The Belgian Blues Man

This is Steve van Pacht. I spotted him in Västerhaninge earlier this week. I told him that he was sitting on a wooden sculpture. The Rondo. Steve is from Belgium. He is married to a Swedish woman and has lived here for about one year. He doesn't talk any Swedish so he is having trouble getting a job. But this summer he has been busking in Stockholm. He plays a lot of blues and some Eric Clapton. He has travelled a bit. He lived in Marbella for a while. And for six years he was based in Bewdley, which is close to Birmingham. While living there he met Robert Plant and Steve told me that he has a photo where he is posing with the Led Zeppelin legend.

Another meeting at the Rondo

I noticed this young girl sitting on a bench in Västerhaninge the other day. The bench is in fact a work of art. It is called The Rondo, and I met the artist when he was putting it together. As I explained to Helena that I wanted to take her portrait she already knew who I was. My sister reads your blog she told me. That probably has something to do with the fact that I have previously met and photographed her older sister Ida. Helena is a secondary student at Östra Gymnasiet and has a few artistic interests. She plays the piano. And is also a self-taught belly dancer! I think I would like to see her in action. When I heard about the belly dancing I told Helena about Princess Leah, whom I met two years ago. Always fun with this type of coincidences.

Would You Like To Sit Down?

Two snowed in wooden benches and works of art. Perfect for the February theme day. This type of circular bench is called Rondo. It was designed by the sculptor Lennart Andersson whom I met as he was working on them back in July of 2008. So if you would like to see him in action press here. I often sit on this bench when it's not covered in snow. And I have also shot a portrait here. I called that post, A Meeting at the Rondo. You will find the benches on a lawn next to the library in Västerhaninge. They are very close to the commuter station so people will often sit here and wait for the bus or the train, just like Carolin did.

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A Meeting at the Rondo

I saw this girl sitting at the tree bench reading a book and figured that to be a good photo opportunity. This is Carolin. She lives in Västerhaninge and was waiting for the commuter train. The book was a horrible auto biography about a young girl who after being raped ended up working as a prostitute. Perhaps not my idea of a light summer reading! Carolin is a student at C3J, the centre for life long learning in Tyresö. Her dream is to become a movie director. Acting is something she already enjoys. She is a member of RoJ, an amateur theatre group here in Haninge. The name comes from the initials from Romeo and Juliet, which was the first play that the group set up back in 1984. And if you are curious about the title of this photo check out this photo collage where you can see the artist who made the tree bench/artwork.

Artist At Work

I met him as I sat down on a bench close to the library in Västerhaninge. He was busy sawing, chiseling and drilling. He is an artist. A sculptor who lives in Hässelby. Lennart often works with wood or bronze. These two circular tree benches is his own design. He calls it Rondo. Over the years he has done a lot of public work around the country. He is represented in Stockholm as well as here in Haninge at the Runstensskolan (a school in Handen). He told me about his latest project. A bronze work of the castle Nyköpingshus in the model scale of 1: 300. When it is finished it will be placed at the castle. Lennart is well-educated, he has a degree in Geology and in Botany from the Stockholm University. And he spent some time at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, where he now gives lectures every now and then. On his free time he often works on his boat, a yacht from 1896 that he has owned for 40 years. I mentioned that I met another artist, Klara Kristalova recently, and he said that he knew her and also Anders Olsson from the Kyrkskolan Gallery. At this point he told me that he would have to finish for the day as the library closed, and they would pull the electricity cable he used for the drill.

This is my 54th photo for the 100 Strangers project. You can see the rest of my strangers in my Set.