Bridging our Distance from Beauty – Making Art in the Wild, Sweden

Bridging our Distance from Beauty
– Making Art in the Wild

6 - 7 August, 2018

2-day art course at Sångshyttan, Hällefors, Sweden.
Teachers Annika Göran Rodell and Jan van Boeckel

Investigate your intentions and longings in the making of art

The course will be taught in both the Swedish and English language!

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This is a possibility for you to re-enchant both your personal and professional world. Let nature, the more than human world, be your guide in a journey to your own inner and wild landscape. Investigate your intentions and longings in the making of art. During these two days we will work with the senses, with the voice, with the body and with poetry. We will make hikes, enjoy delicious organic and local food, and swim in the lake Sången.

We will work in colour and form in two dimensions, on the surfaces of paper, tree bark and canvas, but also in three dimensions, in creating environmental art with the natural materials that we find and by sculpting new forms out of clay.

The motto of the course, bridging our distance from beauty, is built on the thought that there is such a thing as beauty, and that it is something that we can access and get nourishment from if we pay attention. Beauty is not the same as pretty. It is a quality of being fully alive and experiencing the joy of being in connection with the living world around us. You will be invited to listen to the calling from your inner adventurer. In order to be in contact to beauty – what is dying? What is wanting to be born?

In this course it is not about who is able to make the most beautiful artwork. Instead we focus on the journey itself, on what surprises us, where we feel resistance, on what we experience and learn when we immerse ourselves in an artful process together with others.

Annika Göran Rodell is an expressive arts therapist, educator in culinary arts and hospitality, researcher, and singer. Currently, she is a lecturer in aesthetics and leadership at The School of Culinary Arts and Meal Science at Örebro University. Annika is also member of the research team Haptica at Konstfack, the University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Here, Annika’s interest is in the haptics of hospitality, where she focuses on embodied inner awareness of relational space. As a singer-songwriter she is also working on a project called ‘Songs that open the heart’.

Jan van Boeckel is a visual artist, art educator, researcher and film-maker. Currently, he is professor in art pedagogy at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. Previously, Jan was program director in design theory at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik. Together with others, Jan established the international research group on arts-based environmental education at Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture in Helsinki. In 2013, he presented his doctoral thesis there, At the Heart of Art and Earth: An Exploration of Practices in Arts-Based Environmental Education. From 2007, Jan is a member of the International Eco-Art Network.

Practical

Art Course

We will start on Monday August 6 at 9.30 am. The course will be taught in both English and Swedish by Annika Göran Rodell and Jan van Boeckel. On Tuesday August 7 at 16.00 pm we will have a closing off session.

Course Fee

The course fee is €250 and includes art materials, two warm lunches, coffee and snacks during the course days. To book, please contact Annika Göran Rodell or Jan van Boeckel. Max 6 participants.

Sångshyttan

Sångshyttan is a small Swedish village located in the county Bergslagen right between Stockholm and Oslo. In Bergslagen, so-called slash-and-burn farming ('svedjebruk') was introduced by Finnish settlers in the 15th and 16th century. The farm where the course will be held was built by Finnish settlers at this time. The farm named Nannagården has been a venue for art for the last 60 years. Both Annika's parents have worked as artists their whole life and the farm breathes an atmosphere of playful creativity. This is Annika's home and she lives her together with her husband Bengt and her 99 years old mom Gerd.

Meals

We aim to provide high quality meals that are reflective of the local region and culture. If you have any dietary restrictions or allergies, please inform our host in advance.

Location

Our atelier is Sångshyttan
Annika Göran Rodell
Sångshyttan
Hällefors
Contact:
email: annika_goran(at)hotmail.com
phone: +46 70 33 34 14 846

Travel options:
- Flight to Stockholm or Göteborg
- Train to Karlstad or Örebro, from there bus to Hällefors (pick-up service)
- Car

Comments by former participants

Somehow I feel less controlled and more playful when I paint in stronger colours, I can let go. And I allow my ‘personal handwriting’ to grow, and the pictures develop to be much more expressive. I feel that I have finally found my own ‘language’ in how to paint. Susan

Good tutorials, the theoretical and practical exercises go hand in hand. Good to have breaks, to reflect on the progress and to learn from each other. Good company! A quiet environment, relaxing. A good combination, with the yoga and the food.
Lisa

Good atmosphere. "Högt i tak", as we say in Sweden. The food - made painting even better!! Nice reviewing sessions.
Karin

Art course in Sångshyttan
2 days
6-7 August, 2018
€250
which includes:
- warm lunches
- art materials
- pick-up service from bus station in Hällefors