Back to the floor and the carving. The glass that will be sand blasted comes with a mounted tape, and on that tape I glue the print. I cut out all the white parts, and leave the black ones. A sharp scalpel and a big parcel of plaster are my best friends today.

Walk to work as usually every morning. This early Thursday was nice and cold. But now, definitely time for work.

The most inspiring film I know! Picassos äventyr. All the pastisches of the Picasso paintings, scenography and the animations by Per Åhlin. About the film in english here.

A little bit of autumn on the kitchen table at work. And since a month ago when Lisen Adbåge linked to this clip I have had elephants on my mind.

It´s a festive day at Postmuseum today! The nominees for the swedish book price Augustpriset will be released just now. No, I´m not one of them... But Jakob is! For his lovely book Legenden om Sally Jones. Read about it in english here. Not that festive it must have been for John Lennon´s brother coming to Västervik finding posters like the one above everywhere in town. Text says: John Lennon´s brother is coming to Västervik! But nowhere you could find that brothers name. Thinking of the portrait on the poster; perhaps he is Johns identical twin? Or??

Sketch is ready, I think. The sand blasted glass that I will make from it will be placed under the kithen fan, on the wall just above the stove, in our new kitchen. Illustration shows the place where I live. Everything on the picture you can find in the garden, except the hens. But maybe next year... Maybe.
Have a nice friday evening!

Cow Cow Boogie sung by Ella Mae Morse.

Working with initials (like these) for a book and making stamp sized roughs at the same time. Mini sketches above are for one of those sand blasted glasses I have displayed here earlier. Will show more of those both works later.

Studio Violet looks really great! And so do Violets journals, posters and cards on the webshop!

Still some flowers in the garden. When my family and I moved from the inner city of Stockholm to the outside of small Mörtfors four years ago, a strong impression for me the first year was that summer lasted so much longer in the countryside than it did in the streets of Old Town. I was really surprised when I, in mid-October, for the first time found a wild pansy in the scrubby flowerbed.

Voynich Manuscript Pictures is a strange but interesting site. If you like handlettering combined with botanic illustration. Click on the links to the left and you´ll find illustrations like this one.

Friday already. Banks crash, stock market gallops. Feel happy to have my tiny green house, my cabbage and so much Pelikan ink that it will last for a lifetime. See you on Monday!

Birds and other nice things on Vogelschar.

Illustrations from the latest issue of Damernas Värld magazine. To an article about how we often seem to shoulder the blame. And a friend sent me a link to this visionary Anorak magazine which I ordered.
And liked.

Some illustration links:

Katja Spitzer

Robert Hunter

Olimpia Zagnoli

Morning fog around our house when we wake up and garden is frosty white. The books are finds from my Berlin trip. Inspiring covers from the Sunday flea market on Ostbahnhof makes me want to do notebooks and go on with making patterns. The lovely children´s book is illustrated by Edith Witt in 1968, and with handlettering by Gunda Otto. Boje Verlag.

Berlin once more. Stayed here. Visited this place. And this place. And this. Ate here and here. Nice going away, nice coming home!

Going away for some days. Will be back on tuesday. Enjoy autumn!
Keep your wellies on! See you next week.

Molly Bartling
Henrik Färlin

Illustrations made for Karavan and a small book that followed together with this last issue of the magazine. The stories I have illustrated are comical Indian tales about Akbar and Birbal. I like those two characters. And I like the inspiring research work!

Jakob is at the Gothenburg book fair, receiving the Maria Gripe-award and working place is a lot more quiet than it usually is. A peek into his room? Here are 3 photos published earlier this year in a magazine for a bookclub. The most thrilling in my life at the moment? Well, a mail like this one (last pic) cheers up the day! Have a nice weekend!

And enjoy the illustrations of Russel Cobb!

I feel so sad thinking about a world where a high school student can get himself permission to carry an advanced shooting gun. Feel sad thinking about how someone can slip out of hands of family, kindred, society, so badly that a tragedy like the one in Kauhajoki can happen.

Reding articles for an illustration (above) to the latest issue of the magazine for BRIS (Children´s Rights in Society) makes me realize that far too many boys and young men today are carrying feelings of huge self-contempt and confusion...