Thank you Mo i Rana what a joy to stitch and share stories with your community. I loved how this festival brings the community together with the locals and all the guest and artist from all over. A special thanks to you wonderful youngsters and the one and only Wenche Bakken. OneLove! https://www.nordlandteater.no/vinterlysfestivalen/
Oslofjord Ecologies
In 2015 I met anthropologist Aina Landsverk Hagen. Combining her method of SPLOT with the narrative stitches of embroidery opened up for the magical journey of Eutopia. Thank you Kristin Bergaust for inviting me and supporting me through (the painful) process of writing. But most of all thanks to all you wonderful youngsters from the Oslofjord to the Bronx and Harlem, for sharing your personal thoughts, feelings and wonderings about life. Rock steady, stand tall. Onelove 
Oslofjord Ecologies
OSLOFJORD ECOLOGIES
Proud to be a part of this diverse collective. More to come.
Going back to my Routes
Stuart Hall says: «Instead of asking what are people‘s roots, we ought to think about what are their routes, the different points by which they have come to be now; they are, in a sense, the sum of those differences. »
For the next 5 months I am living in Harlem, NYC. I am going back to my own childhood narratives that holds these differences growing up with my African American step father and the small community of ethnically diverse people living in a very homogeneous Oslo in the early 70 s. This is a part of my narrative and identity and after 40 years I chose to live in Harlem because it makes the memories come alive and also a part of my feeling of belonging. My body is my archive. The people in the streets and the easy interaction while passing, «how you doing?» The colors on the buildings, cars, clothes, sounds and smells and I think of Baumgarten and his definition of aesthetics as «sensuous knowledge». Yes this is my sensuous knowledge to, alongside my Norwegian. I am in between. I am here on a quest and a detour and it makes perfectly sense being in the known unknown in some sort of a daily life. And find support in the thinking of Ricoeur:
«Refiguration by narrative confirms this aspect of self-knowledge which goes far beyond the narrative domain that the self does not know itself immediately, but only inderectly, through the detour of cultural sings of all sorts, which articulate action, among them the narratives of daily lives (Ricoeur, 1991, s.80).»
When Ruth and her gang came along!
A magic moment of togetherness happened. One early morning Ruth came to IKM with 30 of her students at Oslo VO Helsfyr. What a wonderful bunch of different people sharing their stories and journeys. I am grateful for being part of their storytelling stitch by stitch. Now they are for always in my heart and I will bring and share their stories and embroideries with new people on my travels. Narratives stitches, one world – multiple stories.
Artist in Residence at IKM -Intercultural Museum
So blessed to be AiR at IKM, this is just the place for the embroidery project EUTOPIA – where do you feel good. There will be embroidery workshops and seminar open to public. Please come and join the community! You find more information here
One Love Biblo Tøyen
Social Embroidery Community hanging out again at Biblo Tøyen, what a wonderful way to spend a Sunday. Lovely youngsters sharing their feel good places, people and things they do. Already looking forward to next Sunday and collecting new narrative embroideries that will be a part of their exhibition.
What a privilege!
Sundays in December I will be hanging out and doing EUTOIPA and narrative stitches at Biblo Tøyen the coolest library, ever!
Oslofjord ecologies documentation.
I am proud do be part of this collective and interdisciplinary project, where we are being a part of something greater than ourself. https://oslofjordecologies.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/oslofjordecologiessmall.pdf
Workshop at RAM gallery – feeling good!
The EUTOPIA project is proud to be a part of the artist collective OSLOFJORD ECOLOGIES.
The gallery was packed with people on Opening night Saturday. On Sunday I had an EUTOPIA embroidery work shop with 11 people and one dog. More people than the curator and I had hoped for. There was finally some wonderful summer weather and most Norwegians just want to be outside. But we felt good, «splotted» and had a lovely time sharing stories and just being together. The youngest 19 and the oldest 66. One Swedish, one American, one Iranian, one Lithuania and Norwegians from here and there.
vestby:nina 