My photo
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." by William E. Henley

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

who doesn't want a stack of fabulous stacking rings?

I know I do!!

My friend Gabby from janedeaux is having a blog giveaway where you have a chance to win these great rings.. so of course I am going to try. Click on the link if you want to have a chance.. or not cause I really want these pretties for myself :o)

I can already picture them on my fingers.. Ooh so shiny and pretty...

Monday, November 23, 2009

cause sometimes you just need a little time-out

lately I've been feeling stresses.. and rushed.. to do more, to finish things, to start working out again... to cook better and healthier food. .. to work harder... to make those 24 hours seem like 48... and let me tell you something...

IT DOESN'T WORK!

So I decided to stop. Put myself on a time-out.. I needed to not be in the studio. To not be in front of my computer as much (well I still have to at work.. or they'd fire me..).. I needed to organize my home and my life cause I don't function well in clutter. I took tons of clothes and shoes to goodwill. I cleaned and it felt GOOD!

David and I went for long long walks.. We let the sun kiss our faces and took deep calming breaths of fresh air. I let the nature embrace me and I looked at all the beautiful things around us. I allowed myself to be inspired. It is so easy to forget the good things when there are so much not so good things going on around you..

We walked and walked.. We stopped to look at tiny little things... And bigger beautiful creatures. And I must have saved at least 6 little caterpillars from being stepped on by moving them off the path... I saw patterns and textures. I saw cotton for the first time.. At least that's what David said it was. All I know it was so soft I wanted to wrap it all around myself as a protective layer and wear it everywhere.So here we are. A new day. A fresh start. A refreshed tess. I feel good and I hope you all do to!

love~tess

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Just one of those days....

I spent the majority of the day in my studio.. Trying to save some pieces I've been working on. It was one of those days where bezels got melt, things popped off when they weren't supposed to and nothing really worked out the way I wanted.. Boo :o(
So David and I went for a little walk so I could clear my mind and not throw a temper tantrum. And I managed to take those photos of the church next to me, that I promised you!
I told you it was HUGE!!
I just love the window and the red door... I am curious to what it looks like on the inside..


And this is not the church but it is my neighbor!! I know! It's crazy but this castle is just across the street from my home.. It's amazing.. One day I will have a castle too..


And I know I've told you that my kittie Lisa is a little special but now I have proof.. Lately she's been having this great idea that it looks so nice and cozy on my and Davids back... so she'll just jump up. Like a back-back or something. I know you all wish you had yourself a little Lisa.. but I'm sorry there is only one of her and she's mine! ;o)

I did manage to finish 2 smaller rings (sorry Gabby, the butterfly is laying on the operation table and is in critical condition.. Not sure if she'll pull through..) so I'll try to take pics and list them tomorrow.

Now I need to lay on the sofa and drink a beer. And mentally prepare to go to boring work tomorrow...

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Thoughts from my stairs



The house next to mine is an old deserted church. Sometimes I sit on my stairs and gaze at it. It's beautiful. All the leafs covering the ground as a yellow carpet. The playground is so quiet and forgotten. My stairs is a good place to sit and dream for a bit. Just to be. Not to worry about everything that might be going on and all the musts that I somehow accumulated while growing up. The stairs is also a good play to be when you are trying to avoid doing the dishes.



This is where Lisa gets her quiet time. On my old armchair next to my little office area. This is where she dreams of catching mice or whatever little kitties dream of. Not sure if she is actually sucking on her thumb on this photo. Does kitties have thumbs?


And this is where I get back to reality.. Oh my.. I have a ton of stones that are begging for a home. But first I have to fill some orders for novadesigns. And then I get to play. Maybe I'll just go and sit on my stairs for a while. Just for a little bit...

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Without gray there's no black and white

Choices would be easy. Decisions even more, if everything was black and white. I believe there is right and wrong, I believe innocent until proven guilty and I believe in hearing people out. How else could I decide what is wrong or what is right. How can I make a decision about another person without knowing the grays. Where are all so much more than an online shop or a blog. We are humans. Some are mothers, some are sisters but we're all daughters. How we all got here is a different story and I am still finding that out. I've made some wonderful friends through this big cold online world, but do I truly know them? No, I am still getting to know them. There are so many layers to who I am and why I do things a certain way and I feel truly grateful for the people that I am getting to know that has opened their hearts and letting me show them who I really am .

There has been a rough couple days for me. People who I thought I was getting to know, has said hurtful things and discussions has been going on without me being invited, even though the discussions were about me. That is hurtful. I feel like I am standing at the bottom of a canyon screaming at the top of my lunges but no one can hear me. It's easy to judge by what you see. To assume. So say it's black and white. It takes more courage to ask and be willing to come to understand and even accept you might have been wrong.

So who I am? Some seem to have thought that all I was, was pinhweels... And maybe I haven't been as open about myself and allowing you to really get to know me as I could have been. It's hard to put yourself out there. It's a big scary world. But here we go. I'll start.


My name is Tess Norberg. But my full name is Maria Teres Mercedes Norberg. I bleed when I stab myself with the burnisher (which still happens on a regular basis). I am 31 years old and I was raised by a hippie mother. I dream of buying a house with a garden. I have two brothers.I moved from Sweden 2005 to Atlanta where I lived 2 years before I moved to Philadelphia. My kitties names are Lisa and Stella. My big brother is 7 years older than me and my little brother is 12 years younger. I love them to death. Meeting my boyfriend David was the best thing that has ever happened to me. My mother was smart enough to remove herself from my father who was an alcoholic and I was raised without one. But you can't miss what you never had.


I was always surrounded by art and I don't think there is any surprise that my big brother was working as a photographer and my little brother is a musician. Our family is creative. I don't know any other way to live.

When I was a child I had a whole imaginary world with creatures. I had a notebook from school where I used to draw all the creatures that lived in this world. I was an odd child. I had pet snails in an old tupperware container. I couldn't drink soda (still have a hard time with it) cause I got bubbles in my nose. I ordered pizza without cheese and tomatoe sauce (yes it was gross and therefor I was probably the only child who didn't like pizza. I just didn't know any better back then). I loved to read. The first real book I read was Stephen King "IT", and I read it in english when I was 10 years old cause that's the only copy my mother had in her bookcase. When I was 11 I went through a phase of being completely fascinated by vampires. I read everything I could about them. I wore fangs and a black cape that my mother made me (yes she was surprisingly supportive) and I played outside in the sun with my fangs and cape. I told you I was odd. But at least I never had any desire to dress up as goth in my teens.. I guess I felt I had already done that.

I paint.. or I used to paint.. The photos are of a panting I started more than 7 years ago and never got around finishing. Maybe it's not meant to be finished? Just like some fights are never meant to be fought. Maybe I should just let it be. It's called Hunted.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

My mother Eva

My mother is an amazing woman. She taught me so much. She was a single mother with 3 children. An artist that struggled but never gave up. She was always creating and I am so grateful that I was surrounded by all that beauty growing up. All our walls were covered with her art and it's safe to say that she has had a huge impact on me. On how I am as a person and why I am where I'm at right now. She always encouraged me to spread my wings and see the world. She said I could be anything I wanted and I could do anything I wanted to do. The world was out there, just waiting. I am very lucky to have such a mother.

Så tack mamma. Tack för allt. Jag älskar dig!
Here's some of her art (the two first are textiles and the rest are paintings), but you can see more if you click here. or on this link.