Well, hello there! A Liebster and a meet n' greet!

A while ago, I was awarded a Liebster by the very first person who joined my blog and left a comment- the very lovely Pippa from Ouch Flower!I'm so thrilled!! And feel bad that I haven't acted on it yet... If you don't know Pippa's blog, be sure to head on over! She's a thrifter AND a crafter, and it's been so great to see her business head for the stars. She's also a regular matchmaker, I'm sure many of you agree:-)

As I'm about to reveal some truths about myself, I thought it was time for a meet n' greet! Last night as my sons and I were goofing around, and the youngest one took my picture with his mobile, I thought 'what the heck, I'll just do it!' I hate having my picture taken, and I'm very reserved out there in cyberspace. I'm not even on Facebook... But I really do enjoy how some of you have put a face to your name, and thought I'd do the same, although it might happen just this once...
 

Moving on. The blogging virgin I am, I had to turn to Google to find out what a Liebster is....
"The Liebster Award is for bloggers with under 300 followers and the rules of the award is that the nominee must link back to whoever awarded them, write 11 random facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions from the award giver, and then nominate another 11 bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."

What a great idea, getting some help spreading the word and doing that very same thing for someone else! So here goes:

11 random facts about me:

I'm a coastal girl, I grew up on the edge of the North sea and could never live far from the ocean. I love watching large waves crash into a rough shore.

I'm 45 years old (or young? whatever!)

I'm the mother of two beautiful boys, 11 and 13.

I love fresh seafood! My other favorite is thai, the spicier the better!

I used to be a stewardess for Scandinavian airlines in my 20s. Before I quit, I married a pilot!

I dream of going on a tour of the Orkneys, the Hebrides, Lindisfarne, the Arran islands... I'm starting by taking my dad to the Orkneys, hopefully this spring! My husband and sons think it's too boring...

I moved from my home town 20 years ago and still miss it like crazy.

I wish I was more interested in clothes, I'm not very adventurous in that field. There are a few things I can't live without, though, like bluejeans, black sweaters, Converse, a great pair of boots and a chunky ring.

If I wasn't an architect, I'd want to be an archaeologist or art historian.

I'm the type of person who never gets around to renew my driver's licence even though they come in a handy credit card size now. I carry around my prehistoric one...

When I'm REALLY interested in something, it very easily turns into an obsession.


The 11 questions that Pippa asked:

Name your favourite city in the world?
Hard to choose one... Lots of great memories from Brussels, I lived there for a period of time in my teens, Chicago has amazing architecture, Barcelona, London, I could go on and on.... But I'd trade a city for a great landscape any time, I'm not a very urban type.

Best design purchase?
I love my vintage Ekornes Combina daybeds, and my Westnofa chair.

What are the colors in your home?
Teak, grey, black, white and a bit of olive green, white walls except for the bedrooms, which are a nice grey. My splashes of color are mainly my pottery.

How do you have your tea/ coffee?
I'm not a big tea drinker. If I do have a cuppa, it's an earl grey, no sugar, no milk. I take my coffee strong and black, americano in the morning, espresso after dinner.

Manuel or automatic?
Manuel can stop by anytime... Just kidding, I drive a manual. I actually like it, too!

What was the last thing you made and when?
I'm ashamed to say I haven't really made anything crafty for a long time.  I used to make small cardboard "sketches" for buildings, but even that's mostly virtual in cyberspace now... I'd love to take up macrame now, inspired by Pippa! I do make the occasional necklace out of stones or chunky pearls if I need one for an outfit, or some graphics.

Favorite quote or saying?
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger! We used to tell eachother that when I studied architecture...

Black and white or color?
I'd have to say black and white. With a splash of color! Or brown!

What was the last thrifted item you bought?
Meet major Salt and sargent Pepper! Love the flower power typeface, got them yesterday:-) In the same store I found a WG planter that I already have but couldn't leave behind... You can never have too many planters, right?

Vintage or retro?
Both, please?

Vegemite or Marmite?
I've never been Down Under, so I haven't tasted either of them! I'm very curious, though, I have absolutely NO idea of what they taste like!


My 11 questions are the following:

Do you have a favorite art piece? Which one?
What's your dream vacation?
Your favorite thrifted piece?
What's the one thing you want to do most in life?
What's your favorite dish?
Is what you do for a living the same thing you planned to do when you went to school?
Do you have a favorite song, past or present?
Which book is on your nightstand?
What's the craziest thing you've done?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
What's your favorite room in your house/ apartment, and why?
50s, 60s or 70s design?
If you could travel in time, to which period would you like to go? Why?


And now to the hard part! There are SO many great blogs out there, it's hard to pick only 11. Some of my favorites have already passed the 300 mark (you know who you are!), so even though you're not on the list, you know I love your blogs, right? Ok, here goes, my list of amazing blogs with less than 300 followers. (I can't figure out the Bloglovin' thing, and I'm not on facebook, so bear with me if I've missed something...) Some of you are pretty close to 300, and might have been awarded before, but a good thing can't be repeated often enough, right? Oops, I ended up with 14, oh well...


Lucy Violet Vintage
Retro Pottery Net
Retro Scandinavian
The Creekhouse
Hot Cool Vintage
Secondhand
Mid Mod Mom
Vintage Design Cologne
Keramikk
Fraupabst
The Little Black House
50 år för sent
Arctic Mum Blog
A Goode House (Can't find your stats, Stacey, but I'll take my chances:-)

Manrique, part two

If you liked the Manrique building in my previous post, here's another one for you! The Mirador del Rio, completed in 1973, is a lookout on the nortwestern tip of the island, almost 500 meters over sea level, with breathtaking views to the ocean and the neighbour island of La Graciosa. It's very different from his lava dwelling, but equally spectacular, if not even more! I've never seen anything quite like it, if I should try to describe it, it's like something out of The Hobbit mixed with a dash of Gaudi:-) 

Both buildings are equally integrated into the landscape, the lava dwelling with open skylights as the only light source, this one with spectacular views to one side. Those features make the atmosphere of the two spaces very different. Whereas the introvert lava dwelling makes you feel submerged into the landscape, this one makes you feel surrounded and protected by a built structure that facilitates the most spectacular views to the outside landscape. You enter through a narrow tunnel with beautiful displays of traditional pottery, then the space opens up in an airy domed space with huge "eyes" that fills it with light and air.

 

 

The two domes in the main space feature enormous hanging, mobile sculptures, also by Manrique, made out of scrap metal and steel and iron profiles. The pictures don't really capture how big they are. Their shape fit inside the domes like hands in a glove, and makes the white curved surfaces above them feel almost immaterial. I totally fell in love with them, and couldn't stop photographing all the details and all the combinations of elements. They're like a large steel structure exploded into geometric fragments. I'm passionate about steel, so I was naturally blown away.

 

The interior also features the most beautiful wooden door, a large fireplace, Manrique's trademark curved sofa (the greyish blue was wonderful with the rusty steel, the dark wood and all the white) and a gorgeous staircase that would never pass the building regulations I'm struggling with on a daily basis:-) It's dark wooden steps on top of the organically shaped white concrete takes you from the main space to the roof lookout. 

 

    

  

But the best is yet to come. The most dramatic experience of the Mirador is without a doubt from the outside. Only the glass resembles something manmade, the rest blends seamlessly into the landscape. The wind is ruthless, it almost rips your camera out of your hands, and, as my dad put it, "it tried to rip my clothes off"! All of this adds to the drama of the experience.  The views almost make your stomach turn and you want to lean back against the organic surface of the rock solid structure. The structure, being fully integrated in the landscape, is a safe haven from the raging wind. It's hard to get a good picture of the whole thing, obviously you can't take a few steps back.... Are you a Manrique fan yet? I have one more treat for you coming up soon. This time, it's all about fire and heat....

   

View to the ferry landing on Graciosa island.

 

       

 

 

  

How wrong could I be? Or Manrique, part one!

I hope you all had a great Easter! I've been away for a week and have fallen in love in the most unexpected place, not with a man (I already have one:-), but with an island and a local artist/ architect.
If you're european, you probably know the Canary islands. For those of you guys overseas who might not know them, these islands are spanish, but are located further south in the Atlantic ocean, off the Maroccan coast.They're known for their great climate year around, and are popular winter destinations when the Mediterranean is too cold.
My mom and dad invited my family and my sister's to come celebrate my mom's 70th birthday in a house they rented in Lanzarote. I must admit my first thought was 'oh no, not the Canary islands...'

I'm kind of allergic to mass tourism, and to me these islands are quite stigmatised in that respect. But boy, did I have to eat my words, or thoughts, rather! I've been to a couple of the other Canary islands in my 20s, and remember them as something I would not be drawn to today, but Lanzarote was quite different! We stayed in a house in a small village and avoided mass tourism all together. I was quite impressed with the restricted policy towards tourism, and how they'd managed to preserve the landscape and local building traditions. The latter, we were told, was much due to local artist/ architect Caesar Manrique, who spent years abroad, but returned to his native Lanzarote and did a great job in using his connections in high places to persuade the authorities into preserving the island's unique qualities and resisting the pressure from the charter companies.

The Canary islands are all volcanic, but in Lanzarote, the numerous volcanoes had massive eruptions as late as the 17- and 1800s, which has given the island the most peculiar landscape. It's so dramatic, with great encounters between the ocean and the extremely rugged coast.

 

I want to show you some of Manrique's great art as well as the three buildings I found most interesting.They're all pretty amazing. The artworks he's most known for are his large- scale sculptures, that are scattered across the island. Many of them are kinetic, moved by the wind. The lava landscape combined with sculptures that really capture the elements and a great period, really got to me. I see a lot of both Picasso and Miro in his work. Although not a trained architect (he had an art education), Manrique had strong ideas about architecture, that he realised in collaboration with trained architects. His buildings are very sculptural and organic.

 

The following images are from his home and studio, containing amazing living spaces actually inside the lava. By looking at the lava landscape that surrounded him, it's not so hard to understand his obsession to live in it? The house was built in 1968 on top of a volcanic trail from an eruption in 1730-36. It uses, in the lower level, the natural formation of five volcanic "bubbles" to make an unusual living space within a natural space. It's unbelievably cool. That great 60s vibe, the artworks, the lava, what's not to like? The outside of the house and upper level is inspired by the traditional local architecture, and contains exibition spaces with great works of art, both by Manrique and others. The courtyard has an enormous Manrique mural, as well as several great sculptures. I'll be showing you two other amazing manrique buildings later- to be continued!