summer at Stora Kornö

 

Asta is not a natural swimmer, but we lured her in by throwing sticks in the water - she simply couldn't resist that :)

This years vacation in our summer cottage at Stora Kornö, small island on the West Coast. Looks like we had fabulous weather and not a drop of rain - which is almost true.

Mattias brought along loads of work. I brought along working material for my upcoming exhibition this fall. Working out there is simpler, without all technical devices and the duties of everyday life at home. We both get a lot done. But we did manage to get some sun too.

Modern life... we draw the line at phones - so no TV-set, no laptop (except for sending Mattias' work files).

taking it slow

We've been back from our summer holidays for 2 weeks now and only very slowly am I getting into everyday life again. Four weeks were spent in our summer cottage on Stora Kornö, an island on the westcoast of Sweden. Starting with the traditional Midsommar (midsummer), the girls - Olivia and Rosa - in white summer dresses and flowers in their hair, defying the cold and rain. Weather could have been better,  but we did get some pleasant days. I guess this summer is just one of those that never really starts before it's over and the leaves start falling off again.

With a right arm that hurt and was useless for working, the days went past at a slow pace. I had plans to work with paper but had to take it easy instead. Didn't mind too much :) It later turned out I had an inflamed deltoid, a muscle in my arm.

We are a family of cake monsters, always finding an occassion/excuse to bake. Luckily two family members had birthdays coming up! A raspberry-brownie cake and a Schwartzwald cake were these people's choice. And inbetween cakes we made vanilla rolls, they're made like swedish cinnamon rolls, but instead of cinnamon we use vanilla sometimes...

treasure island

I never tire of collecting seashells and other beautiful findings. I collect them, sort them and just enjoy turning them over, looking at them. All different, all amazing. The pumicestones are from last summer, the girls found them, I've never seen such large ones, and yet they float. They served as inspiration to draw these. The black thing in the last picture is an egg capsule from a ray fish :) It's texture is like woven fabric, like a gunny sack!

summer days

We share summer our house with my sister-in-law and her family, we split the summer in half and we had the early part this year. Didn't have high expectations on weather nor temperature - you never can in Sweden, and it's usually still pretty cold in the water and air, in late june. Anyway, the weather gods decided to surprise us and we had wonderful days. Hot in daytime so the sea warmed up and warm light evenings. It only rained when we happened to have boat guests, so we all had to cramp up together in our small hut, it was like a sauna.

creatures of the sea

Rosa and the jellyfish.
I found beautiful ceramics by Heather Knight through design this design that.

free dog

this land is my land...


...and that land too...


...mine, all mine..!

where did it go?

Summer is already over.
It just ended, quite abrubtly.
I do love the fall, but it came way too early this year,
I wasn't finished with summer yet...











This was just 3 weeks ago, on our summer island, Stora Kornö.
It's in the archipelago, on the West Coast of Sweden.
The weather was extremely dry and hot for almost two weeks, there was a watershortage on the island and our water pump decided to lay off just then. We went swimming several times a day and washed with salt water soap. Drinking water was fetched in buckets.
Evenings were warm and windless and we brought the grill along. Marshmallows were a must.