In 1985 I entered my last year at the State Academy of Arts and Crafts in Oslo. For three years prior the teachers had tried to steer me towards working with jewelry or functional items. 

Now coming into my final year, the leader of the department told me I could choose what materials and what expression I wanted to work with.  One project I spent some time working on involved using a cellulose based modeling material that I adorned using metal wire, bits of glass, steel discs and fur. I still remember one of the teachers leaning over my shoulder asking if I was making something to hang jewelry on. 

Back in those days, working  across genres and using unconventional materials was quite uncommon. And my teachers didn’t seem to quite understand how I worked and didn’t have the skills to guide me properly and they were unwilling to admit it.

Jump to the end of the year when we were all gathered at school, dressed up and excited about getting our diplomas. It was the high point of four years of study. Once all the names had been read out loud and everyone had received their diplomas, my name had been left out. I felt put out and I didn’t know what to do at first, I couldn’t make sense of what had happened. So when the ceremony was over, I approached the principal, who’d been one of my metal teachers to find out why. He didn’t seem to know and I didn’t get any satisfactory information. I was shy, shocked and I just left.

Four months later, In the autumn of the same year, I revisited the metal department at my old school and talked to the leader of the department. He clearly had a bad conscience about me and brought up the topic of my diploma. “You know the diplomas were written out on the typewriter in the next room. You could probably type it up now”. “No thanks” I said. I probably shouldn’t have said that, but I was just as shocked as when I didn’t receive my diploma. 

I didn’t look into it or follow it up any further. I had belief in my artwork, but I was also shy and didn’t have so much self confidence. I was admitted into the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts that same year, but this experience of being snubbed followed me for years afterwards. It left me with a longing to be respected for my work that I’ve carried with me ever since.