Part 2 of "Wave of Blood", Ingrid Vang Nyman and winners of the Monster giveaway.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about when our oldest son Axel, then 11 years old,

had a brain hemorrhage. As a way to develop my imagery and visual expression I´m

making pictures that illustrate the entries me and my husband made in the journal we 

kept while Axel was in the hospital. (A kind nurse in the intensive care unit 

gave us a small, black notebook 

and she encouraged us to write daily in it).

The illustrations will probably change in style but I hope that won´t

distract you. You can see part one here:

PART TWO

Artwork: Erica Stenkrona

Our oldest son has been ill for two months and the doctors don´t know what´s wrong with him. On Christmas Eve he didn´t even leave his bed to see the Christmas tree and the only Christmas gift he wanted was to be well again. He has a headache and he´s nauseous so he can´t eat nearly anything at all. He´s sensitive to light and sound so we keep his room dark and quiet. On Boxing day I ask him how he is doing. He answers: "I feel God´s hand on my shoulder...or maybe it´s just the Tylenol working".

Tune in for part three next Friday! 

First draft: Erica Stenkrona

Last week I mentioned the affirmed correlation between creativity

and mental illness. One artist who presumably battled against mental illness

was the Danish artist and illustrator Ingrid Vang Nyman. She is famous for

her illustrations of Pippi Långstrump (Pippi Longstocking).

 I appreciate her art much more now than I did as a child. Now I just

love her skew perspective, expressive characters and bright colors. Her eye

for detail is also admirable. Ingrid ended her life on December 13, 1959.

Ingrid Vang Nyman

(1916-1959)

Bookcover: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947

Astrid Lindgren´s own illustration of Pippi Longstocking

on the first page of the original manuscript.

Efraim Långstrump in Sing with Pippi Longstocking

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945

It´s interesting to see how the illustration evolves from

the first draft to the finished printed picture.

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1947

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1948

Children in east and west

Lithograph: Ingrid Vang Nyman

red details hand-painted

Unpublished work: Ingrid Vang Nyman

Ink and gouache.

Unpublished work: Ingrid Vang Nyman

Ink and gouache.

Lithograph: Ingrid Vang Nyman

Look how meticulously she has depicted the convoluted mats and the tent!!

Gouache: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945

Tulegatan 7 (Ingrid´s home in Stockholm)

Gouache: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1945

Tulegatan 7 (Ingrid´s home in Stockholm)

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1946

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1946

Illustration: Ingrid Vang Nyman, 1951

Ingrid Vang Nyman with her son Peder (Pelle), 1940

Portrait of Peder (Pelle) Nyman, 1941

Oil on canvas.

Winner of the Monsters Giveaway:

Aubrie Mema, Albania

and

Gunnel Hedberg, Örebro

Free Monster Giveaway!

I made this little character in 2011 from scraps for an art show that me and my good artist friend Aubrie Mema pulled off. It´s a good-natured monster with a crooked face, fraying chiffon and 

with stitches no crafts teacher would approve of.

Monster, detail.

 I created this monster because, at the time,

I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs for help. I have this monster inside

of me that stays dormant most of the time, but then, when I least expect it,

   wakes up and takes possession of me. This monster is not evil or 

malicious, it just spins invisible chains around my body and mind, 

paralyzing me. Just getting up and out of bed is a major feat.

I feel like I am wading through a thick, impenetrable mush.

My husband, being a psychiatrist and not prone to

exaggerations, says it is called depression, the other side of

the coin if you have a creative mind. (Very often it is

like that).

All this to say, I had two weeks of immobility of mind and 

body so I just don´t have anything to present. My aim

with this art blog is to always show something that I have designed; sketches,

drawings or paintings and also the work of other artists that I like.

In my last blog entry I promised to give you another page of an imaginary

book about my son´s illness, but you have to wait a while. 

Instead I give you Monsters, lovingly crafted by me.

I found them tucked away in a basket when reorganizing my

studio. And since I have too much stuff  in my studio

I am doing a free giveaway.

Purple Monster

I am giving away three monsters; Monster with dotted chiffon,

Monster with HELP on nose and Purple Monster. If you want

one of these Monsters ( they measure between 18-23 cm lengthwise)

this is what you have to do:

Send me an email with your old time address to

erica.stenkrona@me.com

and tell me what Monster you want and why.

If more than one person wants the same Monster I

will cast lots (in an orderly manner of course).

If you are the lucky recipient of the giveaway

you will soon get your monster in the mail.

This free giveaway ends May 11!

Angel in distress by Barb Schaecher, potter

"Free me from these chains 

I need to change my ways

Heal these broken wings

I need to fly far away

Far away, far away"

Zero 7

Spinning by Zero 7

This song  is musically and textual

a good summary of the depressed mode I

involuntarily slips into time after time

What does a brain aneurysm look like?

This is how a brain aneurysm look like.

The day after the great tsunami, the 27th of December 2004, our then eleven year old son

had a brain aneurysm that burst. I think of it as a great wave of blood that swept through his brain.

It was a subarachnoid hemorrhage which is fatal if not treated immediately. 

The aneurysm

oil on canvas

2011

(The image processing software I use can´t handle the subtle colors I used for this

image. The colors don´t match the original.)

Anyhow, I will tell you the story of the dramatic events that took place over ten years ago, giving you one page at the time. Above you see the title page: Blodvåg (Blood wave ). Since this little side project probably will take several weeks I will tell you here and now: our beloved son

survived the calamity.

He is alive.

Axel, a survivor. 

This artist  has depicted another bodily organ bursting:

Ivar Arosenius

Self portrait with bleeding heart, 1903

Graphite and water color

Ivar Arosenius

The Princess with toys, 1908

Tempera on canvas

I found this invitation to a party that I was hosting. It is undated but

I guess it is from the early, early eighties. I am not sure what image I was trying to present. This is one of the very few self portraits (sic) I have done.

36 years later I look somewhat like this. This is not much of a portrait but

at least I do not look like a character in a story book anymore.

To conclude today´s session  I will present to you another French illustrator, this time a woman by the name Charlotte Gastaut.

Charlotte Gastaut

The Magic Flute 

Words by Pierre Coran

Raben&Sjögren, 2015

Charlotte Gastaut

The Little Mermaid

Words by H.C. Andersen

Raben&Sjögren, 2014

Charlotte Gastaut

The Little Mermaid

Words by H.C. Andersen

Raben&Sjögren, 2014

Charlotte Gastaut

Fannys fantastiska resa

Rabén&Sjögren, 2010

Charlotte Gastaut

Fannys fantastiska resa

Rabén&Sjögren, 2010

Charlotte Gastaut

Fannys fantastiska resa

Rabén&Sjögren, 2010

József Rippl-Rónai

Woman with Flower, 1891

Pastel on paper applied to canvas

OK, one more thing. I really appreciated all of you who shared your thoughts on and experiences

with angels. Thank you!