fashionweek-2

I SEE TALL, DARK ART! - TABULALAND

More art posts coming up!
-because we need more art in our lives, more art on our walls, and art should be easily accessible.

Those were the thoughts of two of my friends, comic artist, illustrator and gallerist Aiju Salminen and producer Saara Konttinen, who thus opened up their own gallery. Online. They wanted to make a gallery with art by contemporary artists, a gallery that would not be the kind that you might dread stepping into, but accessible by anyone anywhere and with art that could be described as strange and fun and easy to approach. So Tabulaland was born. I’ve said it before, I love it when I see talented people I know have a great idea and are able to make it happen just the way they want it!

So what to put on my wall then? Let's look at a few different works.

Ilkka Luttinen: Graveyeard, oil on canvas (300x197cm)

Sami Viljanto: What Would George Lazenby Do? Poster.

Suvi Aarnio: Brainwashed. Stichwork.

Katri Sipiläinen: Snall as Blood, water-colour on paper.

Tabulaland is both an online gallery and art store with the occasional real life pop-up exhibition here and there, that exhibits and sells art by both underground artist and already well established ones. The gallery covers pieces from big paintings to sketches and tattoo flash art. Prices in the shop ranges from 20 euros to over 8k, so there is indeed something for everyone.

I don't own any pieces from Tabulaland but I do have the I See tall, Dark Art! -Tabulaland T-shirt made by Aiju.

The store and gallery has been up and running for about two months now and an international version of the site (in English) will be available soon.

In honour of the launch of the international site being just around the corner I have the chance to give away a signed art print of Saara Salmi’s limited edition work done exclusively for Tabulaland; the Revelation of Paula!

To enter the give away visit Tabulaland.com and leave me a comment on this post, telling me which piece from Tabulaland you would like to have on your wall. Or which piece is your favourite - when it comes to art I often find I like many pieces without necessarily being able to picture me having it on my own walls or in the house.

Note that if you do not have a site or account linked trough your signature you must be sure to leave me your contact details so I can readh you.
I will draw the winner randomly on the last of this month; November 30!

(On a side note, my skirt is made by me and the shiny heart shoes are by Frollein von Sofa).

STENCILED

Showgirl by Nadja Mikkilä 2014, 40x50cm, acrylic paint on canvas

My friend Nadja has once more honoured me as motif in her series of stencil paintings.
This one is inspired by images from my Chloris shoot with Asko, who also happens to be her fiancé (yes they are a true power duo!). I appeared in one of Nadja's earlier stencil work last year, which you can see here, for example.

THE ATTEMPTS OF PHOTOGRAPHING A SUN DRESS

I came back from some business in town. And as I for once because of that was somewhat dressed up -it's around +30C here now and I mostly walk around in some old tiny gym shorts and a floppy tie top here on the farm - I thought it was time for an outfit post.

Me: I’m wearing a fancy-schamncy sundress so maybe you could take some blogphotos?

Eddi: Ok sure, why not.

Me: but no no, keep the camera the other way, portrait!

Eddi: Ok

But then one of the cats desperately craved attention.

Me: take some pics anyway, cats equals blogpoints hehe

But then a big maddafakking spider appear along my hem

Eddi: I’m still taking pictures

Me: no, stop, stop!

(The actual photo of me freaking out when noticing it won’t make it here though, as I don’t want to flash my underwear to the whole internet.)

Then Dag dropped the watering can on my foot and I lost a chip of my toe nail at the root (more painful than you’d think).

Eddi: click click

Then Dag also wanted to pose for photos.

But in the end we kind of managed to get pictures of the dress as well.

Which is, if you wonder, an Ivana Helsinki dress.

(And which I, however bubblegum coloured and nice it may be, am thinking of perhaps selling next weekend at our Raspberry Fields second hand market -where YOU should come and shop!)

SHOOTING

Our dance studio sometimes also doubles as an impromptu photography studio.

Some days ago I had a long shoot with Asko Rantanen (who shot in our three a few weeks back :) in some of my stage costumes, the results to be seen at some point later!

Nadja Mikkilä took the backstage shots.

AT THE MOOMIN WORLD

Last week we went to the Moomin valley with Dag!

There are certain things you need to do with your kids as a parent and earlier I thought of some with horror . We took Eddi's older boys to Legoland in 2011 and I was a bit stressed at the thought of thousands of over-enthusiastic and screaming and whinging kids all around., plus endless amounts of holes to pour your money in. But it wasn't all that bad though, rather fun actually, although the thought of one day having to go there again as I would want my own children to experience it too did come with a sigh. But now, as a parent myself I was very much looking forward to our first little summer trip with Dag to go see the Moomins! Dag is such a huge fan and I knew he would be thrilled to go!

And he was thrilled indeed! So much to the extent he was overwhelmed and got extremely shy, almost horrified, to meet his favourite characters in person.

The Moomin valley, or The Moomin World as it is called, is in the little town of Naantali in the southwest of Finland, which is a mere hour and a half away from our farm.

Dag was trying to bathe everywhere and get undressed; we've had a heat wave here for some time and the temperature was around +30C; I don't think I've sweated that much outdoors in ages!

Luckily the place is on an island and there is a beach to head out to. The water has become really warm too so even I went in for a swim!

In the style of Moomin-mama I had packed a picnic with us, with home-made cherry cake. There has been so much cherries this year! I had made ice tea the night before with dried apple and fresh mint that I'd put in the freezer over night. It served as a cooler in the basket until our picnic.

Dag was totally digging the character's show, getting to hear the moomin song live.

(I have a student from Naantali and she told me almost every one has worked at the Moomins at some point of their late teens. On days like this I felt sorry for all of them in their thick suits... )

Most of all Dag wanted to go see Mårran (The Groke) though. Or, to be said like this: *gasping for air* -Mårran! So we scared him for life by actually visiting her. The first time he ran out from the cave screaming, but after some time he wanted to go again. This time safely in the lap of his father but it was apparently a very terrifying experience nonetheless, which he the following days proudly remembered.

Afterwards we took a walk around the town of Naantali. I haven't been there before and had no idea it was such a pretty place.

We had dinner at a restaurant by the sea.

Dag was happy with his new characters, as always organising them in very neat rows in different order, just before he fell asleep, exhausted and happy. He wanted to wear his entrance bracelet for the rest of the entire week.

(Nothing in this post has been sponsored or paid for.)

EXPECTATIONS, BABIES, PLANS AND THE WAY LIFE SOMETIMES GOES

Things don’t always go according to plan but then again that is the way life is!

We managed to get a picture of us sisters, all pregnant equal months apart!

It was a fun situation, the three of us expecting at the same time and I was not sure if we’d manage to meet up before my sister gave birth. But some time ago we did! We took a photo of us, and I am happy we did and like it, although we were not long in that state together. Our triple-pregnancy did not end by a delivery however, but by me miscarrying.

Miscarriage is not something that you talk that much about (over here); many don't want to talk about it, for personal reasons of course, ever say they have had one, some somehow take it as a failure. In general it is seldom mentioned when happened, like it's considered a) too painful and b) not to be seen as too big of a thing as it is rather common in the end. So I though I wouldn't post about this after all, but then again why not, shit happens, and sometimes you get to read about it. The internet however is full of forums discussing the matter (well, it is after all the internet...), and if you are going through, or have had one it's both comforting and terrifying to read those stories. Reading personal stories and not just clinical facts was supporting in some ways- my miscarriage came slowly and without pain at first so it took me a few hopeful days of what if’s before it became inevitably clear to me that it was over. I almost wished for the elevators of The Shining, so I could have known right away, instead of being in a state of not being sure (no one will take you in for a check up if you are not very ill) for days. I was still only in my first trimester and I know it is very common for things to go wrong and you are always taught to be prepared for the worst, which I was. But it is still sad and disappointing anyway. Then again I have had a friend lose her baby half way trough pregnancy and I know people who have had stillborn children. A good friend is battling cancer and children die by the hour in Gaza, for example. And I had an easy pregnancy that resulted in one healthy very happy child that I got to hold right away after he was born. So; I am still to be considered lucky! But while it is good to compare your worries with the rest of the world's in order to get some of that perspective it is also okay for you to put it all into context to your own life; it is okay to feel bad about your own sorrows even though others may have it worse. It is common to lose a pregnancy but it does not happen to everyone. Well, this time it happened to me; us. And I know many who will read this can relate, so that's why it made it here in the end.

In most cases I have always been very forward looking and trying not to dwell on things I can’t do anything about, and I had many days to process this as it went on. Life goes on, it went on already and there will be new chances. Now it almost feels like I was never pregnant again.

And, early last morning it was time for a new person to enter this world (and I got a new title at the same time)- I became an aunt as my sister gave birth to a little boy! It will be so exciting to get to meet him and for Dag to see his little cousin too!

RAIN, THUNDER, AND AFTER

I love a good thunder storm, I've loved them since I was a kid (when it was a moment of scary action). When it arrives during a hot summer day it all suddenly gets so frightening in an exciting way, you need to prepare yourself and put everything outside to shelter. Then it is like someone changes the light setting to "studio"; everything looks unreal, too sharp and too saturated. And then they switch the light and colours off and it begins!

Afterwards everything is back to normal again.

I have been busy working and rehearsing this week (Porvoon Taidetehdas on Saturday in the early evening, "Bubbles" !) and have not been around the internet that much (well, everything is relative) and thus haven't answered any messages or the comments on my previous post although I have read them all, and will!

THE THIN FULL CIRCLE SKIRT

I made this skirt a week or two after Dag was born out of a piece of some leftover fabric, the kind you you can buy by the kilo over at the fabric shop (Eddi refereed to it as "the hipster fabric" at first.). It's a full circle skirt with an elastic waist for easy and comfy wear and of course, with huge pockets for all my small stuff I seem to be carrying around everywhere. As I naturally was bigger all over at that moment it started to feel a bit loose and floppy on after some time and I had then left it at the farm to wait for happier days as whatever-wear. But now with the constant super-sweaty weather and with the limited amount of clothes I've brought along I re-discovered it. The skirt is rather heavenly to wear; light, flowing and cool. And it goes with pretty much any coloured shoes color you could event think of!

(I got some skirt-friendly cooling wind to go along)

Plus, heels and lipstick make so many things a little better!
Alas, it's status changed back into city-skirt.

The shoes are old Vagabonds, and so are the belt and the shirt; old.

CHLORIS

One of my pictures from the shoot in our studio I had with Asko Jonathan some time ago.

The headpiece is the one Fiona Timantti made for me, which you could see her working on earlier this year (in this post). It is part of my flower nymph costume for my Chloris act.

GARDEN LIFE

Oh summer, with those warm summer days that feel like they were endless when you think back on them but in real life went by all too fast!

Summer is not over yet, by far, I hope, but school has started and Eddi's back to work and we've moved our base camp back into the city so the change towards autumn has been made already. Well, those few days when the older boys are not with us we tend to stay out at the farm anyway, but I've noticed the change in nature too - the heatwave is gone and there is something about the wind in the trees that sounds different.

But we had some ver hot and sunny weeks when the outdoors and the indoors blended - doors and windows were open all the time, the temperature around +30C every day. I did a lot of work this summer, but spent some days in between just laying around the garden doing a lot and nothing at the same time.