BAGGAGE
In my childhood home, we had a chest of drawers, big and heavy, with elaborate decorations. It was my mum’s, she got it to her to pack her belongings in when she moved away from home. It was heavy because it was made of solid wood, and it was heavy baggage, because it held the story of her going out to service at the age of 14. Its elaborate decorations reflected the fact that, although her family could not afford a chest made of fine, exotic wood, they did not lack a sense of beauty. My mother’s chest of drawers was made of pine by the local joiner and painted to resemble exclusive wood, a technique called graining. I had forgotten all about the chest until
I met Heidi Zilmer, who is a decorative painter.
Heidi is one of the craftspeople portrayed in my book HÅNDVÆRK from 2018.
February 2020
This article is an excerpt of the chapter on Heidi Zilmer Blom.
Gold and tall ceilings
Heidi is one of the most sought-after craftspeople in Denmark for renovation projects in castles, palaces and historic buildings that require the use of graining, gilding, marbling and hand-painted wallpaper. Several design companies have also discovered her talent for creating decorated backgrounds for their products. For projects in private homes, she will paint either directly on the wall or on a canvas mounted on the wall. Heidi is in her element when she works with goldleaf and stately homes, even if such lavish surroundings are far from her own beginnings.
Lucky coincidences
Heidi comes from modest circumstances, and her path to the painter’s trade was paved with lucky coincidences. The constant focus on high marks during her school years did not provide a good learning environment for her, and she had no desire to continue to upper secondary school after completing her 10th year – with excellent marks, by the way. Keen to express her creative side, she spent a gap year working with theatre, both on and behind the stage, including making set designs. This experience whetted her appetite for painting. When her parents pushed her to choose a career, house painting seemed like a possibility, although, at the time, she was far from certain that this would become her future occupation. ‘Not at all; I just figured it couldn’t hurt to learn to paint your own home,’ says Heidi with a laugh. ‘But I was pleasantly surprised. We learned about typefaces, sign-painting techniques, gilding, marbling, graining, colour theory and colour psychology, stencilling, wallpaper techniques, patterns, styes, architecture, art, customer service and lots of other interesting topics that I had never even heard about. I loved going there and learning new things. On the last day of the basic programme, my future master visited the classroom and saw my work. He invited me for a cup of coffee, and the following week, I signed my apprenticeship contract. And that is how I became an apprentice house painter. It was tough and a bit of culture shock to go out to construction sites to work. I biked around the town of Odder with my toolbox on the back of my bicycle, and for the first three months, I was completely exhausted. However, it was great to have colleagues and to be part of a team with the other builders, and that made it all worthwhile.’
After completing her training, she spent a few years as a house painter, until she had to realize that the work was too hard on her body. With this awareness, she enrolled in a diploma programme that qualifies her to teach and gives her the opportunity to learn more about traditional techniques.
A diplomaed painter
Since embarking on her continuing training in 2003, she has been active as a teacher. Since 2009, she has also worked as an independent restoration expert, decorative painter and wallpaper designer, receiving acclaimed in all these fields.
‘Two hundred years ago, painting was the most elevated of all the crafts, with a wide range of specialization. In building or renovation projects, the painter was often the main contractor,’ Heidi tells me in our first telephone conversation, and her pride in continuing this legacy is visible when we meet in her workshop in the beautifully renovated stable behind the family home in Odder. ‘I have set myself a goal: by 2020, I want to be among the 20 most acclaimed practitioners within my field, and I won’t be working exclusively by hand but also want to create designs for industry.’ She adds, ‘I still have a few years to get there!’
I mit barndomshjem havde vi en kommode, den var stor og tung og kunstfærdigt udsmykket. Det var min mors kommode. Hun fik den til sine ejendele, da hun flyttede fra sit barndomshjem. Tung var den, fordi den var lavet af massivt træ, en tung baggage var den, fordi den rummede historien om at komme ud at tjene som 14-årig. Kunstfærdigt udsmykket var den, fordi min morfamilie nok havde sans for det skønne men ikke råd til en kommode i ædeltræ. Min mors kommode blev lavet hos den lokale snedker af fyrretræ og blev bemalet, så den så ud som en ædel træsort, ådring hedder teknikken. Jeg havde glemt alt om den kommode, indtil jeg mødte Heidi Zilmer, som er dekorationsmaler. Heidi er en af de håndværkere som er portrætteret i min bog HÅNDVÆRK fra 2018.
Denne artikel er uddrag af historien om Heidi Zilmer Blom.
Guld og højt til loftet
Heidi er blandt de mest efterspurgte i Danmark, når der skal renoveres slotte og historiske bygninger, hvor der netop ådres, forgyldes, marmoreres og tapetseres med håndmalede tapeter. Også flere designvirksomheder har opdaget hendes talent for at lave dekorerede baggrunde for deres produkter. Hos private kunder maler hun både direkte på væggen og på lærreder, som er spændt op på væggen. Heidi stortrives med bladguld og højt til loftet, selvom herskabelige gemakker ikke altid har været hendes hjemmebane.
Tilfældighedernes spil
Heidi kommer fra jævne kår, og vejen til malerfaget var brolagt med tilfældigheder. Folkeskolens karakterræs var ikke Heidis foretrukne element, og hun skulle derfor heller ikke videre i gymnasiet efter endt 10 klasse, som hun i øvrigt klarede med bravur. Derimod trak det i hende for at udfolde sig kreativt, og hun holdt et sabbatår, hvor hun arbejdede med teater både på og bag scenen, hvor hun var bl.a. var med til at fremstille kulisser. Teatret gav hende blod på tanden i forholde til at male mere. Da forældrene pressede på for at få hende til at gå i gang med en uddannelse, var det derfor ikke helt fjerntliggende at starte på maleruddannelsens grundforløb. På det tidspunkt var hun dog på ingen måde sikker på at have fundet sin fremtidige levevej. ”Tværtimod, jeg tænkte, at det da aldrig kunne skade at lære at male sin egen bolig”, griner Heidi, ”Men jeg blev glædeligt overrasket. På skolen arbejdede vi med skrifttyper, skilteteknikker, forgyldning, marmorering, ådring, farvelære og farvepsykologi, skabelonering, tapetteknikker, mønstre, stilarter, arkitektur, kunst, og kundepleje og mange andre interessante emner, som jeg aldrig tidligere havde hørt tale om. Jeg elskede at komme i skole og at lære nyt. På grundforløbets sidste dag kom min kommende læremester ind i klasselokalet og så mit arbejde. Han inviterede mig på kaffe, og ugen efter underskrev jeg min lærekontrakt. Sådan gik det til, at jeg startede i lære som bygningsmaler. Det var benhårdt og lidt af et kulturchok at komme ud på byggepladserne. Jeg cyklede rundt i Odder med min værktøjskasse bagpå og var fuldstændig udmattet de første tre måneder. Men glæden over mine kolleger og sammenholdet med de andre håndværkere overskyggede trætheden”.
Siden fulgte et par år som malersvend, hvor hun måtte se i øjnene at livet som bygningsmaler var for fysisk strabadserende. Erkendelsen førte til at Heidi videreuddannede sig til diplommaler. En uddannelse som både giver adgang til at arbejde som faglærer i malerfaget og mulighed for at fordybe sig i gamle malerteknikker.
Diplommaleren
Siden hun påbegyndte sin videreuddannelse i 2003, har hun arbejdet som faglærer og dels siden 2009 drevet sin egen virksomhed som restaureringsekspert, dekorationsmaler og tapetdesigner, og på alle områder høster hun anerkendelse.
”For 200 år siden var malerfaget det fineste af alle håndværk med en lang række underspecialiseringer. Når der skulle bygges eller renoveres, var det ofte maleren, som var hovedentreprenør”, fortæller Heidi mig i vores første telefonsamtale, og den nedarvede faglige stolthed er ikke vanskelig at spore, da vi træffes i hendes værksted i den smukt renoverede staldbygning bag familiens hus i Odder. ”Jeg har sat mig et mål. Inden 2020 vil jeg være blandt verdens 20 mest anerkendte indenfor mit felt, og jeg vil ikke bare arbejde i hånden men også lave designs til industrien”, siger hun og tilføjer, ”jeg har jo et par år mere at løbe på!”
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SPEECH
Lunch continued
