A family treasure: Birthday card sent to my father in Sarpsborg, Norway, from my grandfather, Gunnar Thorsen, and fellow Norwegian soldiers (in German concentration
60 years ago my mother became a mother. (Karin Kristina Orwald 1936 – 2008)
Decades are significant. 60 years ago my mother became a mother. 50 years ago we moved to Canada from Sweden. 50 years ago, my mother started
Tuesday November 6, 1947
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 6, 1947 MOLLY, A GRAPHIC NOVEL– my now 15+ years passion project– continues at the drawing board and at the writing desk and
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 8- The Letter
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Inktober 2018: 31 studies of Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD
Imagination, of course, can open any door– turn the key and let the terror walk right in. – Truman Capote No. 1 Richard Hickock: “It
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 7- Grad and the Party
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Father, daughter, Fenrir, Gleipnir and “Drawn Together”- the book: 6 years later.
Wow. October 25, 2018 will mark the sixth year since my father passed away. I am so aware of all the dates in October… so
Admit it- you crave simplicity.
September 30, 2018 Dear Me, I am writing you this as I sense you need a reminder. I am writing to remind you that it
On this one year anniversary since Asterix passed, something poignant happened.
In the early morning of September 24, 2018, it will be one year since I lost my beloved parrot, Asterix. Recall: Losing him was deeply
A Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Short: Steven
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Come back to me.
Come back to me, Molly. It’s been a strange time- hiding you from the world in order to explore new ways of telling your story.
Mamma- a portrait.
“If You Forget Me” I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 6- The Trip to Paris
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
A Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Short- The Audition
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
A Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Short- I am 15 now.
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 5- They don’t know what it is.
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Today’s instalment:
Mind mapping this month’s Power Path as personal therapy.
When I read something that really needs to sink in- I mind map it out. My whole brain is engaged and I can then look
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 4- Sex Education
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Today’s instalment: © Katarina Thorsen 2018
Saudade waves.
Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that
Potato Nose Diaries (1977)- Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Today’s instalment: © Katarina Thorsen 2018 — Potato Nose Gallery:
Potato Nose Diaries (1977)- Instalment 2: The First Entries
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Today’s instalment: — © Katarina Thorsen 2018
Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Instalment 1: Introduction
Subject to change Instalment 2 August 12, 2018 © Katarina Thorsen 2018
“Potato Nose Diaries- 1977” illustrated weekly instalments start Sunday!
©2018 Katarina Thorsen
Bird School: The first rule
I am obsessed with birds. I have this strange belief that I will not uncover truths that I seek in my art without first understanding
Bird School- Head feather groups
I am obsessed with birds. I have this strange belief that I will not uncover truths that I seek in my art without first understanding
Bird School- Parts of a Songbird
I am obsessed with birds. I have this strange belief that I will not uncover truths that I seek in my art without first understanding
I can feel the planet churning…
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. – John Muir When I am in the forest in Stanley Park,
Journal exercise: find a message in your words
Journal exercise: 1. Identify something that is blocking you from living fully and loving yourself. I chose my goddamn fucking ugly mug. 2. Write
Frida Kahlo, Muere el 13 de Julio de 1954
I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return. – Frida Kahlo Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything
Ghosts in the wall… #streetart
I think about the wall often. Many ask me about it. It no longer exists. But lives on in my heart. My new friend, Chrissy
Spirit Guide.
I was going to write tonight. Instead I fell down a nap hole and dreamt of a fox. I was going to write tonight about
Die into life.
I haven’t posted for awhile. That’s not to say I haven’t been writing, drawing, planning, thinking, working. A new job started January 15 and somehow
Grateful for the once upon a time…
Photo evidence that once upon a time my feet could do this. Grateful for the once upon a time. Grateful to still be here with
Operation Sock Monkey Western Division: Craftivism and Healing using Sock Monkeys and Sock Owls
I am delighted to still be part of Operation Sock Monkey Western Division—the relationship is going on 10 years now! Time for an update as
Every stitch a thought- problem solving embroidering drawings.
I’ve got a lot to think about these days. (Not really any different from other days, I guess, but seriously, there is some amazing stuff
What if memories are allies?
Researching a seemingly unrelated subject tonight, I was thrown down into a pit of dark memory of betrayal and attack to my heart. How strange
Chakra monkey… “I am safe…”
Chakra sock monkey I am safe I am creative I am strong I am loved I am expressive I am connected I am divine
Charming portraits of cats by my father 5 years after his stroke…
Going through my blog and archiving some imagery, I came across these charming drawings by my father– done in 2010, 5 years after a debilitating
UPDATE ON: Burning it down…
UPDATE: May 8, 2018 8PM: I received an extension and all is good in blog land! Thank you WORDPRESS Tonight at midnight, this blog’s business
Sock Robin- bird sculpting with upcycled materials
When Spring returns, the earth becomes a child who recites poetry. – Rainier Maria Rilke Walking home from a workshop yesterday, I was delighted at
Books are life rafts. I climb into them to keep moving forward…
Books are life rafts. I climb into them to keep moving forward when life seems in limbo and my energy is fully depleted. Here is
I promised myself a library…
When I turned 10, my parents gave me this book– Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales illustrated by Jiří Trnka (published by Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, ©1959,
Journal entry April 16, 2018 San Jose Airport
Journal entry April 16, 2018 San Jose Airport [unedited] It is so odd to take time out from the trajectory of every day in these journeys…
Staying in process…
Just when I think– Oh shit, I put myself out there, and now I am all vulnerable and shit and feeling old pangs of, oh shit,
When public goes private, do I lose you?
When public goes private, do I lose you? I am so used to sharing my creative process openly– and now I find myself in a
Molly- a new phase
Molly- a true crime analysis Currently in a new development phase and therefore the online graphic novel is now set to private. Thanks for your
Homework- writer’s group: close your eyes…
Journal entry: If I close my eyes, what age do I go back to? Usually I go back to age six. But today as I close
The third letter home. November 18, 1968
Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — Previous posts: Package of letters to
The second letter. November 5, 1968.
Why when I close my eyes and think about myself at a young age do I find myself immediately at the age of 6? What makes
Writing exercise.
1. Put the timer on for 10 minutes. 2. Write stream of consciousness about whatever- whatever comes out of the pen onto paper. Keep the
New comic: Come Into Me, Issue 1
Creative process for me is not about the end product. It is about the entire process. But that doesn’t mean I don’t celebrate end products!
Sometimes an actual voice breaks through.
Shhh… shhh… can you hear it? That beautiful alone time? Shhh… shhh. Can you hear them? The quiet comrades? Shhh… shhh. Would you
Dream. Letters. Thought and Memory.
I had a terrible dream last night. In the dream, I haven’t been home to visit my parents for four years. In the dream, they
Guilty of intent.
One word… come on, Thorsen— just one word… If I am to continue to commit to this artist life, answer to my gift, I must
Friday night check in: effortless action.
Checking in with the Power Path at mid-month: My form of meditation is to mind map it out: My notes from reading the February Power Path
Being ace, full of peACE
In October 2016, I wrote: On October 3, 2016 I wrote: Opening up to defining myself as ace and what that means to me feels relieving
My narrative.
Something new is brewing. This new thing will require that I dig deeper, reveal more and share some things previously unshared. But in
Ear to the ground… Another recurring theme…
There are repeated themes in my work and obsessions that satisfy my creative process and my explorations into grief. Like human faces, birds, dead birds…
Secrets and mysteries
Great, invisible stories are being written all around us, every day. The language of the world is full of ineffable secrets and mysteries. – Brian
Practicing neutrality.
I know anxiety. I know depression. And now it seems these days like I am practicing neutrality. Allowing things to be. Just be. Letting fear crumble
