Today's Wonder comes to us from Sweden! Say hello to Susanne Nilsson, possibly the best artistic import from Sweden since ABBA!
Would you look at that smile? I suspect she lights up any room she enters.
What can I say about why I admire Susanne's creations? Shall we start with her wonderful use of color? (You know me - I loves me some color!) Or her fabulous use of pattern? Susanne's color and pattern choices seem very European to me, so they're fresh and delightful. To explain myself, I have to briefly hop into another aspect of my personality: foreign film junkie.
One thing I always enjoy about foreign films set in contemporary society is the chance to see what's popular in other countries' fashions and interiors. I have a fondness for the color and pattern sense of Europeans, in general. This is not to say that each country's design choices are exactly alike - they aren't. But they do seem to have a different overall style from us Americans. By comparison, we can be mighty conservative. For example, no matter where you go in the USA, 90% of all interior rooms will be painted... white (eggshell if the owner is the more adventurous type).
And we tend to want everything to "match": drapes and bedspreads and throw pillows and even the stinkin' wallpaper sometimes. I won't say we're pattern-repressed per se, but we don't approach it with the gleeful abandon I see displayed in European photos I find on the internet. (Which is another one of my guilty pleasures. Since I can't afford to go on any real trips, I take pretend ones courtesy of the World Wide Web. I had a marvelous time in Portugal last month - the arroz de marisco I didn't get to eat was to die for.)
Sooooo... although I'm not very good at explaining myself, I really enjoy seeing patterns and colors used in a way that I don't typically see here in the States. And that's one of my favorite things about Susanne's work. She throws out these fantastic combinations that are outside the box - like the one below.
I would never think to use bold colors in this way, but look how fresh and exciting it is!
She's also an embossing goddess. I love embossing, but it hates me. Nothing I do, and I mean NOTHING will give me the clean lines she gets with her embossing. Perhaps she has reached this level of embossing skill because she does it so often? Or maybe she was born with crazy mad embossing skills??? Whatever the reason, she sure can control her powder!
I should live so long to get such perfect details on a MATCHBOX, for crying out loud! (Yes, these babies are about 2" x 2.5" each.) If i had done this, you wouldn't see any "Merry Christmas." You'd see a gooey puddle of "Mwugh Hgfufbhew," that's what you'd see. Also serious warping because I am a total washout with a heat gun, but these little panels are as flat and smooth and un-singed as glass.
But I digress. Are these matchboxes cute or what? I'm thinking stocking stuffers with a lovely Hero Arts gift certificate inside (in case anybody's wondering).
How's this for fabulous? This is art for her kid's wall. Way to use those tools and supplies, Susanne! (She's doing it again here - mixin' things up with the colors and patterns - and the result is very nice, indeed!) This creation personifies some of my trouble in easily categorizing Susanne's style; she really doesn't seem to have any boundaries or limitations. Neither is she predictable. Which is maybe what defines her style: she takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary by using it in a unique way. Check out this card:
When was the last time you thought to make a star-shaped card? How about a pink star-shaped card? Sporting a pink raccoon? Let's face it, this is not your run-of-the-mill thank-you note!
Susanne is pretty cute. I asked her to tell me what awards she'd won, and she said none that she knew of. I think this was a translation boo-boo that I didn't catch until this morning. In the Hero Arts weekly blog challenges, Susanne's one of the most honored card makers: Die Cut (HM); Friendship (2nd Place); Birthday (2nd); Inspired By (3rd); Mini (HM); Holiday (1st Place); Masculine (2nd Place). And she received the Biggie of all the Hero Arts prizes: Win-A-Day-Hosting-the-Hero-Arts-Blog. (I'm thinking we'll probably see her as a Hero Hostess one of these days - that's the Mac-Daddy of all the Hero Arts prizes.) She's also won many other online prizes (I skulked around her blog).
And, if that's not enough to impress you, Susanne's a member of the Kortmakaren Design Team in Sweden. And she's been published in Swedish m.m. magazine.
So the woman is, like, the toast of two continents!
So without further ado, please lift your Diet-Cokes to Susanne Nilsson, a Swedish Stamping Star!
Susanne's Wonder-ful Interview
1. Do you pre-sketch a design or do you just leap out of the gate? How long does it usually take you to make a page? A card?
I only make cards. I actually have made
ONE layout – which was a presentation about myself for my current DT position. I don’t
draw sketches, but I often use a sketch to get me going when I’m stuck.
I almost never plan a card from beginning to end either. They just happen.
Sometimes I choose the stamp first and then add background and embellishment
after that. Other times I have a colour combination in my head and start with
that.
2. How many, on average, pages per week
do you make? Cards?
Oh, it differs very much. Sometimes my
two dogs take plenty of my time. Then some weeks I have more hours of training and
then I don’t have as much time to create. But I think I make 3-5 cards per
week. Sometimes more and sometimes less.
Now I'm curious. What's this about dogs and training? I think I should add a question about what people do when they're NOT stamping and pasting away....
3. How has your process evolved to make
you a leaner, meaner crafting machine?
I have almost stopped using patterned
paper since they often made me uncertain with my colour choices. It took too
long to try to choose a patterned paper that would go with the rest. Today I
instead stamp my own background which makes me choose my own colours.
Now that's just awesome. Take THAT, you paper makers charging an arm and a leg for a piece of patterned paper! (Say that three times fast....)
4. What's your stand-by, FAST dinner
solution for those times when you really want to get to your scrap space ASAP
(or stay ALAP)?
Pasta or, if I want it even quicker, I
order a pizza.
5. If you were stranded on an island
that had a billion supplies but NO tools, what ten TOOLS would you HAVE to
have? (All the stamps in the world are available, so you don't need to list
them as one of your tools. EX: we've got all the embroidery floss in the world,
but you're going to have to bring your own needle if you want to use any of
it!)
Double-sided tape, small, sharp scissors, paper trimmer
6. If you were still on that island,
what kind of noise would you want (if any) in the background? List as many as
five different favorite musical artists.
Normally I just listen to the radio
when I’ crafting. But if I had to choose some, they would be Coldplay, Takida and
Kent (the last two are Swedish bands).
7. If you could have anything you wanted, (concerning scrapping or stamping) what would it be?
A craft space. Today I’m in my living room, and it can sometimes get a bit messy; I sometimes hope that I won’t get an uninvited visitor. I also want more Nestabilities. I only have three sets so far, but there are so many more!
Those rotten Nestability people! They promote discontent with all those different sets. Ought to be illegal, I say! I want the one that's called Labels #4 (I think).
I’m still trying out different things
since I haven’t stamped that long (started 2½ years ago with some simple
Christmas cards). I would like to know what my style is. I would also like to
learn how to draw sketches. It would save me so much time instead of trying to
find one that I like.
I have tried a few smaller ones before
I bought my analogue Nikon. And then the digitals came - I bought myself a Nikon
D70. I also have a small “daily” Casio camera that is only 16 mm thick. Now I
want the Nikon D90… have to save some more money first.
10. What's the word or phrase that comes to your lips when you mess up while creating? ("Unprintable" is definitely an option!)
Skit! (Which means "crap" in English.)
That sounds just like another word we have that sounds like "crap" in English. I like this one - I'm always trying to find a way to clean up my language, and this one is a keeper. Unless I'm in Sweden, maybe....
If you'd like to see more of Susanne's creations, check out her Flickr Photostream or her blog (which is in Swedish but which also has a translator button in the upper right column that works a treat)!
❧❧❧
Public Service Announcement!
(or just a regular old ad)
Check back here tomorrow for a proposal I have.
And then again on Friday for a chance to play!
Love her sense of choosing colors and positioning the elements! The orange cloudscape card is terrific!
Thanks so much Deborah for the fabulous interview! Thank you so much, Susanne! :)
Posted by: Tomo H. | October 10, 2009 at 10:54 AM
I just read this wonderful interview.. i'm a big fan of Suzanne and always love her clean & crisp & extraordinary color combo.. two thumbs up for Suzanne. And thank you Deborah for this enlightening interview :)
Posted by: Fika | September 14, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Super interview - I love Susanne's work. She is amazing with colour. Thank you both. X
Posted by: Lucy Abrams | September 11, 2009 at 06:06 PM
Hi, Deborah! Hi, Susanne! What a terrific interview! I really enjoyed all the tidbits and visual images. One of my faves is the card with the orange cloudscape. Deborah thank you so much for starting and continuing these interviews so we can get to know the other Hero Arts cardmakers. They are so much fun! :-)
Posted by: Anne Gaal | September 11, 2009 at 01:36 PM
Oh, this post about Susanne makes me so happy. She really deserves all the glory she can get. I've had the pleasure to meet her IRL twice, and she is this good hearted, sweet person - beautiful from the inside out! The artwork she creates is simply fabulous. Thanks Susanne for being such an inspiration to us all!
**hugs**
//Nina (on the other side of the strait)
Posted by: Nina | September 10, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Love Susanne's use of fun and bright colors! Such a great artist! Thanks for the wonderful interview Deborah!
Posted by: Tiffany E. | September 9, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Wonderful interview! Susanne's work is just gorgeous, and I also admire her use of colors!!!
Love that new skit word - I might be able to get away with slipping it out a tad here and there! Wicked...
Posted by: Andi Sexton | September 9, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Deborah what a great interview with the lovely Susanne :D.
Posted by: Paula | September 9, 2009 at 06:03 PM
Great interview Deborah, I agree Susanne is an expert at thinking outside the box and her work with different colours is brilliant.
Posted by: cathy a | September 9, 2009 at 03:15 PM