water stains
more play with another water-stained digital print
awakening memories of J.M.W. Turner’s paintings seen in London in 2009
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by Marja-Leena by Marja-Leena May Day Eve
Happy May Day Eve! Hauskaa Vappua! If you are in Finland many of you may have enjoyed bonfires on beaches, along with some sima and tippaleipää. In Germany, it’s Walpurgisnacht, in England there’s Maypole dancing. Here is one of many posts from my archives about this eve and day. Rather miss it here in Canada.
I have been playing in my little studio with offcuts of old print proofs, some of which had water damage that had resulted in some fascinating new patterns, bleeds, stains and even wrinkles, such as in the above image. It makes me think of those wonderful bonfires so thought to place this one here.
by Marja-Leena Veils and Dreams
Veils and Dreams (1991)
mixed media on paper
90 x 97 cm. (35.5″ x 38″), irregular
As I continue to sort through slides and prints and post to my gallery, I am occasionally surprised by work that I have forgotten about. The above piece is one of those. It is a one of a kind piece with print elements, drawing and cheesecloth.
Other than the slide, which fortunately was labelled, I could find no records of it nor could I find the piece either. Perhaps there are some notes in an old sketchbook? Did I sell it or trade it or destroy it? This is not very professional of me!
I am happy to have found this image and am rather fascinated by it. It is for me a revisit of a period where I seem to have combined elements from two print series, the Veils Suite and Dreams.
by Marja-Leena seaside lichens
A few more photos from the rainforest by the Pacific —lots o’ lovely lichen!
I’m still busy uploading more images of my work to my ‘gallery’. It is slow going as I deal with the oldest printworks from early days before I started using documentation sheets for each piece. I have to pull out those from the flat files to measure them and note the techniques and the paper. I’m also discovering not all those early works were even captured on film. Those were the days we had to have them as slides, which were not all very good, needing much colour correction when scanning. It’s been on my long-running to-do list to catch up with those undocumented works so having this website is just the right incentive. Onward!
by Marja-Leena gallery update
Head Study III (1989) – monotype on Arches Cover paper, 34 x 28 cm. (13″ x 11″)
I am thrilled to announce that my gallery aka website is at last updated and online!
Longtime readers may recall that this blog was transferred from the Movable Type platform to WordPress back in the fall of 2013. Meanwhile my Gallery sat dormant as I did not wish to continue adding more images of my work as it too would be switched. At last my super designer daughter Erika found some time from her own business to custom design my site within WordPress. Still based on the previous ‘look’ which I liked so much, this is easier for me to use. Also, it is now viewable on today’s popular smaller devices. Thanks, Erika!
More printworks, especially some of my older pieces, will continue to appear on the site as I slowly go through my files, so please do visit from time to time by going to the Gallery link on the left top of this page. Of course many of you readers may have seen most of my work on the blog under Printworks, though the images are very small compared to my now larger images. The blog has notes about processes and the ideas behind certain works which may still be of interest.
by Marja-Leena glass & rock
sunshine, a glass of water
a round black volcanic rock
a pine table top
play of light and shadow
by Marja-Leena creative play
A few weeks ago I was doing a bit of a tidy-up of my stacks of print proofs in my studio. I tried to be ruthless and throw out what I was sure I could not reuse in some fashion, such as in mixed media collage work. What I did save, I sometimes tore or cut into pieces, selecting favourite sections with interesting textures, colours or that certain ‘something’. Today I felt inspired to have a look at one small pile which came from a very large collagraph trial print. At some point years ago I had painted and made marks over it. I scanned them and chose my favourites to post here. I love the torn irregular edges which make them look like cloth, more so here than in real life, which is interesting.
And it is already February! Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of this blog. I cannot believe how the years have flown, a sign of getting older I know. I still enjoy having this place for my work, scribblings, and wonderful conversations with so many friends around the world. Thank you all!
by Marja-Leena gift of wonder
This morning (December 30th), as I sleepily walked into the kitchen, I was stunned by the low deep yellow rays of the rising sun striking the skylights, skylights covered in tiny little frost flowers.
A rare miracle, a gift of wonder! The beauty of nature right at home.
The Old Year is almost past and the New Year is almost here. I now wish all of you this gift of wonder in all you see, really see in this world. There is beauty even in ageing, in deteriorating, in the returning of all to the earth in the cycles of life and death. Wonder at the light and the dark in the cycles of the seasons and years, just as our long ago ancestors wondered in awe.
Have a happy, healthy and creative New Year!
by Marja-Leena Winter Story 2014
Once again, our granddaughters’ annual Winter Story is up! Please click here. This one looks to be partly inspired by their brood of chickens and their new kittens. The crocodile is revisiting from an earlier Winter Story.
You can see their other annual winter stories on their site as well. Long time readers may recall that I’ve posted each of them here every year with grandmotherly delight and pride. Enjoy!
We hope you have had or are presently enjoying a wonderful Christmas Day with loved ones or dear friends, as are we.
PS – Did you know…
The word “Christmas” means “Mass of Christ,” later shortened to “Christ-Mass.” The even shorter form “Xmas” – first used in Europe in the 1500s – is derived from the Greek alphabet, in which X is the first letter of Christ’s name: Xristos, therefore “X-Mass.”
And I thought “Xmas” was just a modern lazy way to write what it means!
by Marja-Leena Cards from Christmases Past
Christmas 1999
Christmas 2000
Christmas 2001
I am going through the stash of my own designed and printed extra cards from past Christmases to choose from for this year’s mailings. (Because I cannot print new ones this year). I find a few from pre-blog days which I’ve not shown before and thought to add a little bit of early holiday spirit and colour to these pages. I hope you enjoy them. Now back to those letters!