NEW! - Sanna Wieslander goes bananas.

I have been hinting about my banana theme quite a bit lately on social media. I am currently working on a brand new collection called "Sanna Wieslander goes bananas". A collection where I mix old motifs and techniques with modern ones and with a touch of, yes that's right... bananas! Because who doesn't get happy from bananas? 

It all started almost two years ago when I was studying to become a gilder and decorative painter at Tibro's craft academy when I took a course in casting. We would learn how to create a mold of a small optional object. At that time, I always had bananas with me as a snack and when we had to choose an item, my "11 coffee banana" layed there on the bench and then I thought it might be fun to mold it?

When the mold was ready I cast bananas in plaster like there were no tomorrow which I gilded and painted in different techniques. I don't know what it was about those bananas, but they made me so happy! I played with that idea and theme and also started to think of motifs for posters.

Right then we also studied, among other things art history, everything from ornaments, architecture, statues, art, different idioms, painting techniques and gilding. I became intrerested in old statues and thought it would have been fun if they could hold a banana instead? It feels disarming and fun somehow. Then I also had the opportunity to intertwine what I have worked with before as an illustrator where I created posters with my new education and interest. It was like a nice transition, drawing statues with bananas. I created sketches and planned for the future and now! Two years later I have finally had time to work on this. This banana theme makes me, for some strange reason, just as happy now as then!

I used to draw everything by hand with pencil on paper before, but I have chosen to draw these motifs digitally on a drawing board to be able to work with more details. However, still in graphite pencil style! I have also played a little with the perspective so that it looks like they are looking out of their passepartout.

Now my two new illustrations "Snack time" and "Cravings" in the collection "Sanna Wieslander goes bananas" are availiable in my brand new webshop!. They are printed as high quality art prints in the size 30x40 cm and are signed by hand. And not only that! There are also handmade bananas for sale. These are natural-size, cast in stone plaster and have then been marbled and decoratively painted in various ways. So have a look in my new shop! Hope you enjoy going bananas as much as I do! Because there will be more of that stuff from me in the future :)

Snack time - 30x40 cm.

Cravings - 30x40 cm.

All fine art prints in this collection are signed by hand when you buy directly from me.

And this is how they look on the wall! Right now I have a Christmas offer - get 200 SEK off when you purchase two fine art prints. The offer is valid until 31/12-2023.

A bunch of marbled and gilded leopard bananas. These are in stock right now but more bananas in new costumes are being added continuously!

Halloween crafts - Ghosts in plaster.

Now it's finally time for my favorite holiday of the year - Halloween! It's such a fun season to be creative! This year we found a tip from Panduro on how to make plaster ghosts which we had to try! Both Ebba and I thought it was so much fun and turned out so well, so we're sharing this in case there are more craft fans out there! :)

Panduro's description can be found HERE .

Make a frame out of cardboard and balloons (tape them together properly). I also brushed a little vaseline on the balloon and the cardboard pieces so that the plaster would come off easier once it's dried.

Dip the fabric in plaster and hang over the frame. (We used stone plaster and cut a piece of a sheet that we measured first so it fits the shape we built before.) And don't forget to protect the table! It gets pretty messy!

Let dry and then remove the balloon and cardboard inside.

Cut out black eyes out of paper and glue them on.

Ebba thought my eyes made the ghost look a little too scary so she chose "googly eyes" with long black eyelashes instead (we cut the eyelashes out of paper). Then she also wanted red hearts on the cheek of her ghost because then it is clear that it is a kind ghost ;) How cute? Then all you have to do is to insert a battery-powered light loop inside and they will glow so nicely when it's dark!

Thank you Panduro for this great tip on Halloween crafts!

Wooden shields become marble.

I have done some work for Sekelhus in Falköping and now they wanted to create their own coats of arms for their property building which they have renovated. Such a fun project! Sekelhus made the design and three smaller shields were cut out of oak. I was commissioned to marble these in the same "swedish green" marble that is in the house. I gilded the rings with brass and patinated them to get a slightly older look. Here you can see before and after pictures of how they turned out.

This is how they looked before. There was quite a rough grain in the wood so there was some preliminary work before I could start marbling to get a smooth and nice marble surface. The shields are quite small, about 25 cm high.

And this is what they looked like after marbling and gilding! So fun to work on making a material look like something completely different!