The phrase: “Leaving the nest”. What comes to your mind when you hear those words? Is it just about the act of moving out? Or can it be about something more?

  
This sculpture is a symbol of personal inner growth. It’s about the hesitation of staying where you are or moving forward. You may be quite comfortable where you are, but you have that very strong feeling of something more lying ahead of you. You just sense that you have more potential than what you’re now using.

  
Do you trust that feeling of leaving the well-known and comfortable and see what happens? Or do you stay where you are?

Leaving the Nest

The bird of Forgiveness is the sister to the protecting Eagle and the message of it is a continuation of the thought behind its sibling.

  
The bird of Forgiveness is smaller in size but nevertheless it is stronger. This sculpture symbolizes the power that lies within the ability to forgive, to forgive those who have done wrong to you, your loved ones, or your surroundings. And also, the power in forgiving yourself. This bird is made of bendable metal wires that together make the silhouette and structure of its shape. It can let things fly by or through itself without causing any permanent harm. Some of the metal wires have the ability to with time shed some of the color, leaving the bird with the scars of Life but in the end not damaging it.

  
The color is the same as its sibling, the colors of fire. But for this bird the fire energy mainly stands for listening to one’s inner truth and showing love to oneself and to Life in general.

The bird of Forgiveness

The protecting Eagle is a mythical creature and is meant to stand for not only the protecting spirit but also for strength and boundary setting. The width of its wings will catch all ill intentions that may be directed at the person standing in front of the Eagle, the wings will also protect the person when standing behind it. The colors represent the fire energy, an energy that purifies and brings out truth.

  
But there is a weak spot of this creature and that is its construction, because although being quite big and intimidating it can easily brake.

  
The Eagle is mostly made of willow, birch, and rowan/mountain ash twigs. The mythology behind rowan/mountain ash is that it is a tree which protects against witchcraft and enchantment. Birch is a tree of beginnings and symbolize renewal and purification. Willow symbolizes renewal, vitality and immortality and it also stands for healing.

  
With this sculpture I am trying to highlight the duality in the feeling of needing to be strong and protecting oneself, one’s surroundings or the near and dear. It can be necessary at times and in certain circumstances but if we keep that kind of mindset as a rule throughout our entire lives, we risk braking. We can lose touch with ourselves and our heart and soul.

The protecting Eagle

This painting is inspired by the song “Lev nu dö sen” (Live now die later) by the Swedish artist Miss Li. The song has really spoken to me, and it’s been playing on repeat for a long time in our home.

  
For me the song is an empowerment song, it inspires me and gives me strength to go on. Because if I’m brutally honest I sometimes feel a bit defeated by life. It sure didn’t turn out the way that I had hoped. My health problems have gotten worse over the years and I’m quite limited in what I can do and for how long I have enough strength and energy to do something. But when I’m listening to the words and music to this particular song, I can feel a boost of strength being pushed into my heart and soul. It’s almost like life itself is telling me to go on and to not lose faith in neither myself nor the road that lies ahead of me.

  
So, this painting is a message to anyone who might feel a bit tired or perhaps ready to give up. It’s okay to feel that way but don’t let those feelings fool you. We live here and now and all we can do is to do our best. The past and the future is not what’s in front of us right now. It’s the present moment that’s within our reach and we should make the best of that.

  
Let’s live now.

Live now die later

This is a painting about staying true to yourself and listening to your gut feeling.

  
“The hawk invites us to be focused in our daily undertakings. When you feel the presence of the hawk, avoid distractions, and focus on the task at hand.”

the Hawk of intuition

Abundance” is a painting that symbolizes new beginnings, hope and good fortune. Imagine arriving at your dream destination after a long and perhaps struggle filled journey, you can now finally relax and enjoy yourself. All your hard work is starting to pay off.

Abundance

What does it mean to be fearless? Can anyone be brave? Is it only in big or dramatic situations that one can be fearless?

  
I strongly believe that we can be brave in our everyday life and that one of the biggest and perhaps most important ways of showing bravery is by being true to ourselves. Because if we take the time to listen to our heart, we have a much better starting point of spreading good energy around us.

Fearless

Courage

That moment that you have been waiting for. Or the moment just before the moment that you have been waiting for. The moment when you feel that everything is as it should be, the moment when you feel peace, joy, hope, gratitude, and love. Finally, everything is right.

  
This painting tells a story about that moment. But the moment is different for everyone. For someone it can be a story of finally meeting the right person, for another one it can be a story of finally meeting oneself and for someone else it can be the story of dreams finally coming true.

  
What is the story that this painting is telling you?

Finally

Believe in yourself

At the end of the rainbow

The magic of stepping into something new and promising. The excitement, hope and joy that fills you but perhaps also a whisper of doubt and even fear. Will you make it? Do you have what it takes? Have you made the right decision? There’s a complexity in that moment where the present and the future meets, it’s a prism of promises and risks. But it is filled with growth, by development. Because there will always be a natural flow that pushes us into action. It’s up to us if we act or not.

A new adventure

Good things need time. And patience. And practice. For something to come together there is often a lot of energy and work behind the finished result and this is something that shouldn’t be overlooked or diminished. We should not give up because all what we do here in life will eventually lead us to something great.

  
This painting came to me at a time when I was feeling frustrated with my work as an artist. It felt like I was going nowhere and that I was stuck and unable to connect with the art world. Then I quickly realized that those thoughts were in a way unnecessary and even harmful. Instead, I should just keep on doing what felt true and right and as the bird in this painting, things would with the help of time, patience and practice fall into place.

Practice

First meet

To be free is to safely be able to feel both joy and sorrow. To be free is not just about the breeze of things going well, things being easy and everything you wish for coming to you effortlessly. To be free is also about the experience of going through hardness and different challenges. It is about facing and learning from those experiences and growing. Because if one truly is free then they know that the journey of life is an ongoing experience that will show us ups and downs and that if we are ready to see and meet what is in front of us, both good and bad, we will always bee free. Because nothing that we face can define us or trap us.

Flying

In another universe

What challenges have you faced? What are your good qualities and what kind of qualities could need some work? Have you learned from your mistakes? What have you learned from your inner and perhaps outer battles?

  
With this painting I want to open the door to self-reflection. To look at who you are as an individual and to embrace who you are. Respect and show love towards yourself and let go of judgmental criticism that you may have towards yourself and your journey here in life so far.

  
Learn from not only looking at the outer world. Learn from looking inwards.

Self-reflection

The present is a collision of what has been and of what will be. It is a meeting point where the things we have experienced and what we hope for come together. It is in the present that the power of our potential lies, it is here our focus needs to be. But for that to have an honest chance of happening we first must look at “the old and the new” in our lives. We need to look at what has happened, what we have done and on what are hopes are, what we want. This is something that can even be scary, and one needs to be brave when facing what has been and what will come.

  
This is a painting with which I wanted to catch the moment of tension of that meeting. The bravery and determination of the smaller bird, the new. The confidence and even threatening feeling of the bigger bird, the old. Or is it the other way around for you?

The old and the new

The house sparrow is considered a very common and even boring bird. But is it? When you look at the symbolism of the bird words like joy, love, new beginnings, and hope comes up. Throughout the years and in many beliefs the bird’s symbolism of luck and of protection from negative situations and energies has given comfort to many.

This painting and this house sparrow comes with the simple message of finding joy in your everyday life. There is no need to chase the big or extraordinary moments. It is the small moments that when put together creates our life. Enjoy that cup of coffee or the bird singing in the sky. Notice what you have around you and find the beauty that surrounds you.

The joy of everyday life

Family is more than just the people we are related to. Being family is to be part of a supporting and caring group. A group of friends or relatives. Family is about well-being and support, about love and personal growth and development.

Family

Fresh beginnings. A new start. Doing what you’re supposed to do. Not making things more complicated than what they need to be. That’s the message of this painting.

  
Just do.

Taking off

This is a painting that comes with the message of appreciation. How it can be a blessing to be fully aware of the present moment and just appreciate all that has been, all that is and all that will come. A moment of just being and enjoying where you are and trusting that the wind will carry you on your life’s journey. All is well.

Appreciation

"Confidence" is a painting about inner strength and a complete trust in both your own abilities as well as in the surrounding environment. It’s a painting that is about more than having trust and faith, it’s about knowing that you have what it takes to do what you are supposed to do.

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