this is ester's blog

First Project

2011-11-11T16:32:00.003+01:00

Time flies!
This is what i've been working on for the past 6 weeks.
It's a cup/skull/owl.
Slipcast and decorated with terra sigillata.

In London / I London

2011-09-22T17:18:00.004+02:00

Now I've arrived in London, with my rucksack (which weighed exactly 20kgs), bike, and accordion.
School starts on Monday!

Nu är jag i London, kom hit med ryggsäcken, cyklen och dragspelet.
Skolan börjar på måndag!

finishing up / avslutar

2011-08-19T13:52:00.002+02:00

The last lot of bowls are all glazed, and waiting to be fired. Soon it's time to move out of the studio (I'm going to miss it!) and then in September I'm off to London with my bike, accordion and toolbox.
I've also "harvested" my sweet-potato! It's not very big, as you can see, but probably delicious.
Nu är de sista skålarna glaserade, och ska in i ugnen. Snart är det dags att flytta ut ur verkstan, (jag kommer att sakna det!) och sen i september åker cyklen, dragspelet, verktygslådan och jag till London.
Jag har också "skördat" sötpotatisen! Jag blir nog inte mätt på den, men god är den alldeles säkert.

changes / förändringar

2011-07-27T23:46:00.005+02:00

I september ska jag till London för att läsa en masters i keramik, på Royal College of Art. Just nu är jag mitt uppe i flyttande, både från lägenheten och min plats i verkstan. Som tur är kan jag hyra en annan plats i verkstan under augusti månad, så jag har tid att jobba på lite till! Men varje gång jag flyttar önskar jag att jag inte hade så mycket saker!

In September I'm moving to London to study a masters in ceramics, at the Royal College of Art. At the moment I'm in the middle of moving, both out of my flat and my studio space. Luckily I can rent another place in the same studio during August, so I'll be able to keep making things for a wee while longer. But every time I move, I really with I didn't have so much stuff!

Dragspelskonsert i Risör

2011-07-17T21:08:00.002+02:00

En extra bonus med resan var att när vi kom fram till Risör i onsdags, var det en liten dragspelskonsert! Tyvärr uppfattade jag inte vad hon heter - kanske nån vet? Men här är, iallafall, en liten filmsnutt.
Hon spelade på ett fint litet rött pianodragspel, och hon hade tillochmed en sång om kvinnor i olika delar av världen som spelar på röda dragspel!
Det är något med dragspel...

Marknaden

2011-07-17T20:49:00.007+02:00

Nu är vi i Göteborg igen, efter en rolig och lyckad resa till Villvin Marked i Risör, Norge! Här är några bilder:

Now we're back in Göteborg again, after an enjoyable and successful trip to Villvin Market in Risör, Norway! Here are a few photos:

verkstads-blogg!

2011-07-12T08:56:00.001+02:00

Våran verkstad har nu en fin liten blogg, som Masayoshi Oya fixat.

www.sockerbruket33.blogspot.com/

Villvin Marknad

2011-07-11T15:18:00.004+02:00

På onsdag bär det av till Norge, där jag ska vara med på en konsthantverksmarknad i Risör, Villvin!
Två andra keramiker från Sintra, Maria Kristofersson och Jill Johansson, ska också dit, och vi ska köra dit i min pappas bil, fullpackad med keramik. Vi hoppas på fint väder och god
försäljning!

cyklar och cyklister

2011-05-23T22:21:00.004+02:00

Nu är det mindre än 3 veckor kvar till Göteborgs Cykelfestival!

Det kommer nog bli några fler cykelrelaterade skålar innan dess, eftersom jag sitter och tänker på cyklar och cyklister mer än vanligt.

(Det är även hög tid att faktiskt börja cykla lite mer och längre också, eftersom Vätternrundan närmar sej i en rasande fart.)

Och om allt går som det ska, kommer det att finnas några Velodrom skålar (fast dom blir mer som fat) på festivalen!

Cykelfestival!

2011-04-29T23:38:00.003+02:00

Göteborgs CYKELFESTIVAL 2011!

Gäst på Södra Hamnen 31

2011-04-18T23:00:00.003+02:00

Jag är glad för att få ha med lite saker på Södra Hamnen 31 i Skärhamn, Tjörn. Här är ett litet smakprov.
I helgen är det dessutom Konstvandringen Södra Bohuslän! Om ni har vägarna förbi...

ps klicka på bilden för att se den större/click on the picture if you want to see it bigger.

Sista dagen av Konstrundan!

2011-04-11T11:56:00.003+02:00

Tack alla som kommit och hälsat på under Konstrundan i Majorna!
Idag är sista dagen, då har vi öppet mellan 16-20.
Välkomna!

Snart är det Konstrundan!

2011-04-03T10:57:00.002+02:00

(klicka på bilden för att komma till hemsidan)

Usak University Exhibition

2011-04-03T10:51:00.002+02:00

I've got a little piece in an exhibition in Turkey, at the Usak University Gallery. As you can see, the participants are from all over the world. I wish i could go and see it!

glasgow

2011-03-25T23:26:00.002+01:00

a few years ago i stuck up this bird in Glasgow.
my friend M just sent me this picture - it's still there!
bathroom tile grout seems to be the way forward. (that's what i used to attach it to the wall).

the days go by so fast...

2011-03-18T00:14:00.000+01:00

bird cups

2011-03-02T23:21:00.003+01:00

At the moment i'm making lots of little porcelain cups with bird-handles. A lovely couple from Japan, who have a shop in Nagano called Natur ordered 40 of them.
I also got a nice present yesterday from a friend - a sprouting sweet potato. If i plant it soon i'll get lots of little sweet potatoes in the autumn.

Mamma's massage

2011-02-16T23:01:00.003+01:00

www.livsrumberoring.com
Vill bara göra lite reklam för min mamma som är massör mm mm. Om ni är i Småland vore det väl värt ett besök i Rydaholm där hon finns.
Klicka här!
Hon gör också jättefina och sköna vetevärmare, med ekologiskt vete.

GP

2011-02-05T22:57:00.003+01:00

updated website

2011-01-28T00:21:00.001+01:00

just wanted to let you know, my website's been updated, have a look here

2011-01-22T10:56:00.001+01:00

And here are some words:

be(longing)
Ester Svensson

To be, to long for, and to belong – these are the themes which Ester Svensson has worked from in this exhibition: be(longing). Although the starting point for each image is personal, the subjects they deal with are universal.

Ester has lived in a few different places (among them Småland, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and now Göteborg), and this affects her work in a variety of ways. The world is both shrinking and growing – we have access to so many places, ideas, information and people, but it can be harder to know where, or what, or with whom, we are or belong.

Drawing has always been an important part of Ester’s work. (She began studying illustration at Edinburgh College of Art, before switching to ceramics at Glasgow School of Art).

The material is “quartzpaste”, which is a mixture of primarily quartz, a small amount of clay and frit (glass), plus a couple of other things. It arose in the 11^th or 12^th century, as potters wanted to produce porcelain – without having access to the kilns or type of clay necessary. It is ideally white and transparent, but fires at low earthenware temperatures.

be(longing)
Ester Svensson

Att vara, att längta, att tillhöra – det är teman som Ester Svensson utgår från i utställningen be(longing). Utgångspunkten är personlig, men tankarna är allmänmänskliga.

Ester har bott på lite olika håll, (bla Småland, Pakistan, Skottland, Afghanistan, och nu Göteborg) och det präglar hennes arbeten på olika sätt. Världen både krymper och växer - vi har tillgång till så många olika platser, ideer, information och människor, men det kan bli svårare att veta var, eller vad, eller med vem, man är eller “hör hemma”.

Teckning har alltid varit en viktig del av Ester’s arbeten. (Hon började studera illustration på Edinburgh College of Art, innan hon bytte till keramik på Glasgow School of Art.)

Matarialet är “quartzpaste”, som blandas av bla kvarts, lite superplastisk lera och fritta (glas). Det uppkom i Persien området på 12-1300 talet, då keramiker ville producera porslin - utan att ha tillgång till de ugnar och lera som behövdes. Det är vitt och kan vara transparent, men bränns i lergods temperaturer.

More photos:

2011-01-22T10:41:00.005+01:00

Here a few more photos from the exhibition i've got at the moment,
be(longing) at Two Little Birds.

Thank you Marcus Svensson (my brother) for taking the photos!

(if you click on the image, you can see a bigger version, and the title comes up).

tack

2011-01-16T14:00:00.004+01:00

Tack till alla som kom på vernissage igår!
Mer bilder kommer om ett par dagar.

now for the boring part...

2011-01-10T22:01:00.003+01:00

... mounting everything.
i went and bought wood this morning, and got about halfway done with the little bits of wood. (tack Marianne och Katarina för hjälpen!)
it's taking longer than i thought, so i'm glad there's a few days left till Saturday.
my little sister beat me at arm-wrestling last night, so hopefully all the sawing and sanding will at least make my arm stronger!

Vernissage!

2011-01-06T22:20:00.004+01:00

Lördag 15e januari blir det vernissage på Two Little Birds, 2a Långgatan 5.
kl13 - 17

BE(LONGING)

Här får ni lite smakprov.

Please read this book!

2011-01-05T21:56:00.003+01:00

i'm only half-way through, but i'm convinced: this book is really important to read.

you can find out all about it and read (or download) an excerpt here.

Happy New Year, Gott Nytt År!

2011-01-01T12:13:00.003+01:00

(these images are from a V&A exhibition of Islamic art - unfortunately i didn't note down exactly where they're from or who painted them or when...)

2010-11-27T22:35:00.002+01:00

i'm having a little exhibition in January at Two Little Birds, so i'm making work for that just now.
here's a little peek...

i januari ska jag ha en liten utställning på Two Little Birds, så jag jobbar på det just nu.
här är ett par bilder...

Julöppet!

2010-11-22T22:21:00.005+01:00

Vi har julöppet i vår verkstad 2:a och 3:e Advent, kl12-18 lör-sön (alltså 4, 5, 11, 12 dec).

Ni hittar oss i Keramikverkstan, Sockerbruket 33, våning 1, i Klippans industri område i Göteborg.

Varmt välkomna!

Den fina affischen har Karin Nilsson gjort.

Paketistan - konsthantverks auktion, insamling till Pakistan!

2010-11-21T01:21:00.008+01:00

9 december kl17-19 anordnar Sintra en Jul Paket Auktion!

Alla pengar går oavkortat till översvämmningsdrabbade i Pakistan via Läkare utan gränser

Det blir fina paket skänkta av Sintra's medlemmar, och handmålade plåtlådor från Pakistan som kommer att auktioneras ut, live-musik mm.

En jättebra chans att bidra till det livsnödvändiga arbetet i Pakistan, fixa ett spännande och värdefullt paket, och ha en rolig kväll! Allt på en gång!

Sprid gärna vidare!

tattooed arm

2010-11-18T10:44:00.000+01:00

2010-11-18T01:07:00.002+01:00

i've left some new bowls at Sintra today. a few earthenware pieces, but also some porcelain bowls.
(i actually enjoyed a tiny little break from the earthenware and fritware, so you might see a few more porcelain or stoneware bits and pieces in the future, who knows?)

2010-11-18T01:00:00.002+01:00

a couple of weeks ago i cycled my first alley-cat: Svart Katt, arranged by Komet Club Rouleur.
so this post is pretty late, but it was a good night! and here is a plate with the same theme...

2010-11-03T23:28:00.000+01:00

SKATEISTAN : to live and skate in Kabul

2010-11-01T03:48:00.002+01:00

For more information go to WWW.SKATEISTAN.ORG

2010-10-25T14:14:00.001+02:00

Pakistan

2010-09-28T08:19:00.003+02:00

Friends and former schoolmates from Pakistan have started an appeal for Pakistan called 1toAnother - they are raising funds, and will travel to Pakistan the first week of October for three weeks, to oversee the distribution.
http://1toanother.wordpress.com/

And here is a blog about the situation, On the Ground

Please don't forget Pakistan.

Naturhistoriska museet

2010-09-26T23:13:00.005+02:00

going to the Natural History museum always feels a little bit like walking around in a morgue.
i imagined that if i was a filmmaker or animator i would make a film about all of the birds (and other animals and insects too, but i was mostly thinking about the birds) suddenly came to life and there was lots of noise and breaking glass and beating wings and movement as they all broke out of the glass cases and escaped from the museum. but i'm not, so i just made a few pencil drawings. it's so much easier, when they're all still and you can get so close...

autumn

2010-09-26T22:18:00.006+02:00

a little bike accident a couple of weeks ago has meant that i've not been able to do much work lately.
but i have been able to walk around in the forest. it's a good time to walk around in the forest - mushrooms and berries and colour and silence.
i also saw a couple of snakes, that were lying very still but still alive. and another time a little red squirrel chattered at me and jumped around in the trees. and birds, couldn't tell what kinds. i never see any moose or deer or hares though, i guess i'm too noisy.

i also just visited my grandmothers. they're brilliant and amazing.

on one grandma's embroidered wall-hanging it says "Love makes hands diligent".

Föreläsning på Sintra

2010-09-03T11:14:00.004+02:00

"Svensk-pakistansk keramiker bland Afghanska krukmakare"
16 september kl19
SINTRA KONSTHANTVERK
Landsvägsgatan 5,
413 04Göteborg

Kostnad 30 kr, som oavkortat går till hjälparbete i Pakistan

Anmälan görs per telefon till Sintra på telefonnummer 031 - 775 01 20

Ester Svensson är keramiker, verksam i Göteborg sedan våren 2009. Med föräldrar från Småland, är hon uppvuxen i Pakistan. Hon kommer att berätta om när hon jobbade med krukmakare i Afghanistan, om inspirations-källor, och hur hennes bakgrund påverkar hennes arbeten och bildspråk.

17-20 MILLION people affected... so far...

2010-08-30T06:27:00.001+02:00

arsund

2010-08-21T12:58:00.002+02:00

Upmarket: 1 dag kvar!

2010-08-14T23:47:00.004+02:00

Tack till alla som har besökt oss på Upmarket i Trädgårdsföreningen! Det har varit fullt av trevliga människor och bra väder.
Imorgon söndag är sista chansen för i år. Välkomna!

UPMARKET börjar imorgon!

2010-08-12T22:23:00.004+02:00

Välkomna till Upmarket i Trädgårdsföreningen i Göteborg!

En konsthantverksmarknad där bland annat jag kommer att vara med. Jag har nästan bott i verkstan senaste veckorna, så det finns massor av nya grejer, plus handtryckta disktrasor och kort!
Dessutom delar jag bord med Charlotta Klingström och Özay Emert, två trevliga och talangfyllda konsthantverkare.

Öppet kl12-18 fredag, lördag & söndag.

Med andra ord, väl värt ett besök!

Pakistan

2010-08-06T22:45:00.004+02:00

You've all heard about the terrible devastating floods in Pakistan by now... You may also know that i was born there, and grew up there. It's difficult to take in what i hear on the radio and read on the news and hear from my parents friends... so so many people. And the consequences of it - many haven't yet recovered from the earthquake that destroyed so much 2005.

I don't know what to do... but I thought i would post a few sites that give info about organisations that are receiving donations for the relief efforts:

http://www.CHOWRANGI.com/donation-links-and-relief-resources-for-pakistan-flood-victims.html

http://OURDESIWORLD.com/component/content/article/56-list-of-flood-relief-organizations-pakistan-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-floods-2010

http://www.justgiving.com/pakistanfloodsappeal-msf/2 Goes to Medecins sans Frontieres (UK)

Images from here.

magic pens

2010-08-03T03:38:00.005+02:00

Our lovely friend Leila came for a visit. She brought a few Chartpak Blender pens, which dissolve the ink from a laser-jet printer, making it possible to transfer images! Since there is iron-oxide in the ink, they can be used on ceramics, and fire to various shades of brown. I learned about it from the brilliant American ceramist David Allyn, he held a workshop while he was here exhibiting at Sintra.

art/rubbish

2010-08-03T03:22:00.002+02:00

Like i mentioned the other day, we saw an exhibition on Saturday that i wasn't too impressed with.

But today i saw it in a skip!

Interesting that what is art one day is rubbish the next...

saturday

2010-07-31T23:05:00.003+02:00

Today was a good day. I went to three exhibitions with a couple of friends from the studio, eg

Masayoshi Oya's porcelain portraits at Two Little Birds
and
Juan-Pedro Fabra Guemberena's The South Will Rise Again at Röda Sten.

If you're in Göteborg, go and see both! Fabra's was very thought-provoking, especially now with all the Wikileaks news from Afghanistan...
(The third exhibition wasn't really worth mentioning, in my opinion.)

Then we ate pizza, and then worked in the studio for a few hours, while J. played loud opera music. I realized it was time to go home when i was spending more time staring at the wheel going round and round than doing anything else...

back to work!

2010-07-29T21:59:00.002+02:00

I haven't been in the studio so much the last wee while (instead picking berries, hanging out with grandmothers, going back and forth to Copenhagen, etc etc) but now i'm spending as much time there as possible, making things for Upmarket, which is in a couple of weeks.

www.estersvensson.com

2010-07-23T11:28:00.003+02:00

A has been doing an amazing job of sorting out my website. There's still a couple of things to finish and add, but it's getting better.
Have a look here!

it's summer...

2010-07-12T04:42:00.001+02:00

2010-07-06T06:08:00.004+02:00

A. sent me a lot of nice pictures: here is one, a graph showing what an efficient way of transport cycling is.

and, a Dul-Dul. i haven't seen many with arms before!

Upmarket

2010-07-01T07:05:00.003+02:00

13-15 August i'll be at Upmarket craft-fair, in Trädgårdsföreningen in Göteborg, sharing a stand with Charlotta Klingström and Özay Emert! If you're in the area, come by :-).

13-15 augusti ska jag vara med i KHVC's Upmarket, i Trädgårdsföreningen i Göteborg. Jag delar bord med Charlotta Klingström och Özay Emert. Välkommen förbi, om ni är i närheten!

more fritware

2010-06-30T23:17:00.002+02:00

belated: a few sketches from Turkey & Syria

2010-06-20T18:57:00.002+02:00

cycling tshirt

2010-06-20T14:16:00.004+02:00

A and i made some cycling tshirts. I should've taken a picture of them before wearing them, but here is one of them anyways! We printed "Chullo Chullo" which means "Go Go" in Urdu, and then sewed some pockets on the back. My pockets weren't deep enough - A's are much better - but they still served their purpose.

Vätternrundan

2010-06-20T11:32:00.006+02:00

We stayed with my dad's cousin and her family who live near Motala, they were amazing and deserve medals! they drove us & our bikes all over the place, cooked us food, let us sleep in their trailer, shower, and make a general mess with all of our stuff. Tusen tack!!! And my aunt drove us all the way back to Göteborg last night, which was brilliant. Tusen tack du också!
We left Motala on Friday night, 23.28. It was a bit chilly, but no rain - that started after the first depo in Hästholmen.
Unfortunately, the most experienced cyclist of our little group had to stop in Jönköping cause of back-neck-shoulder and knee pain, which was a real shame.
To Jönköping went pretty quickly, we rolled in to the depo after around 4.5hours, with a beautiful sunrise! I had enough energy till around Hjo, but it was cold and rainy and the stretch between Hjo and Boviken was tiring. After that the sun came out, i got more inspired again, and even though my legs & knees & hands & shoulders were by that stage not at their best, it felt easier again.
There are some things i learned for next time: 1)Train more before! We hadn't put in enough miles of cycling. 2)Eat more! Even though i had food with me, as well as what vegan things were on offer at the depos, i didn't really feel like eating, which probably contributed to getting so very tired. 3) NEVER cycle in shorts! It was so cold... brr! 4)I need to work on my posture and sitting position - for my shoulders and hands, mostly; my little finger on the left is still numb.
I got back to Motala at 13.24, i.e. 13hours and 56mins after starting out, basically 14h.
Next time, i'll be faster.

Vättern

2010-06-15T17:18:00.004+02:00

we've been cycling a bit more than usual lately. and on friday at 23.28 o'clock we start cycling around Vättern, one of the biggest lakes in Sweden: Vätternrundan. almost 300km of fun.
i'll let you know how it goes (if i survive!)

inspiration

2010-06-14T05:00:00.003+02:00

i got alot of inspiration when i was in Turkey and Syria. this hand, for example, is from the "Theives market" in Damascus. as you can see, i copied it quite literally. (please excuse the bad image quality...)

it's good to travel...

Izmir

2010-06-04T11:03:00.009+02:00

I recently had the opportunity to go to Izmir,in Turkey, to be assistant to Professor Jochen Brandt from IKKG in Germany. He had been invited by Professor Sevim Cizer at the Dokuz Eylul University Ceramics department to hold a course on quartz-ceramics.

We started with the basics, going through the history of quartz-ceramics, which includes the first discovery of glaze!
Our practical work included making egyptian paste (a self-glazing body), quartz-beads glazed in cementation powder in the Iranian Qom technique, as well as a throwable quartzpaste body (which is what i use in my own work).

It was a really great experience! The people we met were enthusiastic, friendly, extremely generous, hardworking and lovely. (If any of you are reading this, THANK YOU!)

one is better than two...

2010-06-01T05:44:00.002+02:00

...so i'm going to merge my blogs together. from now on there will only be "this is ester's blog", and it'll probably be mostly about ceramics.

maybe now it will be twice as good!

now that Spring has finally arrived in Göteborg...

2010-05-06T07:04:00.004+02:00

...we're going on a trip!

first we're taking the night-bus to Copenhagen, and then flying to Istanbul. (we wanted to go by train, but didn't have enough time or money... )

we'll spend a few days in Istanbul with friends, and then A will probably head westwards while i go to Izmir for some ceramic-ing - i'm going to be assistant to Professor Jochen Brandt from IKKG.
then we'll go to Syria, and meet up with friends who are living in Damascus, and hopefully travel around a bit.
i'll post some pictures when we get back.

Izmir

2010-05-06T06:57:00.000+02:00

Next week, i'll be in Izmir! I'm going to be assistant to Professor Jochen Brandt from IKKG in Germany.
I'll post about it once i get back.

2010-05-06T06:56:00.000+02:00

Konstrundan i Majorna!

2010-04-19T21:15:00.000+02:00

(clicka på bilden för att komma till hemsidan)

Detta året ska vi vara med i Majornas Konstrunda, lördag, söndag och måndag!
Medverkande är: Katarina Norrby, Johan Svanbom, Charlotta Klingström, Anna Ulin, Marianne Hallberg och mej själv - men det kommer kanske även att finnas fler på plats som är med i verkstan.
Varmt välkomna till Banehagsgatan 1E, trappa 1, och samlingsutställning på Röda Sten - och alla dom andra ateljéerna också, så klart!
Vi ses!

Al Jazeera - Hypocrisy and the end of empires

2010-04-16T06:34:00.000+02:00

Al Jazeera English - Focus - Hypocrisy and the end of empires

studio space

2010-04-10T11:52:00.000+02:00

i moved things around in my little studio space, after finally painting and finishing the two new walls that were put up a few weeks ago. it turned out really good! there's alot more space for everything, and for me to work.

something sad (or, another good reason to cycle)

2010-04-07T22:47:00.004+02:00

we found this little pigeon that had been driven over by something (maybe a tram maybe a car definitely not a bike) lying on the road. i took it inside and tried to draw it, and then we buried it in a good spot close to some little trees. it's not easy being a pigeon in the city.

pictures from the library

2010-03-28T16:20:00.004+02:00

(sorry that the image quality isn't amazing)

Konstrundan!

2010-03-28T05:41:00.000+02:00

Våran verkstad ska medverka i Konstrundan, 24-26 april!

Addressen är Banehagsgatan 1E, våning 1. Tider och mer information finns på hemsidan.
Varmt välkomna!

Om man vill få taktil massage...

2010-03-09T20:54:00.005+01:00

... ska man åka raka vägen till Rydaholm! där har min mamma en fin lokal där man kan få taktil massage (eller beröringsmassage heter det också). jag har fått prova o det är verkligen avslappnande och hur skönt som helst.

Livsrum, heter det!

Vasaloppet 2010

2010-03-09T20:44:00.003+01:00

detta året körde min hurtiga pappa Vasaloppet! här kan man se när han spurtar i mål, trots motgångar (i form av en trasig pjäxa!!!) spola till ungefär 40min in för att se honom på väntra sidan. tyvärr var jag inte där o hejade-på, jag var i Abisko o åkte lite skidor jag med, men inte, så klart, på samma nivå! men jag känner mej, så klart, mycket stolt och imponerad. next up, Vättern Runt! o då hänger jag också med.

train trip, northwards

2010-03-04T09:05:00.003+01:00

today we're off to Abisko! by night train (hoping we make our connection in Stockholm and can squeeze our big 10-person group and bags and skis on the train).

the initial purpose was to see some northern lights but we're also going to be doing some skiing and other things. pictures when we get back next week.

KHVC

2010-02-17T22:14:00.000+01:00

Now i've got a little page on KVHC's website.
Nu har jag en liten medlems-sida på KVHCs hemsida.

quartzpaste, kvartzmassa

2010-01-17T19:48:00.000+01:00

I thought i'd write a little about the quartzpaste (or fritware) that i'm so interested in. It originated in medieval (11th to 13th centuries) Persia, though there has been similar quartz-based ceramic production much earlier in Egypt. Fine porcelain wares were coming into the area from China, and the quartzpaste was an attempt to acheive the same translucency, hardness and whiteness - using local materials and low firing temperatures.

There are written accounts of the technique; Abu'l Qasim described it in detail in 1301. His recipe can roughly be translated to 10 parts quartz, 1 part alkaline frit, and 1 part plastic white clay. I have learned what I know from Professor Jochen Brandt, who has studied it extensively. In the recipe I use now, there is less quartz than the original, with additions of whiting, ball clay or kaolin, and soda feldspar. I bisque fire to 700-800 degrees C, and glaze fire to 1050 (though this depends on what frits i'm using - with one i could glaze fire to 950).
Jag tänkte skriva lite om kvartzmassan (eller fritta-godset) som jag är så intresserad i. Det kommer från Persien området, mellan omkring 1100-1300talen, även om det också fanns liknande production mycket tidigare i Egypten.
Porslin föremål importerades från Kina, och kvartzmassan var ett försök att uppnå porslinets transparens, hårdhet, och vithet med lokala material och låga brännings temperaturer.
Information finns nerskriven, bland annat från Abu'l Qasim som beskrev tekniken i detalj, år 1301. Hans recept kan översättas till 10 delar kvartz, 1 del alkalisk fritta, och 1 del plastisk vit lera. Jag har lärt mej det jag kan av Professor Jochen Brandt, från IKKG i Tyskland, som har studerat och utvecklat kvartzmassa. I receptet jag använder nu är det mindre procent kvartz, plus krita, ball clay eller kaolin, och natron feldspat. Jag skröj bränner till 700-800 grader, och glasyr bränner till 1050 (fast det här beror på vilken typ av fritta jag använder - med en blandning kunde jag glasyr bränna till 950).
One thing i'm having a little problem with is how to dry out the body to the right consistency: it needs to have quite a lot of water in it in order to mix it evenly, but when i dry it out on a plaster bat, the soluble alkali frit goes into the plaster... in the picture below you can see it creeping out again as the plaster dries. I've tried other ways of drying it, but the bentonite i use in the mixture makes it very slow to dry, and leaves the centre wet... i'll see if i can find a more unsoluble borax-frit that i can use instead...
En sak som jag har ett litet problem med är hur jag bäst ska torka ut massan till rätt konsistens: den måste ha ganska mycket vatten i för att kunna mixa det jämnt, men när jag torkar ut det på en gips-platta, så sugs den vatten-lösliga alkaliska frittan in i gipset... i bilden nedan syns det hur det kommer ut igen när gipset torkar. Jag har försökt lite olika metoder att torka ut massan, men bentoniten som jag använder i gör att det tar väldigt långt tid att torka, plus att mitten förblir blöt... jag ska se om jag kan hitta en mer olöslig borax-fritta att använda istället.
After it's the right consistency, it's ready to be thrown or made into slabs or anything. It starts to get a bit smelly after a few days, so i try to use it up quite soon after mixing it (the alkaline frits start to break down).
När massan är rätt konsistens, är det färdigt att dreja, kavla, eller forma hur som helst. Det börjar lukta lite illa efter några dagar, så jag försöker använda upp det ganska snart efter att ha mixat upp det (frittan börjar brytas ner).

spark

2010-01-07T23:34:00.002+01:00

there's a great thing here in Sweden called...

...SPARK!

happy christmas, happy new year, happy everything! god jul, gott nytt år, gott allting!

2009-12-24T15:49:00.000+01:00

(en levande julgris means a living christmas pig - in Sweden there's a tradition of eating ham for christmas. i think it's alot better to let the pigs live, and eat other things instead!)

happy christmas, happy new year, happy everything!

2009-12-24T15:45:00.003+01:00

(this is a golden car decoration from Pakistan)

a couple of old poems

2009-12-21T20:35:00.008+01:00

i found these as i was looking through bits and pieces of paper, from when i was at the art school in Glasgow and did an elective with Donny O'Rourke. i can't say that they are very good, and i'm not exactly sure whether it's a good idea to post them here, but it was fun to find them, so here area couple of them, about cycling, both kindof the same...

Halfway
birdsong wheelsong cobblestones
highlight halflight both shine
i cycle past my destination

with hair and rain
in face and eyes
in halflight halfdark
i cannot see
the birdwings
strangely stream-
lined bodies hover
and glide and fly
fish in water through
oceans of airsky

A freedom
My bicycle makes up for
wingless shoulder-
blades tonight. Birds
swim and float with
moonlight and clouds
Through the ocean
of air above

this carfree road
and silent buildings.

Propelled
faster forwards
pedalling legs
while wind
empties my head

Flight

Unless i turn back
i will never arrive
i do not know
where am i going?

space

2009-12-19T21:47:00.003+01:00

i just tidied up my desk a little bit and noticed how big it is!
hurray. i should do this more often.

i also have packed up some more things that have spend lots of time in boxes and suitcases. for the first time in a long time i have all my stuff (which is quite alot) in one place! so many books! so much wool & yarn! so many pencils and sketchbooks and bits of postcards-newspapercuttings-insiring-images! all in the same place. all of a sudden there are a hundred projects i want to start at once.

more glaze results on the quartzpaste body, mer resultat på kvartzpasta massan

2009-12-18T23:24:00.000+01:00

yesterday i fired up the little kiln again with the glazes that worked out best from my tests, and got results that made me happy. i fired alot higher than i did in Glasgow, to 1060 degrees C, which is a wee bit too high for this body i think, but look at the transparency! and the glaze-fit was really good, no cracks or crazes in sight. (so far!)
igår brände jag den lilla ugnen igen med dom glasyrena som såg bäst ut från mina prover, och fick resultat som gjorde mej glad. jag brände högre än jag gjorde i Glasgow, till 1060 grader, vilket är lite för högt för den här massan, men titta på transperansen! o glasyren verkar passa jättebra, inga sprickor eller crackeleringar i sikte (än så länge!)

i made these little birds from a mold that i made when i was in 2nd year in Glasgow! so they're not exactly news. but i still like making them, nevertheless.
jag gjorde dom här små fåglarna från en gips-form som är från när jag gick på andra året i Glasgow! så dom är inte precis en nyhet. men jag tycker trots allt om att göra dom fortfarande.

and here is the tail of a bird, to show how the transparent glaze turned out.
och här är stjärt-fjädrarna av en annan fågel för att visa hur den transparenta glasyren blev.

but everything didn't turn out well: this was a bowl/dish before i fired it, now it's some kind of strange disc cuase it slumped so much in the kiln. so i'll have to work on that one, and fire a little bit lower...
men allting blev inte så jättebra: det här var en skål/fat innan jag brände det, o nu är det nån form av konstig platt grej för det föll ihop så mycket när jag brände det. så jag får jobba vidare på det, o kanske bränna lite lägre också.

result, resultat

2009-12-17T22:55:00.000+01:00

here are the little picture tiles after they've been fired, to approximately 1130 degrees C. they're not glazed, that's the frit in the quartzpaste body coming out. and they're transluscent! i should have taken a picture this morning when the sun was shining...
här är dom små bilderna när dom är brända, till ungefär 1130 grader. dom är inte glaserade, utan det är frittan i kvartzpastan som kommer fram. o dom är transparenta! jag skulle ha tagit bilderna i morse när solen sken...

i decided to make a few more...
jag bestämde mej för att göra några fler...

i fired the little kiln today with some more glaze-tests (on the quartzpaste body), so tomorrow i'll find out how they turned out. (fingers crossed!)
jag brände den lilla ugnen idag med lite fler glasyrprover (på kvarzpasta "leran"), so imorgon får jag se hur dom blev. (håll tummarna!)

from now on... från och med nu...

2009-12-14T04:10:00.000+01:00

...i'll be writing both in english and swedish.
...har jag tänkt skriva både på engelska o svenska. hör av dej, om det är någon av dom gamla posterna du skulle vilja att jag översätter!

choices

2009-12-12T22:48:00.008+01:00

my dad says some wise things. for example, the only things that are certain in life, are that that we must die, and we must choose.

this weekends choice was either to go to Copenhagen and demonstrate at the UN Climate Change Conference, or to stay here in Göteborg.

i ended up staying here -my parents have come to visit for the weekend, we went to a Regina Spektor gig, made a gingerbread house and tomorrow the ceramics-studio i'm part of is having an open-day-christmas-sale.
i think quite alot about what's happening already, and what is going to happen in the near/far future with our climate, environment, world -and everyone living here. a little while ago i read a book called Det är vår bestämda uppfattning att om ingenting görs nu kommer det att vara för sent by Andreas Malm (kindof literally translated to It is our definite understanding that if nothing is done now it will be too late). it's really quite amazing that we still carry on as we do. i sometimes wish i was a scientist so i could understand it all better, but the notion that we (humans) have nothing to do with all the environmental problems at hand seems ludicrous to me...
the questions are so big and huge - we need a whole new economic system! all over the world! the way we live and do things needs to change! and since they're so big, it's easy to feel defeated and disheartened and despondent and discouraged (and all those d-words). it's hard to know what to do everyday.
but i guess that's the thing... that there's always millions of small small choices that we all have to make everyday, and all of them together become something big and huge.
(ps, jag rekommenderar boken, jag lärde mej mycket.)

quartzpaste, continued...

2009-12-12T22:36:00.000+01:00

last week i fired some little glaze tests for the quartzpaste (fritware) body, and a couple of them look alright! as you see, some of them weren't quite so good... so that is exciting. the blue one is the same glaze i've been using for the earthenware clay, but it seems to be a good fit on the quartzpaste! the other glaze-tests were just varying proportions of borax frit, kaolin and quartz. fired to 1050 degrees C.
förra veckan brände jag några små glasyr-prover till "kvartzpastan" (fritta-leran), och några av dom ser ut att ha blivit bra! en del, som ni ser, mindre bra... så det är roligt. den blåa är samma som jag har använt hittils på lergods, men den verkar passa bra på kvartzpastan utan några krackeleringar. dom andra är bara olika proportioner borax fritta, kaolin och kvartz, brända till 1050 grader.

i also made a little thing that i really enjoyed! i haven't fired it yet, but soon i will. i just made a little thin tile of the quartzpaste body, covered it with black, and scraped away till i had a picture. i'm looking forward to making more...
jag gjorde också en ny liten grej som var jätteroligt. jag har inte bränt den än, men gör det så snart jag kan. det är bara en tunn liten platta av kvartzpastan, täckt med svart, och sen skrapade jag till jag hade en bild. ser fram emot att göra fler...

recommendation

2009-12-12T20:16:00.002+01:00

i'd just like to recommend my friend Maria's blog! click on the numbers, she's posting an advents-calender. click here.

for those of you in Gothenburg...

2009-12-01T21:35:00.000+01:00

for those of you in Gothenburg...

2009-12-01T21:33:00.000+01:00

Komet

2009-11-20T22:15:00.003+01:00

i've joined a bike club here in Gbg, the one my brother is in - Komet Club Rouleur. their motto is: De såg ut som gudar men levde som svin. (They looked like gods, but lived like swine.)

last weekend they organised a bike film festival, and there was even a Roller Race. i didn't participate, cuase i had a big cold/flu, but here are a couple of films from the finals!

yes, already: Christmas sales begin

2009-11-12T18:43:00.000+01:00

the Christmas exhibition at Sintra starts on Saturday already, so i've submitted some things for it as well. as you can see, i've gotten really quite commercial and have made christmas-tree decorations! what next...?

and now it's dark and cold already...

2009-11-12T18:11:00.006+01:00

i feel like it's a very long time since i last wrote... since then, some things have happened.

the biggest thing is that my grandad died. he was 90 years old, and had a long and happy life. he passed away in my grandma's arms.

the funeral was lovely, over 200 people came, and i got all sorts of reminders about what is actually important in life... we miss him.

i've moved into a flat with my two lovely sisters, close to both my studio and work. so my legs are not getting as much cycling, but it saves alot of time! and it's great living here. please come visit.

also, before i left the States, i got a little tattoo. it's from a drawing by Ardeshir Mohasses, an Iranian artist/cartoonist. when my grandma saw it, she paused for a while and then said "... well, it's the inside that counts." but i really like it.

thanks to my very generous friend...

2009-10-25T19:39:00.000+01:00

... i have been able to make some progress with the frit-ware tests! Isabelle, at the Owl & Lion gallery in Edinburgh, gave me a little test-kiln and a whole load of other useful stuff this summer when we were visiting Scotland!!! it works really well, and has been brilliant for testing different recipes. it was harder before, since no-one else in my studio fires to the same temperatures, and i didn't want to fire a whole big kiln with only 5 little tests in it.
so a million thank you's again to her.
now i just have to get a good glaze that doesn't chip etc, and then i'll get back to making turquoise birds and bowls again :-).

result

2009-10-25T19:24:00.000+01:00

i was a little bit disappointed when i opened up the kiln a few days ago. i had been in a bit of a rush when i was glazing and packing, so the glaze on some of the bowls was way too thick and (of course) stuck to the shelf. i can save the small ones thanks to J's dremmel machine, but the big one will the hares will probly have to go to the place where all the other unsuccessful pots go: we have a special bin and hammer in our studio, where (with some satisfaction) we crush and break and destroy things that haven't turned out so well. so next time i'll try not to be in a hurry...

but a few of the other things turned out alright. i'll take some proper pictures of them before putting them out for sale.
soon it's time for Christmas sales, both at Sintra and our studio, so i have some ideas for that...

waiting, waiting, waiting...

2009-10-21T21:44:00.000+02:00

i've got a kiln-load firing this very minute...
i can't wait till it's ready and i can open it up!
i'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

hot air

2009-09-30T23:11:00.000+02:00

last week i went and bought myself a hot-air-gun. the best thing i've done in a while, i think!
it means i can speed some things up (e.g. lifting a shallow bowl off the wheel-head) and also: i can put on slip with a brush instead of pouring! i.e. no drips, it uses much less slip, it's alot quicker, and generally neater and bettter.
so that's pretty good.
Johan Svanbom, who works in the same studio as me, gave me some coloured earthenware slips earlier this year -dark blue, yellow, green & pink- which i rehydrated and am now trying out. tack, Johan! can't wait to see how they turn out when they're fired...

2009-09-30T23:09:00.000+02:00

and it's ready!

2009-09-30T06:45:00.000+02:00

my website is now ready:

www.estersvensson.com

thank you to Andy and Marcus (round of applause: )!

soon...(ish)

2009-09-21T06:35:00.000+02:00

yesterday i registered a domain for my website, that i'm working on (thanks to Andy and Marcus for your help)! it'll have pretty much the same things that you've already seen here, but in an easier format.

i'll let you know when it's finished.

i'll keep this blog going as well, but it'll turn more into a news-inspiration-work&thoughts-in-progress thing than it is now.

new machine

2009-09-16T21:09:00.000+02:00

i did something i've thought about doing for a long time: i bought one of those printer-scanner-copier machines! it was a really cheap one, but so far seems to be doing a good job. so you might be seeing a few more drawings in the future...

Sintra window exhibition

2009-09-16T17:42:00.000+02:00

i've got a little exhibition of little bowls up for the next three weeks, at Sintra, a shop/gallery here in Göteborg. i've also been accepted as a member there for the next year, so i'll have other work there too from 1st October.

here's what it looks like: