Tove Svartkjønnli

INSTAGRAM @PAPIR_LAB

Sometimes she likes to swap the origami paper for crepe paper, especially when she gets the urge to experiment with colours and new designs, since working with crepe paper is a more innovative process. “Origami is very quiet and allows the brain to drift in other directions, whereas the texture of crepe paper makes it quite noisy, so you are forced to focus solely on what you are working on.”

Tove began to explore the world of origami in 2013 and since then, her work has been recognized on both a national and international scale. In 2019, she was invited to attend the Islamic Arts Festival in the United Arab Emirates, where she had her art displayed at the Sharjah Art Museum. With so many new eyes on her work, Tove is excited about the future, but also wary of growing her business too fast. “This has been a very private activity for me, and I want to ensure I can keep that level of intimacy with my work, while accepting more orders from customers at the same time.” While Tove finds inspiration for her work in many places, she is especially drawn to the different shapes and colours in nature. When asked to share which of her pieces she is most proud of, Tove spoke of a 3D creation depicting the sunset from her home in Trondheim. “We only get this particular sunset with an amazing glowing light for a couple of weeks every year, so I really wanted to capture that.”

In terms of her creative process, Tove often starts with taking stock of her materials. Because there are so few paper artists in Norway, shops only stock a limited range of paper types and related products, which means she has to order most of her supplies from abroad. Tove is working to change that by offering courses in paper folding art, as well as launching digital courses in the near future.

FOOD / DRINKS / CULTURE TRONDHEIM/TRØNDELAG

VOL III