I have been busy, very busy indeed. I had to finish the two green sisters before end of the month and I made it. I has been hard work and I have hardly done anything else than put the corselet on, started the audiobook and sat at the loom. And it has been a fabulous time. Living in the world of rags, greens, multicoloured rags and crime novels.
And not to forget all the green dust that this work creates. A lovely mixture indeed. And I am so happy in the making of rugs.
Meanwhile the outer world has had its own changes. I have looked briefly at facebook to see what is going on. People seem to have been enjoying the outdoors during winter and this flash of spring that we have now in Iceland in the middle of winter time. They have been skiing, hiking, going on picnics and rowing their kayaks. There has been sunshine, northern lights dancing in the sky and snow and rainfall. But I have been inside the world of rags.

Actually it is not quite correct. Every weekday I have to leave my den to go to my paying job. It is difficult to tear myself away but I have to. I need the money in order to by food and pay the bloody bills. So it is not too bad. And it forces me go out of my cave and prevents me from getting happily totally mad. I usually go by bike to and fro the paying job so I have had my share of sunshine, wind, rain and of course NORTHERN LIGHTS.
The green sisters I have created are the northern lights. Look at them. They are similar but not the same. Their hues differ depending on how close one scrutinizes them.

It has been an eventful winter in my studio. I almost set the house on fire while dyeing the warp and leaving it on the stove for 5 hours while I went to earn my living!  Then I managed what few people have done: fall into the loom and fracture a rib. I have also managed to sell a piece and be interviewed on the Icelandic state radio, actually not about my artwork but about when I was caught in a cyclone on W-Australia a decade ago. I have had wonderful coffee and cake parties with friends that have helped me beam the warp and we totally forgot to photograph the events.

I have started weaving. It takes a bit of effort as I have managed to fracture a rib. But I bought a kind of corselet  to support the rib and it makes all the difference.
I have been thinking of what makes green. I am not very good at theory but sometimes it is the gut feeling that tells me what. I think I am getting it right in this piece, what makes it feel green in spite of other colours amongst it. Green is basically blue and yellow or what? But there is much more to it than that I can recall. I think I'll have a look into a book about colour.

I am preparing green rugs. The rags have been cut, the warp is waiting in the loom. This is a bespoke work. Now it is all about thinking, arranging, deciding and finding a "red thread" in all the green. The work revolves around staring at the balls of rags, using the brain = thinking and creating.  It is hard to describe what happens in my head on this level but there is a lot going on. To decide what colours will go along, what colours and hues will accentuate each other in the desired direction. To find a path for the work.

Ég er að undirbúa græn teppi. Tuskurnar hafa verið klipptar, uppistaðan bíður í vefstólnum.  Þetta er sérpantað verk. Nú snýst allt um að hugsa, raða, ákveða og finna hinn "rauða þráð" í hinu græna. Vinnan snýst um að stara á tuskuhnyklana, nota heilann = hugsa og skapa.  Það er erfitt að lýsa því hvað gerist í höfðinu á mér á þessu stigi en það er margt sem á sér stað.  Ákveða hvaða litir eiga skap saman, hvaða litir og tónar upphefja hverja aðra í þá átt sem ég vil. Að finna leið fyrir verkið.

They are arriving today. The helpers, to warp the loom. Very exciting. I have made couple of cakes and my mother has baked cinnamon rolls. The helpers are always rewarded with cake and coffee (or any beverage they prefer). This was the custom at the weaving school I attended in Ekenäs, Finland three decades ago. That is one of the best things I have done in my lifetime, to attend the former Ekenäs hemslöjdsskola. It underwent changes after I finished my studies there and is now called , well I actually do not know.
My helpers are dear friends that don't do any weaving that I am aware of. Actually a weaving one offered her help but was not able to attend today as for another one, a new acquaintance, that lives down mainland Europe wanted to be here but the traveling proved to be to long, far and dear. 
The intention was to photograph the whole procedure but we were far to occupied to think of that until we had sat and had cake and coffee. Too late then. But next time.  I am showing an old pic.

Vinir aðstoðuðu mig við að rifja vefstólinn í dag. Þ.e. slangan sem ég raktí í um daginn var undin upp á slöngurif og orðin að uppistöðu núna. Steingleymdi að ljósmynda starfið og starfsfólkið. Notast við eldri mynd.
En það verður annað sinn. Uppistöður taka endi og þarf að rekja í þær aftur og rifja.
Þau voru 6 sem að mættu svo starfið gekk hratt fyrir sig og við höfðum ærinn tíma til að eta kökur og drekka kaffi og myntute. Skemmtilegt laugardagssamsæti samhliða vinnu. 6 góðir vinir sem mættu.