I first fell in love with a piece of copper in 1997 and that overpowering feeling only grew as time passed. So did my need for space. Ever since I started working as a full time artist in 2001, I have ached for sufficient room to create freely.
In 2019 I started looking for a place where that would be possible and, again, fell head over heels in love. This time with a forest ranger’s house from 1869 and an old derelict barn.
So, I had a crumbling barn, a great need for a bigger studio and a dream… but that was a far cry from having it realized. Luckily, I also had an architect, Göran Ek, who took my vision and improved on it – turning it into something actually buildable – and Tommy Svensson at Hygrotec, as my trusted surveyor/consultant/advisor. Turnkey contractor HL Bygg in Skurup, with Håkan Lindskog at the wheel, put builder/carpenter/general magician Magnus Nilsson in charge on site. Magnus and his colleagues – and, in fact, all of the sub-contractors – took everything to a new level. They built this studio like they were building it for themselves. The level of ingenious problem solving, of perfection and of not settling for “good enough” was a marvel to experience.
The building process was, without a doubt, the most inspiring thing I have ever done (and, admittedly, also the most exhausting, demanding and challenging thing… but so, so worth it!). I’ve never built anything before, so I needed to have things explained to me on a daily basis: what was possible and what wasn’t, and why (they were sweet and very patient). And then, occasionally, I would ask for the impossible, and gently insist. They would explain why it couldn’t be done. I would still insist it had to be done, for aesthetic reasons. And they would persist and invariably find a way!
Light designer Peter Rosenqvist weaved his magic and (world-)Klas Bengtsson transformed the grounds beyond all my hopes. It would be remiss of me if I did not also thank Jeanett and Christian, who owned this place before me. They poured so much love and care into the restoration of the forest ranger’s house (my new home), which made it possible for me to focus my attention on the new studio.
The studio was finished a few days before Christmas 2020, and it has been an absolute dream to work in every day since. The possibilities are endless, both for creating the art and for displaying it superbly. This is what I have always needed, and it’s a total game-changer.
If you’re curious to see some (to me) exquisitely beautiful snapshots from the building process, you can find them here. And in case you’re interested in booking a visit, please click here or go to “visit the studio” at the top of this page.
