collaging to get the words out - rakas työkaluni, kollaasi

When I need to find the answers, assembling a collage helps to connect the dots between my way of feeling-thinking in forms and images, and being able to express the same verbally.

The above five collages are in answer to the course assignment: What kind of instructor am I?

The images below show one of my glue-in journals that I collage in for inspiration and for mental health, and a funny random collage that gave me an idea for a potential art therapy course.

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Kun haluan pukea tunnemaailmani muodot ja mielikuvat sanoihin, alan rakentaa kollaaseja.

Ensimmäiset viisi kuvaa ovat tutkimus kysymykseen "Millainen ohjaaja minä olen?"

Viimeisessä kahdessa näkyy esimerkki kollaasipäiväkirjoistani, ja hauska sattuma joista sain idean taideterapiatuokiosta.

Decay Garden - eli minun Lahopuutarha

These pieces - Decaying log, Dead tree and Umbilical cord - rose out of feelings relative to human activity in and as part of nature. Nature is perfect in its creations and resolves, it becomes obvious that there is always inbuilt mechanisms, as well as natural circumstantial dynamics to ensure that when the original function ends usefulness still continues.

A tree for example. A tree dies standing in the ground, or falling to the forest floor, it instantly and seamlessly becomes just another part of the forest, by providing a new habitat or source of food. It is still a vital part of the cycle of the living forest, not a problem, not a surplus, nor a waste.

Take a pair of jeans. In general its functionality ends in a hole, a stain, a broken zipper, a new fashion trend. It is now considered dysfunctional, not needed, not wanted. I wondered if it is only down to point of view. If the point of view is shiftable. What makes a weed a weed, and what makes a pest a pest. In nature, they all seem to have their assigned places, no one is excluded. Everything is kept in balance with others but nothing is singled out as bad, or useless. 

With human activity and endeavours, it seems that we often generate waste and problems alongside whatever we make. We label things from our point of view, while considering our own desires and our own purpose, leaving little space in thought for our environment where we exist as part of it. We leave unobserved the needs of our needs that thed'd require to cycle back into nature in a non-problematic way..

Decay Garden with its current three pieces is an ongoing meditation amongst points of view, a wordless non-judgemental textile prayer, a deep-felt wish towards a wholesome change.  I wish that everything we produce would be just like a tree. I wish that everything we produce would belong to a perfect cycle of usefulness in all its stages of existing and then melting into the source without creating issues. 

 

Lahopuutarha - Lahopuu, Kelopuu ja Napanuora

Lahopuutarha nykyisellä kolmella osallaan on omien tunteiden hyväksyminen luontoa ja ihmisluonetta kohtaan, samalla jatkuvaa mietiskelyä näkökulmien kesken, sanaton, tuomitsematon tekstiilirukous ja syvällinen toive kohti terveellistä muutosta.

Luonto on täydellinen luomuksissaan ja ratkaisuissaan. Käy ilmi, että aina on sisäänrakennettuja mekanismeja sekä luonnollisten olosuhteiden dynamiikkaa varmistamaan hyödyllisyyden jatkua, kun alkuperäinen toiminto päättyy.

Esimerkiksi puu. Puu kuolee seisten tai kaatuu metsäpohjaan. Siitä tulee hetkessä ja saumattomasti vain toinen osa metsää tarjoamalla uuden elinympäristön tai ravinnon lähteen. Se on edelleen tärkeä osa elävän metsän kiertokulkua, ei ongelma, ei ylijäämä tai jäte.

Sitten farkut. Yleensä niiden toimivuus päättyy reikään, tahraan, rikkinäiseen vetoketjuun, uuteen muotitrendiin. Nitä pidetään nyt pois joutuvana, hävetettävänä, hävittettävänä.

Mietin, onko se vain näkökulmasta kiinni. Jos näkökulma olisi pehmeämpi, pyöreämpi, taipuisampi, mukautuvampi kuten materiaali on. Mikä tekee jätteestä jätteen, rikkaruohosta rikkaruohon, tuholaisesta tuholaisen. Luonnossa niillä kaikilla näyttää olevan omaa paikkansa, ketään tai mitään ei ole suljettu pois. Kaikki pidetään tasapainossa muiden kanssa, muttei mitään korosteta huonoksi taikka hyödyttömäksi.

Ihminen toiminnallaan ja pyrkimyksillään luo usein ongelmia kaiken tekemisen rinnalla. Merkitsee asioita omasta näkökulmastansa, ottaa huomioon omat toiveensa ja tarkoituksensa, jättäen liian vähän tilaa ajatuksissaan luonnolliselle ympäristöllensä, jossa elää vuorovaikutuksessa osana sitä. Jätämme huomiotta tarpeidemme tarpeet, joiden pitäisi olla jo paikallaan luomusvaiheesa että luomuksimme voi olla osaa luontoa ongelmattomalla tavalla.

Toivon, että kaikki meidän tuottamamme olisi kuin metsän puu. Toivon, että kaikki meidän tuottamamme koko olemassaolonsa aikana kuuluisi täydelliseen hyödyllisyyden kiertokulkuun ja sitten sulaisi takaisin luontoon luomatta ongelmia.

reconstructed continuity

...or perhaps imagined or wished continuity.

The Y shape as a natural form and growth progression has been playing on my mind. I tied little roots on my y shaped sticks, to carry the thought/process further.

roots

... of the visible and the imagined kind.

scribbles

I had an idea for an art piece lately, and my head is constantly working on it, thoughts are rolling out, branching off and diving deeper, searching for the solutions for the visual dilemma. My eyes seeing research and reference material everywhere.

The other day before going to work, I had to set up and photograph such a fractal of this bubbling idea. Then at work while trying out a sashiko inspired stitching exercise, I got distracted by the unintended delicate beauty of an old tailors chalk.

little lights

Still fascinated with the dramatic change in light conditions in this country. I feel I'm a little better armed this winter than last year.

I finally joined in with the tradition and obsession of lighting candles on the dark balcony at 4pm, and letting them burn in their jar as long as the wick is. In the kitchen the oil lamp is on, and we started to make room on the wall for the string lights. Of course we use our normal electric light fittings, but it's somehow different in effect. Darkness already begins just after 4pm and lasts til 9 in the morning. Its presence seeps thickly into the rooms whether you keep the shutters closed or open. Either way it is quite heavy on the mind. It's really soothing to light little fires outside and in the kitchen in a way that we see it from the living room.

I went to an interesting exhibition recently, and there was a neon installation that captured me with its glow. The two words mean 'I am' in Finnish.

Neon art by Marja Pirilä (I AM/LIGHT)

bending backwards

yoga art by Gosia Janik via Tudo de OM

Unlike bad habits, good habits are easy to abandon. I used to do yoga daily when I was a late teen, inspired by my mum, her sporty youth and her yoga books. I learned most of the poses from the books, and practiced them in my room. Mum helped me with the harder ones, and showed me how to breathe into the stomach and extend the breath into the very top of the lungs. It took me about 2 years to do a decent headstand but I did it. Then I abandoned it as a practice, probably not seeing it as something I wanted to pursue. And also there were a lot of parties to go to suddenly...

Doing simple stretching and some form of a backward bend should be part of daily life, to balance out all that hunching, slouching and slumping we do. It'd solve a lot of my problems (ie. forever tight shoulders and sore neck) if I did just the one proper backward bend every day. So I decided I'll do yoga in my room again, like when I was a teenager.

There's a helpful site I found with full descriptions of the poses that will help refresh my yoga memory but will help beginners too - there's also a handy sequence builder.

flower art from Poland & from New Mexico

I've been lucky enough to win wonderful things - have I mentioned that yet? wink, wink... 

And not just any lucky thing, but beautiful art made by amazing artists, and both in a flower theme!

Julia's parcel to me was filled with pressed flowers, tiny hand-painted stickers and handmade paper.

She writes her dreamy blog The Sheer Stories about delicate photography and nature-inspired creativity. 

She gave away a wall hanging that she and her equally talented carpenter boyfriend made. It's now hanging in our living room, adding a touch of Polish country home like hers to the thrifted eclectica of ours.

Julia is incredibly creative and she shares all of it on her blog. See how she makes citrus peel candles, or different things out of flowers like natural ink or ice cream.

Shortly after, I received  another piece of flower art - this time all the way from New Mexico - and what came through my letter box was an original watercolour by the amazing Geninne!

She was giving away this unique piece of hers, with a bar of gourmet chocolate and a sweet paper posy in tow, to celebrate her birthday on her blog.

I'm very excited to own a piece by her; I'm looking for the perfect frame to frame it in.

The pink pepper chocolate is delicious! We've been enjoying it with friends and family. I still have a few squares left but probably not for long, it goes too well with my afternoon coffee....

If you ever wondered what does the creative space of a modern New Mexican artist look like, see Geninne's sunny home studio here.

One bloggie thing I always look forward to each month is her calendar wallpaper, always illustrated with her favourite flora & fauna.

She collects vintage postal ephemera which she uses ingeniously in her art.

Thank you both Julia and Geninne for your amazing giveaways! All of your precious handcrafted gifts have come to a very appreciating home.

axes transformed: Maskull Lasserre

via

via

I was rambling on about vintage tools in my last post, so rambly and random that I even wondered if anyone would read it past the first paragraph. While all along I was really wanting to write about the art of Maskull Lasserre.

But, you see, his artwork pushes buttons in me and gets me rambling about emotion and thought processes stemming in childhood memories. So who is this artist, with the intriguing name and button-pushing powers?

I have never known of anyone before with the name Maskull - it sounds anciently Nordic, robust and even viking to my ears. 

Yet he was born in South Africa, in 1978, in the same year as me. He was named after the protagonist of an early Scottish sci-fi novel. His family moved to Canada when he was a small child. 

Now, his name synonymous with contemporary Canadian art, he produces pieces of artwork that have me craving for exhibition trips beyond my reach. They get my inner Sherlock guessing the motives behind his pieces, trying to unravel the artistic thought processes by studying their form and detail as much as the pixels let me. 

I'm wishing that I could see them for real and up close, and even wear some of them out (they are my size, you know!) for a subzero pub crawl once the Nordic winter hits here...

via

via

I love his wood carvings - the snake skeleton axe is mesmerising with its delicate imbalance. A filigree wooden structure tailing off into a weathered metal axe head.

This piece is in constant conversation with itself. 

The airy beauty of the skeletal snake reveals a new dimension in the wooden handle while reducing the strong grip of the original tool to a fragile husk. The carved handle is upsetting the very nature of the object, rendering it full of tension, transforming it on multiple levels - changing its role, its appearance, its visual, physical and symbolic values. 

In response, the axe-ness of the object is threatening with a sense of self-destruction by breaking into smithereens - it's shape still echoes the original utility, still asking for being picked up like an axe. 

So precious, so intriguing and thought-provoking. The way I love art.

I found a video feature on him - in which he speaks about his own childhood memories and how they influence his creativity. 

Alongside the snake axe (called Secret Carpentry) many more of his wood carvings are shown - including another favourite of mine, the 'Murder of Crows' filmed in the making.

His artwork appeals on many different levels - beside the humour, the visual intrigue and emotive trigger, the way he uses found objects is one. He takes old objects and literally carves a new meaning into them.

If you'd like to see more of Maskull's art you can find the full body of his work on his website.

WRAP magazine

via WRAP

The best concept mag I've come across in ages.
An illustration & graphic art magazine that is also wrapping paper!
Hurrah for British inventiveness!

Songs unleashed from woodgrain: Traubeck's record player

I hope you'd  like something to blow your mind this early into the weekend - this piece of art certainly has the groove!

 

via Fiber Space

Listening to slices of wood on a record player is something that the surrealists might have dreamed of back in their heyday. 

Dali would have loved the idea of romancing a lady friend on the lips sofa while the wood-slice record on the gramophone softly plays songs about seasons past as remembered by trees.

I adore this concept - it certainly set the right tone for my weekend. I discovered it on sarapirat's blog. I still get palpitations every time I watch the video - it was a love at first viewing.

Blue Terracotta

Fabric moth by Blue Terracotta

I love the textile insectarium of Blue Terracotta.
She has the hand-stitching bug for making wonderful cloth specimens.
I want this cream moth sitting on my shoulder.