Creative Musings: An Icelandic Clay Adventure!

I was incredibly fortunate to be invited to teach in Iceland this year at amazing creative store: Handverkshusid. Last week was the experience of a lifetime in creativity, making new friends, and experiencing this breathtaking country.

My host Thorsteinn Jonsson, put me up in the Hotel Leifur Eiríksson, directly across from Reykjavik's incredible Hallgrimur church. I was lucky enough to catch someone playing the pipe organ when I toured the architectural wonder.

After a couple of days to acclimate and enjoy the sights and galleries of Reykjavik (where I saw some of the most innovative jewelry design work I've ever seen), I began teaching mixed media clay classes including work with my Pardo Pro polymer clays, Art Clay Silver, and my Magic Glos resin. During three days of classes with students dedicated to soaking up as much information as they could, many professional quality projects were completed.

Being in Handverkshusid was like being a kid in the proverbial candy store! It was truly a wonderland of creativity with every imaginable tool and material for clays, jewelry making, metal work, wood and glass working. Need I mention my bags were considerably heavier on the return trip than when I came? It was also wonderful to see dozens of books carried in the store authored by many of my creative friends.

I plan on jumping onto a series of Iceland inspired mixed media creations soon which I will showcase here on the blog. I will incorporate lava and ash samples collected during my journey in as many of these as possible.

On the evening of the third class day, the store hosted a reception in my honor where I signed my latest book and was able to answer several questions from attendees, enjoy delicious refreshments and mingle with students, store employees and guests. Several of my newfound friends gifted me with heartfelt presents including my new friend and talented artist Olaf who is one of the most incredible glass artists I've ever met.

I spent the last days of my trip traveling the gorgeous countryside with new friend Ingolfur Juliusson, who is one of Iceland's premiere photo journalists (not to mention musician, and videographer). What a treat to experience the roughed beauty and history of this amazing country firsthand with someone so knowledgeable. Ingo is famous for among other things, his photography of last year's volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. That was the volcano much in the news in 2010, which paralyzed airspace over Europe for weeks. You can visit his website by clicking his highlighted name above. I spent one evening at the foot of some of Iceland's most famous glaciers. I was lucky to have Ingo's friend Gudmunder (a ranger in Skattafell National Park) as our guide. He raced through pelting sleet on narrow roads to get me to Iceland's famous Jokulsarion Glacial Lagoon just before sunset to see this phenomenon of nature. It has been the sight of scenes from movies and television shows including: Batman Begins, James Bond - A View to a Kill, Tomb Raider, and the Amazing Race.

Amidst the darkness we toured an old Icelandic Earth house that hasn't been inhabited since the 1940's, but has been preserved as it originally appeared by the last residents. We only had the light from our cell phones and my camera display to guide us through the pitch black house.

The chance to get to know so many incredible people was a highlight as well as the wonderful cuisine of the many restaurants we visited. Icelandic lamb is incredibly delicious and unlike lamb I've ever had anywhere! Among the culinary delights I experienced including lamb's head (thanks to Olaf) and dried fish (thanks to ), I also was treated to Mexican food, the best Indian food I've ever had in my life, Italian pasta and pizza. Having a huge sweet tooth, I stocked up on Icelandic chocolate which is so delicious but wished I liked black licorice since it's one of the most common and popular treats of the country.

The only disappointment was that the weather didn't cooperate allowing me to experience the Aurora Borealis. I guess I'll just have to make my way back there, hopefully next year! Please enjoy the Iceland 2011 Gallery added to my blog site with more photos of my wonderful week in Iceland. I will be adding some more photos to the gallery when Ingo sends me some that he took so be sure to check back soon.

Comments

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A truly wonderful experience. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Neet | April 24, 2011 at 01:47 AM

sounds like you had a wonderful experience...hope you will share some stories, pictures and creations from your visit next time I see you at Creativfestival in the fall...see you then. Dawn Cottingham

Posted by: dawn cottinghman | April 11, 2011 at 07:43 PM