Ingrid Larssen

Fabric sculptor

©Robert Hansen

Making art under the northern lights

Ingrid experiments with the needlework technique of smocking
Smocking means stitching material in a honeycomb pattern
She tries to tell stories through her work

Ingrid Larssen grew up in northern Norway on a small island with only 8,000 inhabitants. Like most girls back then, she learned to knit and sew from her mother. Her first experience with smocking was at an afternoon workshop for children, where she fell in love with needlework. At the age of 18 she moved to Oslo, where she studied metalwork at the National Academy of Arts and Craft. “It was in the 1980s, when wearable art was fashionable. I made jewellery in different kinds of materials such as wood, acrylic glass, bamboo, feathers, metal, horse hair, textiles and so on. I made large collars in smocking on silk. That’s when I began to experiment with this technique.”

Interview

©Robert Hansen

What was the first object you created?: It was a silver pendant, which I made when I was 17 years old. I wanted to be a jewellery maker. I had one small room in my house for many years. Then, in 2014, I was able to build my own workshop... 60m2 of heaven!
Does the nature that surrounds you influence your work?: It does indeed. Life north of the polar circle is very special: you can walk in snow on a cold winter night surrounded by the polar light of Aurora Borealis, while in summer the sun never goes down, and keeps shining well into the night.
How does that inspire you?: I live by the sea and make objects inspired by sea life. I like to work alone, I need the silence. It takes almost five days to do the smocking on one object: it’s like a five-day meditation during which I “see” new objects. It’s like being in a constant flow of new ideas.
Why did you start using shells and sea urchins in your work?: As a child I was always collecting shells and sea urchins when I went walking on the beaches. In 2013, I started collecting sea urchins on a big scale. I got a public commission for the new hospital in Stokmarknes and made a piece of smocking on wool with 1,416 sea urchins.

Ingrid Larssen is an expert artisan she began her career in 1987