Being Frida

Thank you Patrice for the fascinating theme for this week´s DC ( Drawing Challenge ): 

FRIDA

This time I wanted to have fun and play and dress up, pretend being Frida Kahlo one moment.

I suppose Frida and I have something in common:

strong eyebrows, dark hair, being a painter.. and yes, 

I also do have some wounds, although they aren´t as visible, severe and overwhelming as Frida`s.  Anyway, I think being aware of fragility in  life makes me an artist.

Upside down

Patrice choosed a fascinating theme for this week´s DC ( drawing challenge ): Upside down.

Art is often about things that upset, are twisted  - about things that are upside down.

At first Georg Baselitz came to my mind with his bold and strong paintings.

Then I remembered a work called State of Readiness by a sculptor Heli Ryhänen. She is a wonderful artist and  great teacher:)

I have been taking photos of reflections which turn the view upside down.
And I found my "self portrait" ( oil on  metal plate, 2013 ) lying on a shelf - upside down:)

Maa

Earth 1, watercolor on paper, 29 x 42cm, LV 2014

 

Earth 2, watercolor on paper, 29 x 42cm, LV 2014

  Connection to earth ( maa in Finnish ) is important to me. 
Unevitably that can be seen in my works, too. 

And there is a clear connection between my photos and paintings. 

For me the dearest place on earth is - as you  may already know - our summer place in Rauma archipelago. 
And, yes, there is a connection between that place and all these images:)

I can´t wait  to get there , there , there again..
We got some snow: it is not spring yet, so I´ll have to wait some more time:(
 

Color Dolor, Ones in the Woods

This week´s drawing challenge is about Connections. 

Our host is Kristen, see her vivid and colourful blog  Sunny Spot for more:)

Raven Hair

Those drying, hanging linen bunches remind me of wet hair

I have been staining linen fiber into black color to make paper blend of it later on.

I had a witchy feeling standing  in front of the stove with big pink gloves on, stirring the black raven hair mixture in a huge kettel:=)

 

A while ago I painted a "hair-dye-self-portrait"

( acrylic on paper, 50 x 60cm )
There is a witchy feeling there, too, don`t you think;)

Eagles, Witchy Woman

Thank you, Nadine, for the DC theme of this week

see other participants via Nadine`s charming blog Tiny Woolf

DRAWING CHALLENGE NEW THEME |

in general, it doesn't care for a crop, semi or long mode. truth be told, it doesn't always do what we want it to do. when we've got it, we flaunt it. when we're without, we're generally sad. we cut it off rigourously however, in places where we really do not want it. let's hear it, for... 

Garland of Life

The theme of the week´s DC  is GARLAND. 

Our host of the week is Nadine with her creative, inspiring blog  Tiny Woolf. 

See via Nadine´s blog all the participants of the drawing challenge.

And thank you, dear Nadine, for inviting me although I have been such a lazy blogger!

...

The most impressive garland to me can be seen at the Tampere Cathedral.

Garland of Life is unique and exeptional fresco - 

 it is at the same time fragile, sensitive and strong.

It is very far from mundane and the whole building with all the paintings and deco is special. 

I think it is the most impressive building in Tampere in the artistic point of view.

 

The Tampere Cathedral (Finnish Tampereen tuomiokirkko, Swedish Tammerfors domkyrka) is a church in Tampere.

The grey-granite, tile-roofed church was built on the basis of designs by architect Lars Sonck  and built between 1902 and 1907 The artwork is by painters Hugo Simberg and Magnus Enckell.The cathedral is famous for its frescoes, painted by the symbolist Hugo Simberg between 1905 and 1906.The paintings aroused considerable adverse criticism in their time Of particular controversy was Simberg's painting of a winged serpent on a red background in the highest point of the ceiling, which some contemporaries interpreted as a symbol of sin and corruption.

Tampere Cathedral is considered to be the chief monument of Finnish national romantic architectural style as well as a magnificent specimen of the skills of builders and craftsmen of the time.

The cathedral is extremely popular for concerts and weddings. Today, the cathedral accommodates almost 2,000 people. 

More about Hugo Simberg here

-----

My garland has got its inspiration from the Garland of Life. 

There are red roses ( which I do love ) on my painting called Absence. 

Together they make a garland in a line of photos.

 

 

                                    

        

                                                          

               

                                                               

Mornig, Noon, Night

 .. is the theme of the DC this week.
In my collage collage of  pics there are details of my paintings and phototographs.
Here you are: Morning, Noon & Night.
See more about the challenge and theme and other participants in
Helen´s beautiful & creative Objects of Whimsy blog!
What an inspiring theme, thank you Helen:)

Wings of a Fairy

The illustrations above are from a fairytale called PESSI and ILLUSIA. 

It  is my favorite fairytale;

because of its humanity - 

there is some good, some evil and something in between...

there is joy, fear, humour and beauty and mystery and truth..

And I LOVE the fascinating, delicate illustrations by Aleksandr Lindeberg.

 

ps. Some years ago the dancing daughter performed the role of the spider in a Pessi & Illusia ballet  at the Conservatoire of Dance in Tampere.

 She said it was an intriguing thing to do, far more exciting than other roles..

 

There has been several versions of Pessi and Illusia done in ballet , see how the charming little dance theater Glims&Gloms did it: 

Pessi and Illusia by the dance theater Glims and Gloms

 

the dancing daughter as a spider, 2009, Tampere Conservatoire of dance

Fairytale

is the theme of this week´s drawing challenge

see Tatjana´s beautiful blog Kleiner Salon for all the participants of the week

  

  from the fairytale land I picked with me the fallen wings of a fairy

and those I have been drawing -

wishing at the same time that my "wings" will hang on and help me to make my dream come true

Wings of a Fairy, charcoal and brown pastels on paper, photographed in my garden

...

More about the book Pessi and Illusia by Yrjö Kokko ( in case you are interested )

 ..A book by Finnish officer Yrjo Kokko written during World War II, this enchanting fantasy tale is about Illusia, a little fairy like Tinker Bell, who comes down to earth from the rainbow where she lives with her family, and meets Pessi, a gnome living in the forest. The time is World War II and when they first meet, the soldiers in the area are anticipating an attack along their front line - but as the story evolves, Pessi and Illusia's only real enemy seems to be the nasty Spiderman  and White Death  - nothing a good fairy and gnome cannot ultimately overcome...

..Yrjö Kokko (1903-1977) published his much-applauded book, Pessi ja Illusia in 1954. He first wrote it as a short fairytale during the Continuation War, to be included in a Christmas bulletin as a gift for his children. As the war continued, he enlarged it into a longer work, which is the book for which Kokko is most remembered today.
Kokko is referred to as the saviour of fairies and swans. This is because his other notable achievement was his work to save the Finnish national bird, laulujoutsen, the whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) from extinction.
The fairy , Illusia, and the troll  Pessi lived among the plants and animals in the forest, while the war raged on around them. Pessi´s father, the Great Pessimist, believed that people are too blindly trusting of the future. Illusia´s father, the Grand Illusionist, on the other hand, wove a web of hopes and dreams from people´s imaginations. Without that web of hope, no one would dare to live a single day on this earth.
From the love of Pessi and Illusia was born a new human, who was neither a troll nor a fairy. Perhaps Kokko was hoping that a new humanity would emerge after the war.
In life, both cruelty and beauty are truths, muses Illusia. So why, from these two truths, do we always have to choose the ugly truths? Why not choose the beautiful ones?
That´s something that the news media would also be well-advised to ponder."

Maa / Earth

 

  

Here in the North April is the time of year the earth is naked. 

The snow is gone but there is hardly any green to be seen yet.

So I think it is the perfect time for the theme:

EARTH

 .. it is the theme for this week´s  drawing challenge. 

See all the participants via Patrice´s  lovely blog Patrice A.

 

I feel closest to earth when working with clay. 

It gives me the feeling of the eternity and on the other hand keeps me down to earth. 

I think clay is  the most feminine and timeless media in art.

It is strong and fragile at the same time -  and it has got the will of its own as well.. 

In the pictures there can be seen two of my works of clay 

photographed  in the garden. 

 The tiny spots of lichen are almost the only colorful objects in my garden at the moment.

In the middle there is one of my recent wood cuts which has not got any name yet. 

Anyway, it also has got something to do with the earth, water and spring.

And I am sorry, there are - again - no drawings in my post, hope this will do:)

How it works: a host picks a theme. Bloggers who want to join leave a comment saying they are in. 

The following Saturday the drawings are shown on the blogs and the host links to all the participants. 

A new host is also presented for the following week.

...

Huhtikuussa maa on paljaimmillaan. 

Ainoat väriläiskät pihalla ovat jäkälätäplät sammaloituneissa kivissä.

Maa on teemana tämän viikkoisessa piirustushaasteessa. 

Tosin en nyt piirtänyt mitään (taaskaan) mutta kaikki kuvat liittyvät teemaan. 

Kuten aiemminkin olen kirjoittanut blogissani
koen savea työstäessäni  yhteyden maahan ja johonkin ikiaikaiseen. 

Savi on  voimakastahtoinen ja samalla herkkä materiaali, hyvin naisellinen, kuin äiti maa itse.

Keskellä oleva puupiirros on yksi viimeisimmistä töistäni.
Se ei ehkä ole valmiskaan, nimeä sillä ei ainakaan vielä ole, mutta maa-vesi-teemaan se liittyy kuitenkin

I am a..

..Sagittarius. 

They say sagittarius is:

"Optimistic and freedom-loving
Jovial and good-humored
Honest and straightforward
Intellectual and philosophical 

 

on the dark side: 

Blindly optimistic and careless
Irresponsible and superficial
Tactless and restless"

 

"LIKES
• Traveling
• getting to the heart of the matter
• Freedom
• Laws and meanings
• the general 'feel' of things

DISLIKES
• Off the wall theories
• being tied down domestically
• Being constrained
• cooling your heels
• bothered with details"

  I do love to travel. I love to see lively cities and on the other hand

mountains, rivers, lakes and oceans:

Oahu, Hawaii, 2011

Florence, Italy, 2011

Oahu, Hawaii, 2011

 

 "The color of choice for Sagittarius is RICH PURPLE"

Right now my favorite color is pink and orange. 

And usually at this time of the year I do miss light green.

But purple is the most common color in my paintings: 

Dream and True, acrylic 2005, detail of the painting

"The animal associated with you sign is the centaur.

The Greek love for the horse led to the ennoblement of the centaur in myth and legend. The Centaur Chiron was known for his wisdom and healing abilities. 

 The centaur symbolizes mankinds dual nature as an intellectual creature (the human half) which was also a physical animal (the horse half). "

A Centaur, my drawing ( brown pastels )
after a Mosaic from Roman Tunisia, 2nd century AD

...

drawing challenge NEW THEME : i am a { ··· fill in your zodiac sign ··· }

Our lovely host is Nadine, see her blog Tiny W o o l f and  all the participants of the week.

 

  

I smile when thinking of..

..the times the children were little:  the boys in 1989..
(this photo was taken by my Father )

...and the daughter in 1992.

..special moments in life..

..and I smile in spite of the troubles in life: with needles and pins

 Smokie, Needles and Pins

:::::::::::
 a drawing of the smiling daughter on a pillowcase:

See the wonderful blogs of the lovely ladies smiling with me during this weekend
(31st March - 1stApril)

Ariane
Renilde
Demie
Rachel
Nadine
Patrice
Tania
Carole
Helen
Hagar
Julia
Kristen