Jag ska måla hela världen lilla mamma

I will paint the whole world little mummy it's written in white on the pink bench by the allotment park. It's the title of a very preppy little childrens song that I used to listen to when I was little:

"I will paint the whole world little mummy
Full of sunshine every day
That it's raining ans is grey doesn't matter
You will have sunshine in you window anyway"

Oooh, it's very annoying and very "what a little girl should be", I feel.

Tomorrow on Walpurgis Night Colouroïd DJs the Flexi again:
El Mundo, Erstag 21, 21 - 01. Welcome!

I feel it might be a slightly different evening than last years celebrating:

Neither Hekla nor Katla

Here is one of the mountains that I was drawing.
It's not a finished thing, just a sketch, an idea.
I hardly ever draw just for the fun of it and it was great.

And it's my mother's birthday today!
Grattis Sirkka-Liisa!

The straight and the narrows

I'm lost in drawing land. In lust for a new header I've unexpectedly embarked on a journey full of diamonds, bird's nests and hollow mountains, I'm channeling Iceland. Today is my set deadline for this nonsense, tomorrow I hope to post perhaps no header, but the result.

PS. For more Icelandism: Cynthia Stern - Monkey Face Ansikte is to be found here and if you're not sick of all the nonsense go American here.

This weekend...

...we attended the childrens' architecture show Building Blocks
(sweet but much too dark for my camera's eye).



...we played with suncats and sunkisses.

...we spied upon the secret world of children and their beloved.


...I saw that hard surfaces might look as smooth and soft as silk.

...a hairy monster invaded my desk....

...and another tried to swallow the sky.

I was never afraid.

How do you make a Monday like this sweet?

I'm thinking a lovely dinner.
And music.

Tonight I'll go listen to a debate arranged by the Swedish Film Board and the Arts Counsil on artistic freedom, ethics and responsibility, censorship, freedom of expression, media and politics.

Let's hope there will be food for thought.

PS. If you thought my header was too sombre you'd tell me, right?
I think it looks clumsy and heavy, I might have to do something about that.

La Réalisme Social

I thought the best way to unmute myself - see previous post for a more sombre mood - might be to go through old projects of mine, so that's some of what I've been doing today.

There was a time when I was playing with the idea of changing Skerries for the name La Réalisme Social. The idea of this "social reality" - with mothers crying over a sink full of dirty dishes, distant fathers/unemployed struggling fathers, the moment before your glue sniffing kids return home and you have to give them the disappointing truth and a constant grey drizzle - has always haunted and taunted me. Is this reality - the real reality - really?

To be continued.

In mute

Muted is my mood today although the sun is shining and we stand on the brink of weekend. It feels like I'm asking myself all the right questions and have to remind myself I needn't come up with an answer or a rule to regulate the incompletes.

It feels frustrating.

PS. Saturday it's flexi-time mit Colouroïd!
Babajan, Katarina Bang 75, 21 - 01
Exchange the 17th to the 23d and press repeat, I repeat, press repeat.

Tracy's face

"Why is life worth living? It's a very good question. Well, there are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile... like what... okay... for me... I would say... what, Groucho Marx, to name one thing... and Wilie Mays... and... the 2nd movement of the Jupiter Symphony... and... Louis Armstrong's recording of Potato Head Blues... Swedish movies, naturally... Sentimental Education by Flaubert... Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra... Those incredible apples and pears by Cezanne... The crabs at Sam Wo's... Tracy's face..."

When I first saw Woody Allen's Manhattan in my early teens I don't think I quite kept up with the dialogue. What made the biggest impression on me - and still does - was the smooth surfaces and angles of Tracy's face. Mariel Hemingway's voice, her calm composure and soft determination intrigues and compels me.

Beside the stunning photography I love all the womens outfits.
A steady hand has ruled that costume department.

Northern humour

I'm in awe of this ransom note in Swicelandic/Icewedish:

"Put 30 billion Euro in the garbage bin Icelandic Embassy tonight and we'll turn off the volcano! Not call the police!"

Over at Breaking News you can learn:

7:53pm 4/19 Update: Iceland weather service confirms it was looking at wrong volcano; Hekla is not erupting

All is going well in the North.

PS. Interesting explorations.

(The image links to its original location.)

Pearls, ribbons and lace

These big girls I pass by almost every day on my morning walk.
I like how their armored bodies are tricked out with lacelike patterns, sheer pastels and fashionably coarse necklaces. I love their vintage colours and their sharp yet rounded angels.

Also I like asking myself: Where should I go today?

PS. I would not want this job.

Weekends are heaven

I've become something of a heaven collector lately (in Swedish the word for heaven and sky is the same - himmel - so I feel free to do as I will) and as spring enfolds my camera points gradually upwards like a dirty peekaboo crocus.

These are from Saturday's ramblings.
I can't believe the weekend is nearly over - again.

Tonight awaits coconutcurryveggiesandveggieschnitzel and films films films, preferably digested in bed.

Tomorrow I'll place an order for Patti Smith's Just kids.
The future looks bright.

PS. Det här är en gammal bloggpost men jag tycker att historien är fantastiskt rolig. Speciellt i en matblogg.

Retraction

Edit: No Flexi tonight, there's been a double booking at Babajan.

Let's enjoy our invisible volcano ash induced, empty air space instead. Sthlm is always huddling under thousands of lowrider planes, maybe today is the best kite day?

A kite and Autechre's - Oversteps in the headphones.

Have a lovely Saturday!
I'll go quiet my headache soon with a sandwich.