Gratitude

My Thanksgiving day was spent traveling from Stöðvarfjördur to Egilsstaðir via multiple "bus" transfers in the wee hours of the morning, followed by a 1-hour flight to Reykjavik. Rented a car for the 4-days I'll be in the capital city yet spent most of the day on foot since my air bnb is centrally located. A visit to the Hallgrímskirkja Church was a must. Finally paid for the tower tour which I recommend if for nothing else than the views of the city.

Wandered up and down Laugavegur, one of the oldest streets in Reykjavik. Its name roughly translates to ‘the Water Road’, as it was up and down this area where women used to bring their laundry to be washed in the hot pools. The street is now filled with cafes, boutiques, galleries, and street art. And currently LOTS of Christmas lights. My Thanksgiving day meal consisted of fish soup, sourdough bread, and an oatmilk latte.

I took in a performance of Swan Lake later that night at Harpa tónlistar- og ráðstefnuhús / Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. Anyone that has been to Reykjavik knows what a striking piece of architecture this facility is. The ballet was stunning but the performance space was just as magical. On top of it all, I had booked myself a pretty fabulous seat

All in all, the activities of the day reminded me how much I have to be thankful for. I am so grateful for the heaps of amazing people in my life and that those amazing people, for the most part, are thriving and well. I have my health and curiosity for the world around me. I have space and support to explore my creativity and keep making my art. I have my cat tribe that I care for and a host of sweet alpacas, cows, and dogs in my universe. My day job is pretty great and I have fab co-workers. I'm not saying that the world can't be super shit and disheartened some times. I just try to count the blessings and focus on PMA DFA mindset = Positive Mental Attitude, Don't Fuck Around, aka the Eric Petersen / Burro Branch Studios philosophy. I hope continuing to share my story here inspires others to embrace a bit of the same in the good times and bad.

Wrapping Up

Someone asked me the other day if my time in Iceland has gone by quickly. My housemate Biddy said it best in that time has seemed to stand still for the last 25 days. It's like the rest of the world went on without me while I was in a cozy little cocoon of creativity at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre since the beginning of November.

This morning we had our goodbye chat with the residency coordinator, getting the rundown of things we need to address before we leave, details on catching the 6:40 a.m. bus Thursday to Egilsstaðir, and sharing what our separate journeys home entailed. After leaving here, I have 4 days in Reykjavik to explore and prep my brain for returning to the real world.

I'm looking forward to coming home to hug family and friends, snuggle with my cats, and sleep in my own bed. And my cooking knives and a gas stove. But I'm going to terribly miss this place and the people it was an honor to share it with. Words can't quite describe what this experience has meant for my soul and for my artwork.

Yesterday was my last day of working on black porcelain pots. These will go in the kiln tomorrow, come out on Wednesday, and get shipped home for glaze firing at my home studio. Then they'll be set aside for my solo exhibit about the residency experience opening late February 2025 at the Dubuque Museum of Art.

Sunday Funday

On Sunday, I gave myself permission to sleep in and then spend the morning reading about the history of Iceland. Once I finally got to the studio that afternoon, I spent the rest of the day focused on developing new designs for my slip trailing work.

Yesterday, I started using some of those new designs on the black porcelain pots with new slip colors I mixed up over the weekend. I continue to be excited about where this new work is going. I finished 3 of the 5 pieces and have 2 more that I'll tackle today. Expecting more black porcelain in the next day or 2 before my last wet clay day this coming Sunday.

Fingers are crossed for no cracking in the drying process. I plan to bisque fire the work at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre and ship it all back to Iowa for glazing / final firing in my home studio.

Next Steps

A little photo dump from the last few days at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre’s ceramics studio.

I’ve tackled next steps with the black porcelain pots. Like with my traditional white clay pottery, this has involved trimming, darting, scalloping and refining the lid and feet of the work. A couple of pieces also needed handles pulled and attached. Today I’ll decorate them – using some new slip colors and new designs I’ve been working on since arriving at the residency.

Did you catch the mention of new slip colors? Since arriving in Iceland, I’ve been taking lots of photos of the landscape which has me dreaming about layering this new black work with colors like those that layer the volcanic earth of Iceland. Thankfully, I brought extra slip with me – the pink, yellow, and blue that typically dots and decorates my work.

With these being pastel versions of the primary colors of the color wheel, I decided to do some volumetric blends of the colors with 1 part Pink to 1 part Yellow, then 1 Part Pink to 2 parts Yellow, etc. The different blends were painted then on test tiles made from the black porcelain I bought from Glit ehf. Looking forward to doing more of this when I get home when I have access to more mason stains and start playing with the glazes that with finish this black work.

Special Delivery

One goal of my time at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre was to explore working in black porcelain. Why black porcelain, you ask? When I visited Iceland in August 2023 on vacation with family (aka my brother, my hopeful-someday-sister-in-law, and her 3 sons), I ventured into the Kaolin Ceramic Gallery in downtown Reykjavik. The gallery is cooperative retail space owned by several ceramic artists and designers, each with their own unique style. Several artists featured there worked with black porcelain and I thought it was just the most beautiful clay I’d ever seen. The work of Valdís Ólafsdóttir and Guðny Haf grabbed my attention the most on that visit, and their work has inspired the idea of working in black porcelain to live in my head ever since that trip.

So here I am. In Iceland. In the village of Stöðvarfjördur for a month in a small village nestled in the eastern fjords, making art, and exploring new ideas at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre as a resident artist. The black porcelain I wanted to work with arrived from Glit on Monday and I spent the day on Tuesday working with this new material. I don’t have much of it so decided to throw one of each of my most popular smaller functional forms - a sweets bowl, a wine tumbler, a teacup, a stein/coffee mug, and a tall tumbler. These forms will get trimmed, altered, and decorated in the coming days. Saved some of the black clay for handles, test tiles, and maybe wearables / jewelry components. Super stoked about the possibilities with this new-to-me material. Now to figure out if I can get the black porcelain shipped to Iowa from the supplier in Denmark.

Progress

A little over a week into the artist residency in Iceland and so far, the creativity seems to be flowing. Admittedly, I was a bit apprehensive going into this endeavor as I wouldn't be making the same things I always make. I dreaded that I'd get here and find myself creatively blocked.

The work did start slow though. First came unpacking and organizing my work space, then sketching out potential new design elements for slip-trailing (many inspired by Icelandic plants), and then hand molding and decorating small components to eventually combine into wearable pieces. Those tiny do-dads are now growing in scale. I'm not 100% sure where they're going but it's exciting to experiment, play, and reconnect with ways of working that I haven't attempted in a long time.

Also pretty stoked because the black porcelain arrived today so tomorrow is going to be a big day!!

Procurement

Kris, our most gracious residency coordinator here at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre, loaded up the van with all seven artists to venture to Egilsstaðir for groceries and other supplies. It is about an hour journey from the residency in Stöðvarfjörður to Egilsstaðir, filled with beautiful views driving along the fjörds and the claustrophobia of very long tunnel through a mountain. He surprised us with stops at a lovely local bakery one village over on the way to and at a gorgeous overlook on the way home.

I stocked up on groceries for the week, wine at Vínbúðin (state-owned retailer of alcohol in Iceland), some art supplies, and a pair of ice cleats for the winter weather that will be here before we know it. It was a grand adventure -- lots of laughter, a great playlist, artists from all over the world getting to know one another, and a breathtaking landscape coated in colors I didn't expect. Feeling very inspired by this place and looking forward to playing with a new color palette on black porcelain inspired by this time in Iceland.

Exploring

Before I left, lots of folks were asking what exactly was I going to be working on while I was in Iceland. I had 2 goals coming into the artist residency at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre.

The first was to explore what my pretty recognizable style of functional pottery - color palette, slip trailing technique, and shapes + ornamentation - might look like as wearable ceramics / accessories made from clay. Also planning to look to the Icelandic landscape and plants to inspire any new designs.

The second was to translate my work into black porcelain - yep, big switch from the usual pastel palette. I experienced work by an Icelandic artist made in that material last August when traveling here with family. That work has been stuck in my brain and I've been looking forward to a chance to try my forms and decoration in that material.

With a couple days under my belt, pieces intended for the body are starting to emerge. I don't know what I think of them yet. I do know that it is very empowering and freeing to have this time to play in the studio. Test out ideas, explore different techniques, and dust off my jewelry making skills and tools. The only deadlines and expectations are those I'm setting for myself. It all feels pretty magical and super special to have this opportunity.

Orientation

Getting settled in at the Fish Factory - Creative Centre with our official orientation this morning. This place used to literally be a fish factory and was the main employer in town. Over a decade ago it was bought by a large company who then moved the fishing operation to Aukeryi (a much larger town in north Iceland) and let the factory decay into disrepair. The village population dropped off dramatically with the primary employer leaving town. The building got to the point that the government was planning to just bulldoze it into the fjörd. To the rescue came a group of local creatives who banded together, bought the building, and began turning it into a refuge of creativity and inspiration. A supreme example of creative placemaking.

My fellow resident artists hail from Australia, Ireland, and northern Iceland plus 2 other Americans, one from Portland, the other from New York. And then there is Tumi, our new furry friend for the next few weeks. Our collective skill sets and artistic mediums span music, performance art, video, stone sculpting, writing, ceramics, painting, theater, and more.

There is a large open shared studio with a space dedicated to ceramics and another space dedicated to music production / recording. The facility also offers a kitchen + lounge area, metal and wood shops that are primarily for staff / construction use, an in-progress stone sculpting studio, an in-progress print shop, and additional open format shared work spaces. There is a coffee roasting business onsite. My photos so far don’t do this place justice.

Settled

Started the day in Egilsstaðir. Closing it out in Stöðvarfjörður, a little village on the edge of a fjörd where I'll spend the next few weeks. After settling into 1 of the 2 artist houses being shared by the 7 artists at the residency this month, I stretched my legs with a stroll around town. Filled my lungs with fresh arctic air and my eyes with dramatic landscapes and unexpected pops of color. I already adore it here.

Arrival

Today was the first morning of actually waking up in Iceland on this particular adventure. Light snow and 30 degrees. The sun came up about 8:30 a.m. here — 5 hours ahead of my usual CST. Had rented a room in Egilsstaðir for the night prior, staying with Lóa, the most lovely host who is also an artist, a former HS art teacher of 20+ years, and an area tour guide.

She offered to pick me up from the airport after which we swung by the local cultural center. Then she dropped me at the community sundlaug for a soak and sauna, and later fed me a home cooked meal. We chatted late until we couldn’t keep our eyes open. This was followed by the best 11-hour sleep I’ve had in a long time. Maybe because I’d basically been awake for the previous day and a half due to the fact that I can’t fall fully asleep on airplanes or in public waiting areas.

As I fell asleep last night, I wondered what the universe was trying to tell me when Lóa shared that her house happened to be for sale??

Packing

If you ever plan a trip to Iceland, one of the things you'll hear is that food is expensive there. I've had mixed reactions to this statement since gratuity is included in the cost of food service in Iceland; you don't tip in Iceland.

At the same time, it definitely adds up more so than in the US when you add a drink or two to your tab. And if you're traveling in the more remote parts of Iceland, your options are slimmer and you're at the mercy of the market. It also may feel more expensive when you're looking at a menu and a standard breakfast item is 2,000-2,500 ISK (which equates to ~$15-18 US).

But it makes sense. Iceland is an isolated location with a harsh climate, so growing food is challenging and limited. As a result, Iceland relies heavily on imports, which are impacted by taxes and tariffs.

This all means that part of my packing process isn't just warm clothes and art supplies. It also includes some of my favorite snacks, coffee, tea, treats, and ready-made meals. If I was touring Iceland as I have previously, there would be a couple of collapsible cooler bags tucked in my suitcase.