Canberra Glassworks is seeking your help to provide local artist Peter Nilsson with the opportunity to bring Huldra to life in a giant outdoor glass engraving project for the Winter Glass Market on 17 June 2017.

“Huldra is the ruler of the forest, she who wears the green dress, the lady of the forest,” says Peter, who was born in Sweden. “She has many names and as many appearances. She is an elusive spirit who plays games with lonely men, but also plays an active part in people's lives. She represents nature and reminds us that we must deal with it in the right way, or it will certainly deal with us.”

Peter Nilsson is a master engraver and cold-worker who often works in the Engine Room at Canberra Glassworks. He regularly teaches engraving and works for many other artists at the facility

Obsessed with drawing from an early age, artist Peter Nilsson discovered the medium of glass at the age of seven, due to its availability in his home town of Orrefors – a small Swedish village renowned for its glassworks.

Peter is also passionate about Scandinavian folklore and the landscape, and regularly references these in his work. He has been living in Canberra since 2011 and loves heading out into the great outdoors in Australia.

“It strikes me how similar Australian and Scandinavian culture is – I guess we are all nature romantics,” he says.

Canberra Glassworks wants to show off the work that Peter does. We’ve challenged him to create a large-scale outdoor engraved glass work to demonstrate his exceptional engraving techniques and the unsung hero that is engraving for this year’s Winter Glass Market. He’s up for the challenge.

Peter will create Huldra in a forest scene by engraving 3 panels of glass 800mm wide x 1600mm high. The first panel will feature Huldra. The second will feature her outline full of forest creatures including a wolf, lynx, hare, owl and more. The third, the backdrop, will be a distant forest.

The finished work Lady in the Green Dress by Peter Nilsson, valued at $11,000 will be raffled at the Winter Glass Market to raise funds for our Creative Fellowship and other artistic programs.

ABOUT PETER NILSSON

Peter Nilsson graduated from the University of Växjö, Växjö, Sweden with a Master of Arts in Industrial Design (Glass) in 2000. He was a long time staff member of the National Glass School, Orrefors, Sweden, where he was a senior teacher in Cold Techniques, Drawing Techniques and Art. Nilsson teaches engraving regularly at the Canberra Glassworks.

ABOUT HULDRA

The lady of the forest

by Peter Nilsson

The Huldra, the ruler of the forest, she who wears the green dress, the lady of the forest. She has many names and as many appearances.

She is talked about in folklore, Scandinavian literature and film. Often as an elusive spirit who plays games with lonely men, but often as someone that plays an active part in people's lives. She appears in the Selma Lagerloef novels, Nils Holgerssons wonderful journey and The saga of Goesta Berling.

Most recently she appeared in the Swedish television thriller-drama Jordskott, screened here in Australia on SBS.

Quite a few of us have met her. Mostly, as a whispering voice over your shoulder, giving a warning or advice. Maybe when you are about to fall asleep by your campfire, you will see a glimpse of someone sitting on the other side of the fire pit, watching you and making sure that the fire doesn't spread. She is usually a young woman, a bit taller that average, often wearing a long green dress and a cape.

Her cape hides her fox-like tail, and her back becomes invisible as it blends into her surroundings or becomes one with a tree trunk. She sometimes turns up with no clothes at all. This mainly happens if she wants to seduce you, and lead you to your downfall. When she leaves you will only see the bear tracks left after her steps.

If she likes you she can do great favours for you by showing you where to find what you're looking for. She can just as easily punish your arrogance by leading you further and further in to the forest until you're lost. She can also turn you in to an animal that will be hunted down by her wolves, or by other hunters.

If you ever meet her, be friendly and polite, but don't let her know your name. If you do, she might call for you one day and you must follow.

She represents nature, that we all must deal with in the right way, otherwise it will certainly deal with us.

ABOUT CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Canberra Glassworks is Australia’s only cultural centre wholly dedicated to contemporary glass art. At its core, Canberra Glassworks is a working Glassworks that provides access to glassmaking facilities for glass artists. It attracts more than 50,000 visitors each year.

Australia has developed an enviable reputation nationally and internationally for the quality and skill of its glass artists. By providing essential equipment, space and development opportunities through the Canberra Glassworks, artists have the opportunity to grow and further develop their glass practice, and to further contribute to this very special local industry.

Canberra Glassworks provides artists with state-of-the-art equipment; intensive workshops taught by leading glass artists; studios and mentorship programs; and a unique context to explore, develop and realise new work.

Canberra Glassworks also provides diverse opportunities for visitors to interact with and learn about glass making and the heritage of Canberra’s Kingston Powerhouse. Visitors can meet artists, see glassmaking as it happens, view exhibitions, take tours and have a hands-on experience working with glass.

Canberra Glassworks is raising funds to commission Peter Nilsson to create Huldra as a large scale, engraved glass work using three panels, at our Winter Glass Market from 12 noon to 8pm on Saturday 17 June 2017.

The estimated costs for this project are as follows:

Huldra will be engraved across three large panels of glass, outdoors, in the middle of winter in Canberra.

Weather on the day will be a challenge. Peter will be working in possum skin gloves to keep the frostbite at bay. He will also opt for dry engraving rather than wet engraving to create the work, given the potential low temperature. Peter will be working under cover, just outside the southern entry of the Canberra Glassworks, which provides some shelter. Access to power, equipment, etc will be available through a nearby roller door.

Peter is very keen to ensure that the animals in the second panel and the distant mountains in the second panel can be seen through the Huldra image on the first panel. But he’s an expert at layered engraving!

Working at a large scale is a significant challenge. Peter has never created multiple engraved panels to this size before, for a single work. Risks involved include not only the engraving process, but transporting/positioning the panels as the work is developed.