Marja-Leena Rathje

on printworks and other passions
  • About
  • Gallery
  • Contact
  • Exhibitions
  • Home

PRINTWORKS

  • Hands
  • Fragments
  • Arkeo
  • Silent Messengers
  • Nexus
  • Paths
  • Meta-morphosis
  • Dreams
  • Veils Suite
  • Older Works

PHOTOWORKS

  • Found Objects
  • Human
  • Nature
  • Rocks
  • Textures
  • Urban

RSS Feeds

  • RSS - Posts

Blog

Search Results

Next Entries →
by Marja-Leena

Good Friday

2:40 pm in Culture, Home by Marja-Leena

magnolia2010.jpg

‘Tis the Easter long weekend. Though this year spring is about a month early, it’s been more like winter the past week or more, with cold rain and windstorms and lots of snow on the mountains. Instead of outdoor activities, we are doing our annual income taxes.

pinkCamellia2010.jpg

These photos of the magnolias and camellias were taken during a dry break about a week ago as proof of spring’s presence in our garden (compare to last year). Below is a heavily scented jasmine, indoors.

jasmine2010.jpg

We are missing doing an easter egg hunt with our young granddaughters who are living so far away in the UK.

easterBasket2010.jpg

Hauskaa Pääsiäistä, Joyeuses Pâques, Frohes Ostern, Happy Easter! Hope you are enjoying a sunny long weekend wherever you are, dearest readers.

10 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

special long weekend

11:53 am in Culture, Home by Marja-Leena

eastereggs08.jpg

Yesterday came the spring equinox
Last night the full Lenten moon, (did you keep me awake, Moon?)
Today son-in-law J’s birthday, a make-your-own-pizza party! and cake!
Sunday is Easter, so early this year
An egg hunt for the granddaughters and brunch for everyone
May your weekend be a happy one, however you spend it!

(P.S. These eggs were decorated by our daughter Erika. Check out the photos and links in my Easter 2006 post.)

14 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

February flowers

9:05 pm in Canada and BC, Culture, Current Events by Marja-Leena

HelleboreDetail2013.jpg

hellebore2013.jpg

galanthus2013.jpg

crocus2013.jpg

primula2013.jpg

Our typical westcoast warming blanket of cloud cleared overnight bringing us some pretty though short-lived frost. Today’s too rare sunshine was a gift though the vision of bright white snow on the mountain tops reminded us that it still is winter higher up and we are not immune to a late snowfall lower down. It’s been relatively mild, maybe average at sea level this season. The first harbingers of spring, the snowdrops, have been out for a while, now joined by the hellebore and potted primulas, admittedly protected next to the house. A few early yellow crocus flowers appeared a few days ago which often don’t come until about the end of the month.

Meanwhile, we’ve been following the news of terrific blizzards in eastern Canada and northeast USA. Such lovely photos of snow yet such difficulties when there’s too much at once. I hope you are all safe and warm! I grew up in cold snowy places the first 27 years of my life and have not forgotten what it is like. May these images of flowers give you hope that spring is around the corner. I know we are lucky to have ended up living here.

Tonight is the start of the Asian New Year celebrations including in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Tomorrow is British Columbia’s first Family Day holiday, a much-needed one to break that long period between Christmas and Easter. In Finland schools have a ski week holiday this month. Valentine’s or Friendship Day is coming too. Tomorrow is also another birthday for yours truly, and my husband’s is at the end of the month. A good month, in my books!

13 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

lost & found

10:22 pm in Found Objects, Photoworks, Textures by Marja-Leena

FoundWrenchB.jpg

FoundWrenchA.jpg

It’s been a most glorious Easter weekend weatherwise and we really have deserved it. Over just these few days I have been astonished by the huge burst of new growth, of fresh green leaves on shrubs and the magnolia buds now revealing their fat white tips above their grey furry sheaths. I’ve been truly enjoying puttering about in the garden. You say you want to see more flower photos?

Oh, but the amateur archaeologist in me was quite tickled to find this strange rust and dirt encrusted metal object when cleaning leaves along the back fence. I wonder what it is*, how long it’s been there, and who lost it? Anyway, I’ve had fun scanning it and adding it to my collection of images of strange and often rusty found objects, such as this one and another one.

*Husband tells me it is a bike wrench.

15 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

first week of April

4:48 pm in Photography by Marja-Leena

a week of hail, snow, night frost, warmth, sunshine, cloud, light rain…

hail.jpg

last Sunday afternoon’s hail

magnoliabuds.jpg

darling buds of magnolia

bridalveil.jpg

freshest green bridal veil

blackcurrant.jpg

heavenly scent of blackcurrant leaves
happy easter weekend to all!

7 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

a little ennui

11:12 am in Canada and BC, Home by Marja-Leena

palepinkcamellia2011.jpg

camelliacarpet.jpg

pinkcamellia2011.jpg

May I blame our cold, wet late spring for a little blog and personal ennui? I have many things I’ve wished to write but haven’t felt the energy. The recent sunnier days have given me incentive to get outdoors to make a tiny dent into the always daunting list of spring garden jobs but to the neglect of this blog. Photos are a copout in those times so here are a few shots taken over a week ago, on a cloudy but dry day. It feels good to add some colour to these pages. The pale pink is the first of my several camellia shrubs to bloom, usually in January, but this year about two months late and now leaving a carpet beneath. Then comes the white (also finishing), the medium pink is opening, and last is the red, yet to come.

Well, sunshine beckons me outdoors, I need some colour on my cheeks too! I hope for an easing of the cold winds coming off the snow topped mountains which have been continuing to get more snow and even reopened for spring skiing. It is the week leading up to Easter, also late this year. May yours be sunny, warm and bright.

23 Comments »

Next Entries →

RECENTLY

  • New Year’s Eve 2016
  • Season’s Greetings
  • November already
  • this summer’s moth
  • Michiko Suzuki: Hope Chests
  • hand with Easter eggs
  • for Women’s Day

THEMES

  • Anthropology
  • Art Exhibitions
  • Art Institute (Printmaking)
  • Being an Artist
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • Canada and BC
  • Care of Art Works
  • Concepts
  • Culture
  • Current Events
  • Digital printmaking
  • Drawings
  • Environment
  • Ethnicity
  • Films
  • Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric
  • Folk Legends & Myths
  • History
  • Home
  • Linguistics
  • Modern Rock Art
  • Music
  • Neat stuff
  • Other artists
  • Photography
  • Print Triennials
  • Printmaking
  • Rock Art & Archaeology
  • Tools and technology
  • Travel

© Marja-Leena Rathje 2004-2023