by Marja-Leena

Christmas stars & rain

BPHanbySTAR3.jpg
Arctic cookie star. Photo by Bernard P. Hanby

Just in time for Christmas, a Christmas Stars Gallery! There’s a stunning range of starfish below the water off the West Coast of BC. Here’s a sampling of photos by Bernard P. Hanby, courtesy of The Tyee.

For a sense of the feeling of a West Coast Christmas, or not, do read this beautiful post by Chris Corrigan, who lives on an island just beyond Vancouver. As a northerner and a prairie girl, I can identify with what he so eloquently says, much better than I could. Only by turning inward to focus on the lights, food, family and nostalgia do I still manage to capture the Christmas feeling.

Here’s hoping you have captured the Christmas spirit! Merry Christmas everyone!

December 23, 2005 in Canada and BC, Photography 4 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Merry Christmas, Hauskaa Joulua

blogxmascard05.jpg
Warmest wishes to all for a Happy Christmas, Hauskaa Joulua, Frohe Weihnachten, Joyeux Noël, Happy Chanukah, Matunda Ya Kwanzaa and Happy Holidays…. and Peace on Earth! Thank you, dear readers, for your support and friendship throughout the year – you have giving me great pleasure in this blogaventure!

December 22, 2005 in Being an Artist, Culture, Current Events 3 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

happy winter solstice

detailHoodoo2.jpg
Detail from Silent Messengers: Hoodoos II

Those of us in the northern Hemisphere can now breathe a collective sigh of relief that the sun has not disappeared forever and the days will be getting longer! Spring will come and we can begin planting again. I think of all the ancient cultures of the world that observed the solstices with festivals, rituals and great architecture to appease the spirits, long before Pope Julius tacked the celebration onto Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival, or jule became Christmas. It seems to me that we’ve lost some connection to nature’s rhythms and a universality of a common human celebration not based on a multitude of divisive religious doctrines.

I’ve been reading about winter solstice celebrations and architecture at Candlegrove where the well-known examples of Stonehenge and Newgrange, and Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, and even the medieval Catholic churches were all built as solar observatories. It would be very interesting to see a site devoted to all the world’s “solstice architecture” such as that of the Aztec and Mayan too, as I don’t have the time now to hunt for all the links. Anyone know of such a site?

Now I have to go bake the pistachio cranberry biscotti. Happy winter solstice to all!

Later: Thanks to The Megalithic Portal, I learned that BBC Radio 4 has a programme called A Light in Winter, in celebration of the Winter Solstice at Newgrange:

The winter solstice celebration at Newgrange monument, Ireland, is an awe-inspiring event that has taken place annually for more than 5000 years. As the sun’s rays clear the horizon on the shortest day of the year, they illuminate, in perfect alignment, a 19-metre passage and chamber which contains the remains of our long dead ancestors. The chamber is older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids and Trevor Barnes has gained rare access to the event to experience it for himself – joining the handful of people who are selected by lottery from more than 25,000 applicants.

December 21, 2005 in Culture, History Comments Off on happy winter solstice

by Marja-Leena

baking and a meme

MyView.jpg

Today I’m baking stollen with marzipan filling, a German Christmas bread that is one of our very favourites. Because of food sensitivities to wheat and dairy in two daughters and yours truly, I’m also experimenting with a small batch using spelt flour, goat milk and xylitol sugar. So far it seems very slow to rise because the flour is heavy, like coarse whole wheat…so wish me luck! In between watching the dough rise, then baking the many loaves, I’ve been dropping by here to visit some blogs and prepare a post I’ve been wanting to do for a few days.

Anita Konkka, a Finnish author of many books, posted a meme that she picked up, “What is in front of you?” It’s now circulating many other Finnish blogs. I don’t often do memes but this one seemed to draw me in. Here’s a translation:

DIRECTIONS: 1. Post a photo of, or describe, a picture, painting or scene that is in front of your eyes (behind your monitor), that you automatically and naturally gaze at everyday when pausing in your writing while trying to think of a word, or simply when you get lost in your daydreams. 2. Invite your friends to do the same and link.
GOAL: This may be utopian, but in spirit let’s start a web chain gallery.

So today, when for a little while the day seemed brighter (we are back to warm rainy westcoast weather!) I took a few photos. Here is my view on my right, next to my computer (you can see a sliver of the monitor). I sit facing a corner with small shelves of attractive objects made by my youngest when a child, and on the left wall is one of my prints. But my eyes always go to the window, looking out onto the backyard with its tall trees, the changing sky, and many birds and squirrels. This month, our bare magnolia tree out there is lit with clear minilights, another focus for my wandering and dreaming gaze in the night darkness beyond the window. (And it’s good for the eyes to let them look into the distance often as a break from staring at the monitor!)

What do YOU gaze on? Have a look at some other views at Mayday 34°35’S 150°36’E*, Blogisisko*
and ikkunaiines*.

Finally, on a Christmas theme again, check out some neat links in my post of one year ago. (Oh sorry, a couple of them have expired, sigh!)

UPDATE Dec.21st: I should have mentioned that the meme began at Kirogurun kurakori*. See comments below for more links.

Only yesterday I started reading Threading Thoughts written by a fabric artist in the UK and she’s now picked up the meme too, with a lovely description of what she sees beyond her monitor. Hooray, it’s going around the world!

* expired links removed

December 20, 2005 in Being an Artist, Blogging 7 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

art jurying

Today I had the very interesting and satisfying experience of jurying a group exhibition professionally for the first time. CityScape Community Art Space, an attractive gallery run by the North Vancouver Community Arts Council, puts out calls for several themed exhibitions every year. I was invited to jury the upcoming “And When You’re Gone”:

This multimedia exhibition is an invitation for artists to research the mapping of their family history, heritage and identity. It will explore the way one’s past shapes one’s present. It will take a closer look at how photographs, letters and family heirlooms become historical artifacts and pieces of the artist’s identity.

Director Linda Feil and I, along with the able assistance of Biliana Velkova, went through about 25 submissions which consisted of slides, photos or printed digital images, even some examples of original works. The artists’ statements were read as we viewed the works so we could get some understanding of the artists’ thoughts. It was noteworthy how many cultures were represented, the variety of media used, and the range in quality and expertise in the work. The theme is a fascinating one and some of the work was inspiring us to try it ourselves sometime! I think we were able to select a wide variety of artworks, both two-dimensional and three dimensional.

It should be a very exciting show, coming up January 27th to February 19th, 2006. CityScape Community Art Space is located at 335 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, BC. I’m planning to be there and hope to take photos and tell you more!

If any emerging artists out there are reading this, I’d like to emphasize how important it is to do a very high quality presentation of your work when submitting to a gallery. The slides, photos or prints have to be sharp, with some details included when necessary. Be clear about what is the height and what is the width. A gallery selecting numerous pieces for a large group show has only so much wall space for pieces 4 foot wide by 2 feet wide, versus 4 feet high by 2 feet wide for example. Is your work really about the theme? Is the envelope containing the submission materials large enough for the materials so that they are not folded? When jurors are looking through a large number of submissions, they may lose patience handling poorly presented materials – first impressions do count!

December 19, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Being an Artist 2 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Santa or Joulupukki

himmeli.jpg

(A straw moble or “himmeli” – scanned from a clipping in my files, from an old Finnish magazine possibly Kotiliesi)

It’s now five nights to Christmas Eve and my thoughts are dancing around this rather magical time. I’m really enjoying reading Christmas themed sites and blogs, even looking back at my own of a year ago, such as the one about my favourite things and winter lights. Maybe being a bit childish helps me to recapture happy memories and puts me into the Christmas mood, so call me sentimental, I don’t mind!

Anni at Mayday 34°35’S 150°36’E* writes about where Santa really lives: Everybody knows Santa does not live on the North Pole, he lives in Finland at Korvatunturi mountain. That’s in Finnish Lapland, and it’s an enjoyable site to visit (in English and Finnish), especially if you have young children with whom to share the activities. The illustrations and stories are charming. I love the straw mobile or “himmeli”, a traditional Finnish decoration made of dried straw, an example of one style shown above.

Anni’s post received some lively comments, including Anni’s own delightful response:

I should have made this perfectly clear from the beginning. The Santa – who is not called Santa but Joulupukki (Christmas Goat, originally a very pagan creature complete with a beard and horns) – visits Finns in person, interrogates the children about their end-of-school-term marks and whether or not they have been good or bad. And if they have been good and if they sing him a special Joulupukki song, they’ll get the presents. Otherwise not. The rest of the year he sends his spies, elves, around to check and report about children’s behaviour. It is a great thing for the parents, they are able to refer to the elves’ and Joulupukki’s authority in problem situations by warning that, come Christmas, they won’t get presents, only bare twigs from a tree (for beating the bad, you see). This, in my opinion, is the reason for Finnish children’s good literacy and numeracy skills in all international surveys.

UPDATE December 16, 2013: * Anni’s blog is no longer online, sadly. The Korvatunturi site has since been updated and redesigned dramatically. The ‘himmeli’ link is no longer there.

December 19, 2005 in Culture, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric, Folk Legends & Myths 2 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Silent Messengers: Hoodoos V

SilentMessengersHoodoos5.jpg

Silent Messengers: Hoodoos V

Inkjet & collagraph on paper, inkjet on clear mylar layer
91.5 x 58.3 cm.

Please read my Artist’s Statement.

December 18, 2005 in Printworks, Silent Messengers Comments Off on Silent Messengers: Hoodoos V

by Marja-Leena

yesterday

DecemberSunrise.jpg

So far December here in southwestern British Columbia has been almost rain free. This week we’ve had clear crisp sunny days and frosty nights with a brilliant full moon making the frost crystals sparkle like tinsel. It looks almost like hoar frost on some low plants and shrubs, like icing, but crisper, delineating the delicate edges of thin bare branches and turning dessicated fine leaves and seed heads into lace. If we can’t have snow, this comes close! Yesterday morning we even had a gorgeous sunrise which I managed to capture here. (Aside: Why do sunrise and sunset pictures seem so kitschy, like velvet paintings, I wonder?) Anyway it set the mood for the day as I tackled the items on my list.

First off, I was back with Kats, retaking photos of one of my Silent Messengers. With a few more tricks learned from practice we were able to avoid many of the reflections plaguing the documentation of the work. (Thank you again, Kats, for taking the time in your busy schedule to do this!) At home, I did the necessary adjustments in PhotoShop and then posted it. Over the next while I’ll put up the others, including replacing the first three with better ones.

The focus of the afternoon and early evening was on chores with a nice finale of much pleasure. I met my husband after work to do a bit of shopping (some gifts and a replacement string of lights, the new LEDs), have dinner at a Greek place, then meet his sister on a short stop here on her way south for Christmas. She wanted to meet our now-one-month-old grand-daughter so we went for a nice visit with the young family, joined also by her son now living in Vancouver.

So, gifts have been bought, letters and cards have been mailed. Decorating is still underway and baking must begin. This weekend we will be watching the Carol Ships.
Have a happy weekend!

December 16, 2005 in Being an Artist, Photography 4 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Silent Messengers: Hoodoos IV

SilentMessengersHoodoos4.jpg

Silent Messengers: Hoodoos IV

Inkjet & collagraph on paper, inkjet on clear mylar layer
91.5 x 58.3 cm.

Please read my Artist’s Statement.

December 15, 2005 in Printworks, Silent Messengers Comments Off on Silent Messengers: Hoodoos IV

by Marja-Leena

Santa Lucia’s Day

SantaLucia.jpg
Illustration by Satomi Ichikawa in Merry Christmas – Children at Christmastime around the world (Wm.Heinemann, 1983)

In Helsingin Sanomat is an article about the Saint Lucia parade held last night, December 13th, in Helsinki.

As the doors of the Helsinki Cathedral opened at six on Tuesday evening, this year’s Lucia Marianne Ekqvist, 22, emerged out of the darkness and began descending the steps of the Cathedral. The white-clad figure with a crown of candles led the annual Helsinki Lucia Parade […] Thousands of citizens followed the parade through downtown Helsinki. The tradition is particularly popular among Swedish-speaking Finns, who arrange an election of Lucia every year. She traditionally wears a white gown, a red sash, and a crown of lingonberry twigs and candles, and carries a sheaf of wheat. Read more…
   
I’m not very familiar with this Swedish holiday, so decided to read up on it. Virtual Finland’s Christmas** has some lovely images of Santa Lucia – just click on the thumbnail image second from the left.

Santa Lucia’s day is observed on December 13. This observance originally came to Finland from Sweden, where the celebration of a maiden dressed in white and wearing a crown of lighted candles became linked to Christmas only because the saint’s day falls when it does. Nevertheless, the selection of a Lucia and the procession that follows have become a tradition in many a Finnish town. Lucia was originally a Sicilian maid who defied her father by refusing to marry the man he had chosen for her. Lucia suffered a martyr’s death. In Helsinki, the beautiful pre-Christmas procession in honour of Lucia features Lucia herself with her crown of candles and white dress, surrounded by her attendants, symbolizing purity, whilst the flames of the candles denote her martyrdom.

Wikipedia has an excellent page on Saint Lucia with its origins, history and traditions. Lucia is the only saint celebrated by the Lutheran Swedes, Finns, Danes, and Norwegians, in celebrations that retain many pre-Christian elements of a midwinter light festival. Her feast day in the West is December 13, by the unreformed Julian calendar the longest night of the year.

Lucia also means light, so this is a festival of lights in the dark northern countries. I find it fascinating how the many religious and pagan traditions meld and transform over time into our modern day celebrations. Countries with a strong Catholic church have their own traditions around this day, such as in Italy, Germany and Slovakia.

I have a children’s book Merry Christmas – Children at Christmastime around the world, illustrated beautifully by Satomi Ichikawa, with text by Robina Beckles Willson (Wm.Heinemann, 1983). There’s a lovely section on Sweden covering Saint Lucia from which I’ve summarized this story. The tradition of wearing a crown of candles came from the first Lucia, who carried food in her free hands in the dark to the persecuted Christians hiding in caves. In Swedish families, the children prepare special buns and ginger snaps the day before. Very early the next morning the youngest daughter puts on a long white dress with a red sash and a crown of evergreens with candles. She carries a tray of coffee and buns to her family while they are still in bed.

A belated Happy Saint Lucia’s Day to all!

** expired and removed link

December 14, 2005 in Books, Culture, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric 2 Comments »