LearnSweden Blog

Camilla Engman The Suitcase Series

The first time I encountered Camilla Engman was when I was writing an article about the Göteborg International Film Festival. Camilla had done the artwork for the poster and I was immediately enchanted and enamored with her work.

I soon found out that I was late to the party and that everyone I knew practically had heard of her. Shortly, thereafter, I had the pleasure of adding her artwork to my google page and running across her blog.  Now a daily read,Camilla has impacted the discovery of my own artistic side through her use of paper,photography,ceramics,walking,traveling, and the life she shares with her little dog moran.

So when I was asked the question,"What do you what for Jul?" The first thing out of my mouth and emails were "The new Camilla Engman" book.

 So it came yesterday and I spent the afternoon with Camilla, delighting in her art process.  What impressed me the most was the philosophy of sharing a creative life. It doesn't stand apart from us but she has included us in it. She has experimented with everything from stuffed animals, to paper cutting, collage making,ceramics, drawing, painting and combining many of these mediums to create her art. Her great love though is drawing.I've seen how her art has unfolded and evolved through the last years on her blog. She shares in her book how her creative living came to be and the one thing that I greatly appreciate is her desire to inspire us. This she has done with success.

 

In this lovely little book she has included a post-card, a luggage tag, and this fun little glassine envelope filled with postcards which we can make our very own collages with. One of my favorite additions is the small book about her dog Moran , who leads a very imaginative life of his own.

To find out more about this book please go here. Here's where you can find Camilla and also at Studio Violet.

Want Something to Do this Weekend ?

       

From Friday to Monday it's the Swedish Garden Bird Watch. During one hour you write down the number of birds that you notice in your garden. Be sure to send in a report. This is the most common bird, it's called a Talgoxe.

Today's blogpost is composed of the wanderings and photos of Stefan Jansson. Living in Tungelsta in Haninge, just south of Stockholm. He loves documenting the changes in nature and places. He follows this simple rule "Never leave home without a camera."

Steffe is a flickr friend. To see more of his wonderful photos you can catch him here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/steffe/

 From his bird collection

         

                      

                      

         

Join our Flickr Group:For the Love of Snow

Greetings friends. We have been in search of snow for awhile now. Due to the lack of snow we have created a flickr group to share our snow photos. These photos don't have to be from Sweden, in fact just send us any snow photos at all. They can be scenic, outside of your homes,sking,playing,snowman making etc.  We just want to see the white stuff.

You can find us here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/loveofsnow/

We look forward to seeing your photos.

                              

        

          

                                

           

          

           

             

     

A Picture is worth a thousand words

   It doesn't take long to know that we love photography here at LearnSweden. Today I would like to introduce you formally to the work of my friend, colleague, and co-owner of LearnSweden, Per Svangren. You see his work often here on the blog, in our courses, and in our e-zine. Read on to learn more about our happy photographer and find out how you can have some of his work for yourself.

      

        

  

"I have always loved the way to find a good view of things. When I was a child I got my first camera while I was quite young. A Nikon and I took a lot pictures. While at school I chose photography as a subject and spent many hours in the darkroom, producing black and white pictures. When we had a chance to job share with a professional at work , I first had a week at Swedish Television and the second time at Dagens Nyheter as a photographer. This was the first time a saw the possibilities in the photos themselves and in photography as a job. After that I took some courses in photography. Is what changed everything for me was the digital age.  When i bought my first digital camera I saw new possibilities in taking photos. I could take as many photos as I wanted just delete the ones I don't. It allows me to have a great amount of experimentation because I don't have the risk of "wasting" film.
I like to take pictures of people and especially of nature best of all is to link these two together."
 
"My Canon is one of my best friends and is always with me. "

           

 This year’s calendar features the wonderful work of Per Svangren. Per’s photography celebrates his absolute love of living. Per’s photos strive to cultivate an appreciation for Sweden by offering a little glimmer into the unique variety of his world, whether that be on the LearnSweden blog, e-zine, courses or now on our calendar. By clicking on the widget below you can get a copy for yourself or give it as a gift. It adds beauty to any wall. On the right hand sidebar there is a link to let you go directly and get your copy. Until then just enjoy some of Per's photos.