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by Marja-Leena

Happy Halloween

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(photo – EKR)

Tonight is Halloween and all the little boys and girls will be out trick-or-treating. Our granddaughter is coming over to visit a few houses, then help answer the door in her “ghost princess” costume and scare the callers! Little children with their excitement in role play make Halloween special for me, not the whole commercialization of an ancient custom (as I complained a year ago).

Leslee of Third House Party wrote a lovely post, along with fabulous photos, about pumpkins and the annual Pumpkin Festival in the town of Keene, New Hampshire, USA which currently holds the world record for the most lit pumpkins in one location. And Amy of “ever so humble”, also in New Hampshire, defines lanterns.

Finnish readers will enjoy reading Anna Amnell’s posts on the tradition of Halloween and adult Americans’ super early Halloween craze as a form of escapism from the stresses created by a media mix of murders and trivia (“Horrible-Beautiful Breakfast Mix”). She finishes with a link to James Joyce’s The Dead which reveals that for Irish and Anglo Americans Halloween is really about the acceptance of death.

This sounds to me rather like the Day of the Dead in Mexico.

More interesting seasonal links can be found at Samhain, Halloween & Day of the Dead. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

UPDATE Nov.3.05. An interesting article in National Geographic on how Mexicans celebrate Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

October 31, 2005 in Culture, Folk Legends & Myths by Marja-Leena 5 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf

This is the unusual and attention-grabbing title of a new book on Finland, as announced in the aforementioned e-newsletter from Canadian Friends of Finland. The announcement reads:

DEAR FINN OR PART- FINN:

Finland is revealed in a new book by the linguist and Finland friend, Richard D. Lewis:

Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf gives an insight into every aspect of Finland and it’s people, as described by a keen observer of global cultural differences and in particular of the Finns. In relating numerous jokes and humorous stories the book shows the authors enchantment with his subject. Apart from its description of the Finnish people and culture the book provides an introduction to the country’s history and to the factors, geographical and historical, which have shaped the Finnish nature. In a review of the book, Prof. Oiva Saarinen in Finnish American Reporter states: “Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf is a book of many insights – not only about Finland but also of the world beyond…..it provides a highly useful guide for anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of the Finns and how they think, communicate and do business”.

About the author:
Richard Lewis’s fascination with Finland goes back to, when he as a young university graduate, interested in sports, visited the country during the Olympic games in 1952, which were held in Helsinki that year. He met my (U.F.) sportsminded younger cousin, Matt, who invited him to stay and work on his family’s farm. He stayed nearly a year on the farm, learning Finnish (particularily the earthy kind) while working side by side with the farmhands. For a while he explored the rest of Finland teaching English in order to support himself. After a few years in other parts of Europe he came back to Finland to open the first Berlitz school in Helsinki. From then on Lewis developed a cross-cultural expertise and is now head of Richard Lewis Communications, an international company with language schools in 15 countries and with 6 schools in Finland.

Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf, ISBN: 1-931930-18-X, can be ordered through local book stores. (I found it at amazon.ca with a 1 to 2 month shipping time.)

If any of my readers, especially Finns, have read this book, I’d be very pleased to hear opinions of it. Can a non-native really understand another culture and people completely? I was born in Finland, did not live there very long, have visited several times, correspond in Finnish with some relatives, and read about Finland and still continue to learn more about this amazing little country.

October 15, 2005 in Books, Culture, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Finland, Cultural Lone Wolf

by Marja-Leena

Sibelius…the Last Swan

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Images from Jean Sibelius biography site.

Canadian Friends of Finland, Vancouver Chapter, presents:
SIBELIUS…..THE LAST SWAN
A stage play performed by Western Gold Theatre
Saturday October 29, 2005, 2 – 3.30 pm
Scandinavian Community Centre, 6540 Thomas St., Burnaby, B.C.
The one-hour play will be followed by a discussion of the subject.
Admission $ 10, refreshments included

A highly original piece by Don Mowatt and Harri Virtanen, Sibelius….the Last Swan is a documentary play with music about the creative and physical problems overcome by love and courage in the great Finnish composer’s last years.

Don Mowatt was Radio Arts Producer for thirty-four years at CBC, producing over a thousand radio plays and documentaries as well as writing and producing for Ideas, In Performance and The Arts Tonight. He is the recipient of several awards, including two George F. Peabody Medals, the highest broadcast award available. He is one of three co-artistic directors of Western Gold Theatre.

Western Gold Theatre was founded in 1994 by the distinguished Canadian actor and director, Joy Coghill, to establish a community of accomplished senior performing artists. The company aims to produce and present outstanding professional theatre that expands horizons and enriches the lives of mature artists and their audiences. The theatres seminal production was a creative exploration entitled The Dream Project which was the subject of a CBC documentary, The Courage to Dream. The company takes dramatic readings out into the community on a regular basis throughout the year, and has produced and commissioned four major stage plays in recent years for the Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club Theatre and the Belfry Theatre in Victoria.

The cast : Lee Taylor – Sibelius, Doris Chilcott – Aino, Christine Anton – Eva, Don Mowatt – Kajanus

SIDENOTE: This announcement came in an email notice that goes out to members, like myself, of the Vancouver chapter of Canadian Friends of Finland, one of many Nordic organizations that are based at the Scandinavian Community Centre. The Canadian Friends of Finland, Ottawa branch has a good site explaining its mandate and programs.

We saw this play a few years ago at the Centre, found it very moving, enjoyed it tremendously and highly recommend it!

October 15, 2005 in Culture, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric, Music by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Sibelius…the Last Swan

by Marja-Leena

Thanksgiving weekend

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As you may have guessed from my absence here for a few days, we took a little four day holiday over the Thanksgiving weekend. We had a lovely drive, enjoying the gorgeous fall colours and scenes of numerous mountains and valleys. The interior of our beautiful province with its rolling grasslands and sagebrush peppered with pine forests and colourful decideous trees are at their most beautiful this time of year.

We visited our eldest daughter and her partner who had moved to the country east of Kamloops a year ago. One of their neighbours raises llammas and goats, and we met them, fed them and fell in love with the gentle and friendly llamas in particular!

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We also visited a friend from Winnipeg who has retired to Vernon, another gorgeous area located at the north end of the Okanagan valley. He likes the mild climate and doesn’t miss the cold winters of Winnipeg!

Our final visit was to the waterfront home of former neighbours and dear friends who retired to Lac la Hache in the Cariboo region further north. Everywhere we had warm get-togethers with good food, sunshine, nature’s beauty and fresh air. On the way home, we stopped at farmer’s roadside stands for apples, pears, colourful squashes, and homemade raspberry pie.

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I’m slowly trying to catch up with blog reading. I really want to point to a very eloquent and moving post written by Jarrett at Creature of the Shade, notes of thanksgiving for all the wonderful things in Canada on the occasion of our Canadian Thanksgiving. This is particularly special because it comes from an American who recently moved to Vancouver, and whose blog I’ve been reading since then, thanks to Dave’s introduction.

October 12, 2005 in Canada and BC, Culture by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Thanksgiving weekend

by Marja-Leena

thanksgiving

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This weekend Canadians are celebrating Thanksgiving. We’ll be busy enjoying family and friends – will post about it later. In the meantime, read my Thanksgiving post of last year. Have a good weekend and Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians!

October 8, 2005 in Culture by Marja-Leena 1 Comment »

by Marja-Leena

autumnal equinox

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Humans have followed the cycles of the Sun for millennia. Stone circles like this, dating back more than 3,000 years, are aligned to the Solstices and the Equinoxes. From The Electronic Sky.

Here I am taking a little break from working several hours on my images in PhotoShop, wishing I knew some of the more advanced techniques. Bit by bit over time, I’ve progressed in my learning, mostly by trying things out, reading books and the “Help” section and sometimes a few tips from those more knowledgeable.

This evening is the autumnal equinox, in the northern hemisphere, that is. Down Under it’s the vernal equinox. Our nights here are cool, but we’re having gorgeous sunny days. Only a few trees, suffering from drought, are changing colours yet in our balmy Canadian West Coast. I rather hope for a frost to bring out those brilliant colours, but not just yet! Often it comes too late, after the leaves have fallen. In my growing up years in Winnipeg, fall was my favourite time of the year, for after an early frost we’d have a glorious Indian Summer. I have wonderful memories of walking to school through crisp and colourful leaves. Here those leaves are rarely crisp!

Enjoy a look at Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy and especially the QuickTime movie illustrating the tilt of the Earth’s equatorial plane relative to the Sun which is responsible for the seasons.
Happy equinox! Now back to work.

September 22, 2005 in Being an Artist, Culture by Marja-Leena Comments Off on autumnal equinox

by Marja-Leena

New Orleans

Like everyone, I’ve been following the terrible tragedy of New Orleans in news and blogs, feeling deeply but not writing much myself. So many of us who have visited New Orleans have been recalling it, thankful for having had that opportunity, and sad at the loss of all that unique beauty and culture, and horrified at the loss of life and the continuing struggles of the homeless. Others have written far better than I could. I’d like to point to two very meaningful ones by an artist and a writer who both speak of the great culture of that city, that is deeply based on its people.

Artist James W. Bailey blogs about art at Black Cat Bone and lately of course it’s been all about New Orleans where he lived for 20 years. I was particularly moved by the one about the hoodoo culture in New Orleans. (I thought it originally came from Haiti though.)

Author Anne Rice, who was born in New Orleans and has lived there many years, wrote a wonderful article Do you know what it means to lose New Orleans? (via Conscientious). Rice extols the vibrant black culture, but also the Irish, Italian and German immigrants who came in, who all made New Orleans a special home.

Something else was going on in New Orleans. The living was good there. The clock ticked more slowly; people laughed more easily; people kissed; people loved; there was joy.

Which is why so many New Orleanians, black and white, never went north. They didn’t want to leave a place where they felt at home in neighborhoods that dated back centuries; they didn’t want to leave families whose rounds of weddings, births and funerals had become the fabric of their lives. They didn’t want to leave a city where tolerance had always been able to outweigh prejudice, where patience had always been able to outweigh rage. They didn’t want to leave a place that was theirs.”

Do read both articles!

September 4, 2005 in Culture, Current Events by Marja-Leena 5 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

World Myths and Legends in Art

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Detail of birds, Malagan Pole
19th century Papua New Guinea

Myths are stories that explain why the world is the way it is. All cultures have them. Throughout history, artists have been inspired by myths and legends and have given them visual form. Sometimes these works of art are the only surviving record of what particular cultures believed and valued. But even where written records or oral traditions exist, art adds to our understanding of myths and legends.

This is from World Myths and Legends in Art from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, a fascinating online museum type exhibition with a wealth of information.

In the absence of scientific information of any kind, long ago societies all over the world devised creation myths, resurrection myths, and complex systems of supernatural beings, each with specific powers, and stories about their actions. Since people were often isolated from each other, most myths evolved independently, but the various myths are surprisingly similar, in particular creation myths….

As the richness of the myths represented in this collection conveys, myth and falsehood are not synonymous. What is truth to one is fancy to another; however, it is not up to any of us to decide that one community’s mythology is any more or less valid than another’s. Myth is a positive force that unites many cultures rather than divides them. Throughout the world myths provide people with explanations, histories, role models, entertainment, and many other things that enable them to direct their own actions and understand their own surroundings.

You can view the many examples of art by theme or by culture. For example, the story behind the Malagan Pole is a fascinating one (detail above).

September 3, 2005 in Anthropology, Culture, Folk Legends & Myths by Marja-Leena 3 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Holman’s Graphic Art

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Shaman Dances to Northern Lights 1991
Mary K. Okheena
stencil on paper, PWP 1/3 56.3 x 76.1 cm
Collection of The Winnipeg Art Gallery

I’ve been exploring this site with much pleasure: Holman: Forty Years of Graphic Art. Holman is a community located in Arctic Canada that is well-known for its graphic art. The site is based on an exhibition in 2002 of that name at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in Winnipeg, Canada, home to the largest collection of contemporary Inuit art in the Western world. (Back when I was living in Winnipeg in my youth, I saw several Inuit art exhibitions there.)

This excellent site features extensive information about life in Holman. A growing population in Holman and the demise of trapping as a source of income were key factors in the development of the arts and crafts industry. Drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and crafts provide an income for Holman artists. Read about the history of printmaking in Holman and the short biographies of the featured print artists. Note the useful descriptions of printmaking techniques along with the fascinating short videos of some of the artists demonstrating their techniques. Of course, the highlight is the gallery of works. Finally, don’t miss reading the wonderful story of The Blind Boy and the Loon, as an example of their story-telling tradition.

(Thanks to Print Australia, or now called bellebyrd for this great link.)

August 26, 2005 in Culture, Other artists, Printmaking by Marja-Leena 4 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Maori Art in America

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Kaitaka 1999 (detail)
Artist: Te Aue Davis; assisted by Bill Solomon
Photo credit: Norman Heke
Image copyright: Toi Maori Aotearoa

I came across this headline in Google News: “Millions in US tune in to Maori art”  
(25.08.05 in New Zealand Herald)
 
More than 9 million people have been exposed to New Zealand Maori culture and tourism at the recent Maori Art Meets America event in San Francisco. Tourism New Zealand spent $1.5 million preparing the exhibition, which ran for 10 days in the Yerba Buena Centre in central San Francisco this month and will now move on to other sites in the United States. The exhibition, organised in association with Toi Maori Aotearoa, was one of the largest New Zealand-focused events to take place in the United States.

I hadn’t heard anything about this in my blog roams and do wish I’d been there to see it. This exhibition appears fascinating, beginning with a dramatic dawn ceremony of Maori canoes coming in to meet the Ohlone in San Francisco (view slideshow).

I believe the Maori are presently the most organized, recognized and culturally revitalized of all the world’s indigenous people. Art is a tremendously important part of their culture. The site dedicated to this exhibition, Toi Maori, has a lot of interesting articles, photos and additional links. I enjoyed reading about their contemporary art and its evolution:

At the same time as ideas are moving forward, they are also returning. The interest in Maori contemporary art is helping to rekindle the creative energy of past traditions. Fuelled by new technology, the mind-broadening effects of world travel and the freedom to express their opinions, contemporary Maori artists are looking at their tribal histories for inspiration.

Have any readers seen this show? I wonder to which other locations in the USA and perhaps Canada it will be traveling?

August 24, 2005 in Art Exhibitions, Culture by Marja-Leena 1 Comment »

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