Marja-Leena Rathje

by Marja-Leena

Happy May Day

The first of May is historically and culturally more important in Europe than in North America, rooted in ancient pagan celebrations of spring sometimes mixed with some modern political overtones. I briefly indulge in some fond memories of some of the Finnish traditions I grew up with but no longer practice. Instead, I take sweet pleasure in the wild abandon and abundance of a long spring, the best time of year in this balmiest part of Canada.

Here are a few glimpses of what is in my backyard: lilac entwined with rampant clematis escaping from the fence behind it, and what I call wild bleeding heart that is everywhere for such a brief time, mixing with the bluebells and the lily of the valley… like a wild woodland garden.

I wish you all a Happy May Day, Hauskaa Vappua, Happy Walpurgisnacht and Bonne Fête du Muguet!

Related links:
Traditional Finnish May Day, thanks to Arle

From my archives: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008

Missed 2009, for we were in the UK. In fact that was the fantastic day I met several blog friends!

May 1, 2010 in Culture, Home 19 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

bluebells

Heavenly blues! and a few white and pink ones that I should have picked too…

April 29, 2010 in Nature, Photoworks 8 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

a year ago

…we arrived in London!

I’ve started to reread my posts about our trip to the UK and Paris (under the ‘travel’ category). Here is the first one about getting ready for the big trip. Interesting to note how much later everything was in the garden last year. I also pulled out my tiny little travel diary with it’s meager quick notes about each day’s adventures as I was usually too tired each evening to write much. Example from April 26th, on the plane:

A window seat, thought I’d booked aisle. Trouble with swelling feet. No sleep. Dinner somewhat OK. Breakfast all sugar!
Cryptic, no marks for great writing here. And here’s the 27th in London:

Arrived 10:30 am, a Monday in London. Rainy. Looong passport queue. Picked up by driver arranged by J – nice service! Lovely to see the family! The girls seem to have grown more inches since Christmas. After lunch, a walk to local shopping street in Muswell Hill: Planet Organics, Sainsbury’s, a garden and gift shop. Brief nap. Sleeping in lowest level of charming three level flat, hide-a-bed in living room. Bathroom top level, a narrow winding staircase.

I rarely blogged while on the trip though we had husband’s laptop along. At home it took me months to blog about the whole trip, still leaving Paris barely covered. Maybe I’ll revisit some of those posts (and risk boring readers who’ve already read it all) and maybe fill in some of the gaps, at least with some unposted photos, such as above of our daughter’s family’s home, the flat to the right of the tree. Anyway, for me it’s fun to travel down memory lane and dream about another trip some day.

April 27, 2010 in Travel 10 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

alone in the Sistine

In the fall of 1993, my husband and I took a very special, very memorable trip to Italy. Seeing so much of the art, architecture and archeology that I’d studied in art school was literally mind-blowing for me. We spent the largest amount of time in Florence but did have two or three days in Rome before flying home. We spent a day in the Vatican Museums, taking far too long through the numerous gorgeous rooms of amazing collections so that we arrived in the Sistine Chapel just before closing time mid-afternoon (always so early in Italy). It was wall-to-wall with people, all of us craning our necks upwards. I think it was partly restored at the time, I really should dig out my travel diary and see if I wrote anything about that. It was magical yet disappointing that we could not see more and without the crowds.

Now we can see it at this link as if completely alone in the chapel. Turn on the sound and move your mouse around and enjoy! Thanks to Chris Tyrell!

April 25, 2010 in Culture, History, Other artists, Photography 6 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

passiflora

innocent fat buds
first passion flower bloom
tender strong tendrils

’tis earth day today, love it every day!

April 22, 2010 in Nature, Photoworks 13 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

art & garden busy-ness

I wish you could smell the heavenly scent of these first lily-of-the-valley flowers from my garden. The next virtual sense to come one day via the web?

I’m still busy in the printmaking studio finishing up work, then about to clear out my space for the summer break beginning in a week’s time. My small home studio is in chaos as I try to find storage room for the new pieces I’m bringing home. Anyone selling second hand flat files that would fit under my work table? Maybe I should have a ‘fire sale’ to sell off old work to make room for new?

I was also busy getting a submission package of miniprints ready and delivered to the BIMPE VI International Print Biennial right here in Vancouver. It is the first time I’ve submitted because I so very rarely do small enough prints! I’m happy to support them and hope the jury accepts some or all of my work. If you are a printmaker reading this and interested in taking part – and I know this is late notice – the deadline is May 1st.

At home it is the busy spring gardening season especially with transplanting the tomato, pepper, cucumber and flower seedlings and cuttings into larger pots whenever the weather allows, like today. Still a few more seeds to start. It seems the nicest days occur when I’m in the print studio, why is that? Ah well, soon I’ll be complaining of too much gardening and not enough art!

And I must see some exhibitions this week before they come down, especially this Leonard da Vinci one for he is one of my very favourite artists. Entry was free during the Olympics but I didn’t want to deal with the long lineups. So why do I leave it ’til almost the last minute?

Too busy to blog, read and comment much lately, but I found this timely Letter from Reykjavik to be very much worth a visit!

EDIT April 22nd, 2010: In some correspondence yesterday, a friend wrote:
Believe it or not, people have been trying to digitize smell for a number of years, apparently with some success. You can read about their efforts here.
Thanks, Michael!

April 18, 2010 in Art Exhibitions, Being an Artist, Print Triennials, Printmaking 16 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

green and gold

After a spell of wintry chill, the sun’s warmth is back. The tulips are blooming profusely. Still under the spell of my own version of tulipomania, I’m even enthralled by green.

The late afternoon rays stream in through dirty windows, then drop behind the trees and hillside, leaving behind a glowing golden sky.

April 14, 2010 in Nature, Photoworks 5 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

AfK Alumni exhibition

For a better view of the invitation, please view the PDF version

AfK Alumni All Stars
April 12th to May 8th, 2010
open 7 days a week
Opening: 7:30 PM Thursday April 15, 2010
Artists for Kids Gallery
located in the Leo Marshall Centre
810 West 21st Street, North Vancouver, BC
(six blocks north of Capilano Mall)

THE ARTISTS FOR KIDS TRUST was established in 1989 through a generous partnership among some of Canada’s finest artists and the North Vancouver School District. Its mission, through the sale of original prints created by its artist patrons, is to build an art education legacy for the children of British Columbia. The Artists For Kids Gallery is home to a stunning collection of work created by its patrons. Artists For Kids provides a variety of art enrichment program opportunities for thousands of students of all ages each year including the popular Paradise Valley Summer School of Visual Art.

One of the major supporters and patrons is artist Gordon Smith who, together with his wife Marion set up The Smith Foundation. Quoting a portion from the letter that came with my invitation:

The Smith Foundation is proud to join with Artists for Kids in celebrating our Twentieth Anniversary by producing this major exhibition of 50 works by twenty young artists who once called North Vancouver home. They now live in Berlin, London, Toronto, Whitehorse and around BC. They have contributed phenomenal video work, photography, performance art, mark-making, illustration, sculpture, graphic design and painting in a way which makes us all incredibly proud.

Upon her high school graduation, our middle daughter Elisa was a recipient of the Gordon Smith Scholarship to assist her continuing studies in art. She is one of the twenty Artists for Kids Alumni in this 20th Anniversary celebration exhibition. Now living in London, I’m sure she wishes she could be here.

Related links about Elisa from my archives:
About one of her exhibitions
About her blog, since revised for new work

April 13, 2010 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists 2 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

withered petals

Feeling withered and shattered like these tulip petals, after three days of printing editions… but happy with achievement.

April 9, 2010 in Nature, Photography 17 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

tulipa, withering

I have a feeling that there is a withering flowers photo series developing.

Have you heard of tulipomania? It reminds me of the background story of an enjoyable historical fiction novel I read some time ago, but I cannot recall the title or author.

EDIT April 12th: Thanks to a well-read commenter in the next post, I now know the name of that novel: Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory.

April 6, 2010 in Nature, Photoworks 11 Comments »

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Happy May Day

bluebells

a year ago

alone in the Sistine

passiflora

art & garden busy-ness

green and gold

AfK Alumni exhibition

withered petals

tulipa, withering

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