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Chalk paint is made of burnt lime, which has been used as paint for at least 16,000 years.
Hydraulic lime is made by heating limestone that has a natural content of clay.
Trampedach’s chalk paint contains natural hydraulic lime and natural pigments.
Hydraulic lime hardens and binds in a chemical reaction with added water (hydration). Paint based on hydraulic lime can harden even in humid conditions.
Chalk paint is made entirely without chemicals, it cleanses the air, has a slight anti-bacterial effect, is extremely diffusion-open and leaves a breathable surface that contributes to a good indoor climate.
Chalk paint can be used both indoors and out.
It can be used on limewashed or sand-finished surfaces, cement, plaster, stucco, fine plaster, lining paper, brick, concrete or emulsion paint but not on water-repellent surfaces.
Because chalk paint is transparent, the end result will vary with the background.
It makes for a dynamic surface that varies with lighting and humidity.
Walls or objects treated with chalk paint can be sealed with wax or olive soap (the same principle that is used for walls and objects made of marble dust).
At the time of writing, upper secondary school graduates are celebrating all over Denmark.
The newspapers provide a platform for adults across the age span to give imaginary graduation speeches from their more mature vantage point, either sharing words of wisdom for today’s youth or speaking to their younger self, as in ‘what I would now, with the benefit of hindsight, want to tell my former self.’
Most of this advice points out that life is a tapestry that we weave over time; that we do not need to make all the big, crucial decisions all at once.
Lise Trampedach is a painter and the founder of Kalk by Trampedach (Lime by Trampedach). Her life is a clear example of such a rich and varied tapestry.
Lise is 67 years old and lives and works in the town of Græsted in a former cinema auditorium that her husband has converted to a home. He is a trained chef, but after converting and renovating their home he changed course and apprenticed as a carpenter – and today, he is a carpenter by profession.
Lise grew up with six siblings, one of whom was the renowned late artist Kurt Trampedach. She reflects, ‘Kurt often spoke of growing up in a family of limited means. I had a good, secure childhood. When I was born, my family had just moved to a new non-profit housing development in a green area, where we lived in a flat that was quite normally sized for the time. My father was a typographer, and my mother hand-coloured photos for Denmark’s best-known aerial photographer and pilot, Viggo Sylvest Jensen.
I was very close to my brother Kurt as a child, and even then, he showed an outstanding talent for drawing and painting. I could draw, too, but felt that there was only room for one artist in the family, so I had to find a different creative outlet.’
Lise’s brother Kurt died in 2013. Whether there is a connection or whether she has simply matured is less important to pin down, but today, Lise paints. She paints with chalk and lime, and the family connection is evident.
Here, the focus is not on Lise’s artistic practice but on her company, which makes and sells chalk paint.
She launched her company in 2016 after experimenting for several years to develop paint with a level of functionality and an expression that she was fully comfortable with.
Her production is handheld and takes place in a corner of the large open space that is her and her husband’s home. This is where her product development takes place and where she creates colour samples, and this is where she mixes powdered lime from France with natural pigments from every corner of the world and packs it up to be sent to customers from near and far.
Kalk by Trampedach works with a number of retailers, but most of the sales occur in direct contact with the end user, who typically finds her on Instagram or has her paint recommended.
Her company is flourishing because her product appeals to the many who want paint that is more natural and environmentally friendly than traditional emulsion paint.
Lise is good at branding her product and her company; her website and her Instagram account are professionally made and have a distinct aesthetic, and she provides detailed instructions for how to use the paint in practice.
In handling these aspects, she draws on her broad experience prior to pursuing her passion for chalk paint: she is a trained decorator, has attended art school and has worked as an after-school educator. She has studied business management and computer science. She has worked as a web master and graphic designer and run a residential facility for refugee children. She has restored furniture, run a web shop and engaged in an extensive range of creative hobbies.
Kalk by Trampedach, is that a step on the way or a permanent endeavour, I wonder. ‘A permanent one, I hope,’ says Lise while also admitting that she is a restless spirit and that she rarely sticks with anything for more than seven years. On the other hand, there are so many possibilities both in the paint business and in her artistic practice that she may find sufficient room for development and change within these fields?
Her main challenge, really, is success. By April this year, she had already sold more paint than she did all of last year, and she has a feeling that this is only the beginning. That is both reassuring and a little scary, she explains, as she never intended to set up large-scale manufacturing, and she has no contingency plan for what to do if she gets too many orders.
And your husband is not itching to get involved? I ask. ‘No, that’s not our way,’ she says, ‘although he is a huge help. For example, he’s the one who makes sure I have all the neat little pieces of wood that I use for colour samples for my own process and for my retailers.’
Lise has two adult children: a son, who is a thatcher, and a daughter, who is a singer and painter. She often uses her mother’s paint, so maybe one of them may see a future in a generational handover?
‘The possibility has come up,’ Lise replies, without divulging any specifics.
Painting with chalk is different, in part because the paint is thin and runny. It is applied in very thin coats, and once the paint is dry, there is no going back to fix a spot – repairs are very visible.
Because lime is alkaline, it is necessary to wear protective goggles. Latex gloves are also a must to prevent drying out the skin.
Chalk paint produces a beautiful dusty, dry, velvety surface and the natural pigments make for rich, vibrant colours.
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FAKTA:
Kalkmaling fremstilles af brændte kalksten. Brugen af brændt kalk som maling kan dateres mindst 16.000 år tilbage.
Hydraulisk kalk brændes af en lerholdig kalksten.
Kalkmaling fra Trampedach indeholder naturlig hydraulisk kalk og naturlige farvepigmenter.
Hydraulisk kalk hærder og binder gennem en kemisk reaktion med det tilsatte vand (hydratisering).
Maling baseret på hydraulisk kalk kan hærde selv i et fugtigt miljø.
Kalkmaling er en maling helt uden kemikalier, den er luftrensende, let bakteriedræbende, ekstremt diffusionsåben og efterlader en åndbar overflade og er derfor med til at forbedre indeklimaet.
Kalkmaling kan bruges både ude og inde.
Man kan male med kalkmaling på flader, som allerede er kalkede, på cement, gips, puds
eller finpuds, sandspartlede overflader, grundpapir, mursten, beton eller emulsionsmaling, men ikke på vandafvisende flader.
Kalkmaling er transparent og falder forskelligt ud, afhængig af underlaget.
Overfladen er levende og under påvirkning af lysindfald og luftfugtighed.
Vægge eller objekter malet med kalkmaling kan forsegles med voks eller olivensæbe (som man kender det fra vægge og objekter fremstillet af marmorstøv).
I skrivende stund er blomsten af Danmarks ungdom sprunget ud som studenter.
Aviserne lægger spalteplads til yngre og ældre voksne, som fra deres modneudkigstårn holder imaginære studentertaler og enten giver gode råd til de ungeeller taler til den yngre udgave af sig selv, som i “hvad ville jeg, i bagklogskabens klare lys, henlede min opmærksomhed på?”
Så godt som samtlige gode råd handler om, at livet er et patchworktæppe, som man syr over tid. At man ikke behøver at træffe alle de store og afgørende valg på en gang.
Lise Trampedach er maler og står bag virksomheden Kalk by Trampedach, hendes liv er et levende eksempel på et sådant broget og smukt livets patchworktæppe.
Hun er 67 år og bor og arbejder i Græsted i en tidligere biografsal, som er bygget om til bolig af hendes mand. Han er uddannet kok, men efter at have ombygget og renoveret boligen ændrede han kurs og gik i voksenlære som tømrer. Nu praktiserer han som sådan.
Lise er vokset op som en ud af syv søskende, i samme familie som fostrede den kendte, nu afdøde, kunstmaler Kurt Trampedach. Hun reflekterer: “Kurt talte ofte om, at han var vokset op i små kår. Jeg havde en god og tryg barndom. Da jeg blev født, var familien netop flyttet til et nybygget almennyttigt boligkompleks beliggende i et grønt område, i en lejlighed, der havde en, for den tid, helt normal størrelse. Min far var typograf, og min mor håndkolorerede billeder for Danmarks mest kendte luftfotograf og pilot, Viggo Sylvest Jensen.
Min bror Kurt, som jeg var meget tæt knyttet til i barndommen, havde allerede dengang et gudsbenådet talent for at tegne og male. Jeg kunne også tegne, men der var kun plads til én kunstner i familien, fornemmede jeg, så min kreativitet fandt andre veje.”
Lises bror Kurt døde i 2013. Om der er en sammenhæng, eller om hun blot er modnet over tid, er mindre væsentligt, men i dag maler Lise, hun maler med kalk og kridt, og hendes og Kurts slægtskab fornægter sig ikke.
Her skal det ikke handle om Lises kunstneriske aktiviteter, men om hendes firma, som producerer og sælger kalkmaling.
Virksomheden så dagens lys i 2016 som resultatet af, at hun i flere år havde eksperimenteret sig frem til en maling med en funktionalitet og et udtryk, som hun var 100% bekvem med.
Hendes produktion er håndholdt og foregår i et hjørne af det store, åbne rum, som udgør hendes og hendes mands hjem. Her produktudvikler hun og laver farveprøver, og her blander og pakker hun kalkpulver, som kommer fra Frankrig, med naturlige pigmenter fra alle verdenshjørner til kunder fra nær og fjern.
Kalk by Trampedach har en del forhandlere, men hovedparten af salget foregår i direkte kontakt med slutkunden, som typisk finder hende på Instagram eller får hende anbefalet.
Virksomheden blomstrer, fordi hendes produkt appellerer til en stor gruppe af mennesker, som deler et ønske om maling af en mere naturlig og miljøvenlig slags end den traditionelle emulsionsmaling.
Lise er dygtig til at iscenesætte sit produkt og sin virksomhed, hendes hjemmeside og hendes Instagramkonto er professionel og har en genkendelig æstetik, og hun har udførlige instruktioner i, hvordan man håndterer kalkfarven i praksis.
Dette mestrer hun, fordi hun, inden hun kastede sin kærlighed på kalkmaling, har prøvet mange forskellige ting.
Hun er uddannet dekoratør, har gået på kunstskole og har arbejdet som klubmedarbejder.
Lise har læst på handelsskole og lært om økonomi og edb.
Hun har været webmaster og grafisk tilrettelægger og drevet bosted for flygtningebørn.
Hun har restaureret møbler, haft webbutik og desuden haft kreative hobbies af snart sagt alle slags.
Kalk by Trampedach, er det et skridt på vejen eller et blivende udgangspunkt, forhører jeg mig?
“Blivende, håber jeg”, svarer Lise og indrømmer samtidig, at hun er en rastløs sjæl, og at hun sjældent har lavet noget mere end syv år ad gangen. På den anden side er der så mange muligheder, både i malingvirksomheden og i hendes virke som kunstner, at hun måske godt kan forandre og udvikle rigeligt inden for rammerne?
Største udfordring er egentlig, at det går godt ; allerede i april i år havde hun solgt mere maling end hele sidste år, og hun fornemmer, at hun kun står ved begyndelsen. Det er både bekræftende og en smule skræmmende, forstår jeg, for det har aldrig været tanken at lave en fabrikation, og Lise har ikke en plan klar for, hvad hun skal gøre, hvis hun får for mange ordrer.
Din mand står ikke på spring for at blive involveret? vil jeg høre. “Nej sådan tænker vi ikke”, svarer hun, “men han er en enorm hjælp; det er for eksempel ham, som sørger for, at jeg har alle de små fine træbrikker, som jeg laver farveprøver på.” b
Lise har to voksne børn, en søn, som er tækkemand, og en datter, som er sanger og maler. Hun maler ofte med mors maling, måske ser en af dem en dag en fremtid i et generationsskifte?
“Det har været på tale”, siger Lise uden at afsløre yderligere.
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