Always on the look out for sheep! Here are two I found in Finland.
I didn’t see live sheep but there was an island out in front of our cottage and there were sheep on it. We could hear them baa baaing in the evening.
Wooden sheep carved by Mikael Balt in the 17th century.
Raahe Museum, Raahe, Finland
Riding toy in an abandoned school playground.
Lapaluoto, Finland
Some said this wasn’t a sheep, perhaps a duck or a horse, BUT, I think he looks like a sheep, so a sheep he is!
Have to get out of the studio from time to time… So, yesterday we packed a picnic and headed to the Poconos in PA for a working/Day off.
Our idea of a day off!
Went to Hickory Run State Park – I used to go there many, many years ago with my parents when we lived in a little house with no air conditioning. My dad would pack us all in the car on a hot Saturday with a picnic my mom made and we’d head north for a day of lazing about in the woods. I always wanted to go “down the shore” but my parents were “up the mountains” folk.
Park hasn’t changed much, wasn’t very crowed, esp. on the trails, We hiked “Shades of Death Trail” which was well blazed and we just followed the yellow marks deeper and deeper into the woods, stopping to catch our breath and take pictures. (Upon hearing the name of the trail, my friend, Sally, asked if I was hiking with Harry Potter!)
Deep in the forest.
There were several old dams which had been built many years ago by loggers. This was the highest.
Pocono Mountain Laurel
I was surprised that the Mountain Laurel were still in bloom but a ranger said they were late this year. PA has wonderful Laurel all through out the woods, usually in June but here they were in full glory. This trail while not too long was very rocky, up and down along cliffs above a creek. I later read in a brochure that it was “the most difficult”. How come I never stop and read these things before I leave my hiking stick in the car? This was a trip worthy of my cousin Stig! But it was so beautiful. At one point it opens out a bit and goes through tunnels of Laurel. There were iridescent dragon flies, birds and butterflies, moss looked like velvet and Indian pipes and mushrooms.
Rocky Heart
One the way back I saw this rusty color heart in the rock and it made me smile.
Back from a most fantastic print workshop. It was in northern Finland, taught by Shelley Thorstensen of Printmakers Open Forum in PA and Juha Laasko and Raija Korppila of Grafiikanpaja Aava. I learned so much and am happy with the work I did in the time I had.
Quite a group —in front of the print shop
I met many great new friends and we were so welcomed by the townspeople—from bringing us special local meals to arranging a tour of the old part of the nearby town of Raahe and even a performance by The Georgies.
Our cottage on the Bay of Bothnia near the Arctic Circle
Most of us stayed in a little red cottage right on the Gulf of Bothnia. It had a sauna and Max made us wonderful meals. It was a short walk up a hill and across some train tracks, past an old boat named Miina, to the edge of the town of Lapaluoto and the magical print shop of Grafiikanpaja Aava—House of Printmaking.
Houses are painted the most wonderful colors.
Designed for two printmakers, Raija and Juha, it managed to accommodate 9 students and 3 instructors all working on different projects—preparing plates, exposing film, inking plates, and printing work. We worked from 9:00 in the morning to late at night (the sun doesn’t set in this part of Finland at this time of year).
This press was very busy this week!
We only had internet connection at the print shop so each morning we would arrive early and sit outside at our own internet cafe connecting with the world. Facebook friends were probably sick of hearing about our trip but we were on such a high we couldn’t help our selves.
I concentrated on learning photo etching using ImagOn, a non toxic method and feel I got 4 good prints, each with an small edition of 2 or 3. (They can be seen on this site on the works on paper page.)
It was a long way to travel for a week long workshop but I would do it again in a second! In addition to my print work I have files of photographs and thoughts and ideas to keep me busy for a very long time. I worked so hard, was so encouraged, and returned with my head spinning.
Trees and wildflowers across from the print shop
One of my favorite memories involved selecting the wet paper to print on. There is a long porch in front of the print shop and a table was set up to hold the paper which was weighted down and wrapped in plastic to keep it moist. I would be out side by myself, opening the pack and glance across the street where there were birch trees and wild flowers, lit by late afternoon sun—only it was late evening and realize, “OMG, I’m printing in Finland!”
Got to Helsinki late and tired and so looking forward to a hot shower and good nights sleep!
This image was taken about 10:30 from the elevator in my hotel.
One more flight to Oulu and then the fun begins!
24hours of Daylight
Very excited- heading to northern Finland near the Arctic Circle for a print making class, Priint the Midnight Sun, taught by Shelley Thorstensen of Printmakers Open Forum in PA and Juha Laasko and Raija Korppila of Grafiikanpaja Aava in Finland.
Reasons I’m excited: 1. I always wanted to take a workshop with Shelley, 2. I’ve never been to Finland or this far north and 3. It will be over the Summer Solstice and it will be daylight for 24 hrs. (May have to sleep all day in order to see it…)
However, they are having an unusual cool spell and the highs will be in the 50’s and 40’s at night. Hard to pack for that when it’s in the 80’s and 90’s here.
I love the process of taking an image, developing it further and then turning into a repeat pattern. I want both the original design and the repeat pattern to each be complete in themselves but not necessarily have the same feelings.
“Original image for trees”
The original design is a combination of a photograph of trees along the road and hand drawn trees. It was worked into a repeat with strong geometrics.
“Trees design in repeat”
