Saved by Creating • by Harpa Jónsdóttir

Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in stories. My parents read to me, and I absorbed the wonder of literature; it became a big part of my life. As soon as I learned to read, I loved books even more. I got a library card and always took out the maximum amount of book allowed (three) and sometimes I got away with four. I usually returned them the following day and got some more.

Writing & Singing
I never thought I would be a writer though. That was my sister’s thing and one does not tread upon other people’s territory. I knew I could though; I won some essay competitions and always loved writing.

Music was more my thing, I sang and played the clarinet — although I was never very good at that I must admit. But singing brought me to another place, it released me from the hells of bullying and exclusion and in a choir you can belong, nobody can touch you while you sing.

Although I did not become a singer when I grew up, I always sang. In choirs, a quartet, and in other groups. It was a big part of my life. I also rediscovered writing. I wrote and won a national price for a children’s book and I was set on pursuing a carrier as a writer alongside my teaching career, which I loved.

A Serious Crisis
Then disaster struck. I fell seriously ill. At first nobody knew what was wrong, but I was soon diagnosed with CNS lupus. I had to stop working, I could no longer sing, and I could definitely not write.

It was a serious crisis for me, and also for my family. My youngest daughter had just started school, and I could no longer pick her up or even come anywhere near the school — I simply could not tolerate the noise.

More Than Just a Sick Person
I had to do something and I started to knit again. In a way I had always knit and been a crafty person. When I was a teenager I made a lot of my own clothes and my mother was a textile arts teacher so I learned a lot from her. But when I was juggling work and being a mom, there was less time to knit so I had not knit much since my children were born.

But I started knitting much more, and as soon I was a little better I felt the need to be more creative. An attempt to save a failed tea cosy gave birth to the idea of embroidered felted hats, and they became my main creative outlet.

I’ve made a lot of felted embroidered things over the last three years and this work has given me much joy. The work has evolved a lot since these first two hats; now my embroidery is much more intricate and time-consuming. It’s an outlet for my thought and feelings, and each piece tells a little story.

As I’m slowly getting better I’m starting to write again, and I have even managed to publish a book of poetry. But I continue to embroider and knit, and I think that will never leave me.

Lately I have had the opportunity to exhibit my work in the National Museum of Iceland and in major galleries in Iceland. That has given me strength and self confidence. The feeling being more that just a patient — more than a just a sick person.

Art saves.

To learn more about Harpa Jónsdóttir, visit harpaj.net.