Exploring the mythical characteres and archetypes of our soul. A fascination for the unseen, what lies inside, under and behind, coming from a lifelong interest in self exploration, astrology, religion and myths, meditation, as well as a strong belief that there is more between earth and sky than meets the eye.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Not to mention, what is out there in Universe, I would add. I guess you can say I try to create a physical expression of the non-physical world. A translation of the demons, the kings and queens and all the magical creatures living within us and in the world we can not see.
All my work is made by recycled materials.
BIO
Tove Cecilie Fasting, born in Trondheim, Norway (1962)
Contact: tove@tovececiliefasting.com
Creativity has always been the strongest force in my life.
Despite having done craftswork since I was a small child, it was not untill I moved to this remote mountain farm in Alpujarra, Andalucia in 2022 that I started taking my work more seriously.
Growing up with a very artistic and creative mother and an architect father, I was encouraged from a young age to do craft of all sorts. At seven my mum tought me to use the sewing machine and I was 13 when I made my first picture from fabric.
Finishing school, I wanted to apply for the art academy, and started taking drawing and painting lessons. However, I also had a passion for writing, so my dream of a career as an artist became instead a career as a writer/journalist. At 21 I moved to Paris (to become a writer, of course!) and stayed there for 18 months. At 30, I moved to Greece, where I lived for more than 20 years. I wrote several non-fiction books about Greece and Greek food. (I also wrote two novels that were not published, probably because they were not good enough…).
I have a strong creative urge, so I have always needed to have a creative project going, whether it is knitting, embroidery, crocheting, making fabric dolls or puppets, patchwork or pictures, painting, and creating sculptures from papier maché or even fabric. I can´t watch television without something in my hands.
Several synchronicities made me start working on developing as a textile artist. Almost all my new friends here in Alpujarra were artists and convinced me that age was no hindrance, au contraire! (A quick search on google proved them right). And while I had also this outdated belief that stitching was «only» handcraft, mainly something women did in their sparetime, I suddenly discovered a world out there of the most amazing artists (of both sexes), working with fabric and stitching. It felt like a flame lit up inside me.
I like to think that this picture sort of started the whole process: My friend Johanne Nordstrand, an accomplished painter, had just sold one of her wonderful and quirky abstract works to a collector in New York. One night I dreamed this image, and sat down next morning to make it like I had dreamed it. I gave it as a gift to her, and she really encouraged me to keep going. I am forever grateful, because this became a turning point in my life. An opening to a new and exciting world.
YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT:
tove@tovececiliefasting.com
