I had the honor of making the front page artwork for the popular and renowned Christmas magazine Juleroser (2020). So thank you, editor-in-chief Herborg Kråkevik,
for asking me and having faith in me to execute this honorable work! Published by Samlaget and Egmont. The magazine is designed by Laila Mjøs.

Scroll down if you’d like to read more about my work with this project.

The theme for Juleroser 2020 was “Kransen”, the wreath. I was given artistic freedom to interpret and
visualize it. Since the wreath has been a symbol of the life and death cycle for a long time back in history,
I got the idea to follow the seasons of the year. Spring starts in the lower left corner, followed by summer,
fall and winter. These are depicted by drawing some of the most common plants and flowers for the different
seasons. The wreath is a symbol of eternity, but in this case it’s also a symbol for new beginnings. As we get
closer to Christmas we are nearing the end of another year, another cycle of the seasons, and looking
forward to a new year and what it brings. Christmas is a time of sentimental reflection and looking
both back to what has been and forward to what awaits.

I was inspired by the yin and yang philosophy for the hand holding the bell in the upper part of the wreath
and the skeleton hand holding up the crocus flower (one of the first flowers to emerge after winter) with
the little skull-bud smiling. Inside the wreath I wanted to make a magic winter and Christmas feeling by
attempting to imitate the Northern lights, the Aurora Borealis. Also inspired by antique Christmas cards
which often show nostalgic winter and sky scenery in the background.

I worked with this piece for a total of four intense months, all of October, November, December and January.
It was fun and exciting, but also quite demanding regarding the scope of it technically, and a bit nerve
wracking. The technique is pencil on paper. I use mechanical pencil on the first layers and on the
smallest and finest details, and regular graded pencils from 4B to 7B on the darker areas.

I spent all of October researching the different plants for each season and choosing which to use
in the drawing. And also finding out what animals and insects that would go into the wreath. Planning
the composition of the drawing was a important part of the process. There was no time for failure
and starting over again, so I had to get it right on the first try. I’m very happy with how it turned
out and I don’t think I could’ve done it any better my first time drawing a wreath!