Annika Alm

While sipping coffee with my buddy Hasse at the art gallery in Österhaninge, Galleri Kyrkskolan, over the weekend, the artist and sculptor Annika Alm were busy at the next table finishing her latest work of art. An African elephant. She has always been fascinated with the people, the wild animals and the landscape of eastern Africa. The last photo shows the sculpture "Nyfiken Pojke" "Curious Boy" that Annika made for this years art promenade at the gallery.

The Chainsaw Artist

This is Åke Herrström. A chainsaw sculptor from Norrköping. He has worked in the forest for more than thirty years so he knows how to handle a chainsaw. I met him on Sunday at the Berga Agricultural College during the open-house weekend. He was invited by Studieförbundet vuxenskolan (adult education), and you can see on of their representatives in the slideshow. Åke made this beautiful eagle in no time at all, and it was impressive to see him in action. He showed me some of his earlier sculptures, including a one to one scale Harley Davidson, a work which took him one long summer to create. I asked him if he knew Lennart Jansson another chainsaw artist that I met three years ago and he told me that they had met a few times. To see more of Åke's sculptures check out the photos at his web site.

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.

Meeting With A Sculptor

On my way home I suddenly heard the sound of a chain saw. I stopped and saw (no pun intended), a man under a tented roof working on a wooden sculpture. I walked over for a chat. Meet Lennart Jansson. An artist and sculptor since 40 years. He has his work shop in Håga were I met him. Currently working on a big sculpture for a spa in Saltsjöbaden. You can see the bottom part here. (more photos later). It's a Carolean soldier that Lennart will be paid around 30 000 SEK for. Since 1985 he has been working with the chain saw. Before that he carved with knives. For many years he toured the country in his van, visiting markets where he sold his art. He makes everything from bird houses (starting at around 1000 SEK), to very comfy chairs (made from Norway Spruce), and cool bird statues and figurines that will set you back a few thousand SEK. When I told him about the 100 strangers project, he had me helping him carrying out some art pieces from a shed, so that I could get some more photos of his art. I will make a collage later. He gave me his business card and I will talk to some people that might be interested in selling his art. This is my fourth photo for the 100 Strangers project that has to be one of the best flickr ideas ever. The project also have a web site.