, international textile biennale (“Scythia”) in Ivano-Frankivs´k in June 2024. I look forward to share the images from the exhibition and to be a part of this exhibition amongst artists from around the world! More information about “Scythia” here.

Earlier this year, “Lend me an ear” travelled to Lista and was a part of the duo-exhibition “Forced thread” with Camilla Løken Hill. We exhibited in a German barrack from WW2 at Nordberg Fort with my textiles and Camillas metal installations in brass and copper.

I want to expand my ears and 5 will become 21 and form a pattern (to be shared later) on the wall. If you have any suggestions to new models for the ears, please share in a comment and explain the reason why you choose this persons ear. I look forward to your suggestions!

“Lend me an ear”, exhibition view from Galleri Lista Fyr, Nordberg Fort, Vest-Agder museet

Lend me an ear

“Lend me an ear” is a new series of sculptural textile works. The start of the serie will be shown at the X-mas exhibition at Rogaland Kunstsenter. It will consist of 5 framed, needle-felted ears mounted on linen canvas.

In our increasingly unstable world where we are moving away from our extended family many of us experience loneliness. It is no longer a given to have a confident, someone to share our big moments and griefs with.

With this series, I want to offer a constant listening ear to the viewer.

Our ears are so unique they can identify a person, just like our DNA and fingerprints.

Let me introduce the owners of my ears:

# 1 - Cliff

Cliff Lawton, the stepdad of my partner who recently passed away. This man loved his wife Mary completely, but still had more than enough love for all his family. He lived for his family and always put everyone else first. I feel so blessed to have had him in my life for the last 11 years. To me he became the big brother I never had. We talked, we joked and laughed and we cried together. He always made me feel like a part of the family - and he always lend me an ear when I needed.

Link to the online catalogue of the exhibition

#2 - Princess Diana / prinsesse diana

Princess Diana.

I grew up in the 80´s and was, like the rest of the western world, swept away by the fairytale of Prince Charles and princess Diana. the magazines and newspapers never stopped documenting the poor woman´s life. as a kid I looked at her as cinderella in the flesh, but as a grown woman, I have so much respect and admiration for the strength she must have possessed. She managed to spread empathy and love throughout the world, raise two boys and break free from the “crown” - and stay true to herself.

my second ear, and I believe it is a good one,

Link to the online catalogue of the exhibition

#3 - gandhi

mahatma gandhi

a peaceful, yet forceful man. A man who marched for. 24 days to protest against the British salt monopoly in India. He led many non-violent protests throughout his life.

Spinning on the charkha, making cotton thread, to liberate India, is one of them. The thread was used to make handwoven fabrics, such as khadi. Khadi, a symbol of India’s independence, made locally in villages with the locally grown cotton. without the need of western machines.

Gandhi, who wouldn’t lend his ear?

#4 - the man from Snåsa / snåcamannen

the man from snåsa

throughout my life there’s been talk about this mysterious man from snåsa that heals people, Every now and then there where pieces about him in magazines and newspapers. my grandmother on my fathers side lived in Trøndelag, and even she talked about him and his endeavours.

he spent his life using his mind and body as a “medium” for higher forces to heal through him. I wonder what it cost him to remove the pain of all these people? Sadly he died this summer and I will never get an answer.

with this ear, I would ask you to fill it with kind and uplifting words, as a thank you for his selfless, lifelong service to others.

#5 - Neo

Neo

ear number five is what I believe is my subconscious start of the project. it just took me a while to realize.

my grandson, neo, now nine months, is born almost without the sense of hearing. he can just about hear some sounds when they are really loud. the loss of the hearing makes him even more interested in eye-contact and faces and he gives you his full attention. it sometimes feels like he is staring deep into your soul, trying to listen, not to your words, but to your heart.

in January he will have an operation that will give him the possibility to understand sound. an operation for a Cochlear implant (CI). for this procedure they remove the last of his natural hearing.

this is the ear of neo,, made two months before the operation.