On the last week of August me and Aggie teached a week-long workshop for the 3rd year animation students in Sörängen's Folkhögskola, Sweden. It was a creative kick-off week, aiming to offer various approaches to animated film making as the students were about to start their own film projects.
We experimented on architypes, script structures, drawing the rhythm, simplifying the character, unexpected in-betweens and making one's own brush from materials found from nature, for example.
It's always a pleasure to visit Sörängen and get a glimpse of kind of an "ideal" world. With nature, beautiful houses, good food, decent coffee breaks, friendly people, art and a goal of offering education for everyone.
These drawings present visiting teachers on their free time after the school days.
This summer there were many days that I sat on the park bench for a long time. This tree I was facing often. Watercolor is always a gamble and this time I didn't win - have to keep practicing.
Lately I've been invited for several online interviews. One was due to my residency in Vienna, two thanks to Nun or Never! being
shown in Mubi at the moment.
This is flattering of course. Now people will REALLY know what a deep, humorous person I am! This is the mindset with what it starts... But not always ends.
All the interviews were executed by email which has its good and bad sides. Good side: I can think about my answer in peace and take time to form it. Bad side: Exactly the same.
Even though it takes eternity for me to write the answers, I admire the effort and thought the interviewers have put to their
questions. Also big respect to the graphic designers. These people actually managed to make my work look nice.
Here are links for the interviews.
Waltraud Grausgruber interviewed me to the MQ website as part of my Tricky Women residency in Vienna.
Turkish creative studio Ait Istanbul interviewed me to their website.
And a Dutch writer Ruth Van de steene interviewed me to her series Ruth and the beautiful makers.
Repearing the bitter memory from 6 years ago, this time I DID get the ticket to the main concert of Estonian Song Celebration - it was touching, grand, fun, sad and great. These drawings look rather like a fanatic nationalist football match but I swear, the feeling was something else. Also I took the chance to wear Hämeenpuku, Finnish National Costume from Häme - last time I wore one was when I was 4 years old.
I only drew these two shaky pictures there but visiting Weina and Andy's garden was one of the core experiences of the period in Vienna. After the first visit which included admiring plants, recognising the tiny grape babies and blooming wild strawberries (note to my Nordic self: this was in April!), raking in the sun, grilling in the thunderstorm, walking in the green corridor down the hill and enjoying local wine & grapejuice & pancakes & kaiserschmann & good company in the tavern of the village, I said: This has been the best day in 10 years. I meant it. It was a perfect day.
Young aunties in Toompark with "Look at these assholes" attitude.
I re-watched Darjeeling Limited recently and it' still very dear to me. Partly due to the memories (I went to see it in the cinema twice, first time during my applying exams to Turku Arts Academy and second time with a dear friend) but partly, I like to think, because there's some brilliance in this film.
I made the poster for Etno Pop 2025. It's annual summer event with live music and some program for the whole family, organized by Pop Up Yhdistys Lapinjärvi Lapptärsk ry and other local organizations.
This antropomorphic flower thing is something I grew fond of in Vienna (maybe due to all the ornaments around) and I continued it in this one. This is very international poster - it has been edited in following places: Vienna, Bratislava-Vienna train, café near Warszaw train station, and in the bus Vilnius-Tallinn.
It was nice that the organizers liked the small fauna on the picture. When I had accidentally hidden the rain worm layer from one version,
they demanded: "Bring the rain worm back!"
Taking myself to a much needed walk to Ottakring forest.
It feels - - - - to be back. Same same different, as goes the old Japanese saying. Sander put his nose in from our studio door and asked if I will write a blog report from my Vienna experience. Well, maybe I will! Stay tuned!
Greetings from Vienna. (This blog has no language logic whatsoever!) I have reconnected with ink, this wonderful thing. Interesting that sometimes it takes so little to feel excited about drawing again. Every line and every "mistake" made feels suddenly so ARTISTIC.
Vienna is full of cultural possibilities (and let's be honest, possibilities to waste one's money) but so far I have managed to stay out of most. Perhaps to an extent that it's little bit embarrassing to just stay home. But it's a very nice, and not too common feeling to feel actively creative and curious towards my own practice. Lately, back at home, I haven't felt creative either at home, or studio. I want to enjoy this feeling as long as it lasts.
In the afterwaves of the Tricky Women festival, I googled what early flowers attract pollinators and bought some to my terrace. Now it got suddenly colder and the pearl lilies are doing fine, but the primroses and forget-me-nots I lift inside every night.
I was sick for some time and now happy to be feeling better every day. Happy to be getting my taste buds back. I have cooked: Lemony lentil soup from my head, and tofu and rice following heavily simplified version of this receipe.
There is a strong contradiction between this serenity, the sun shining in from the windows, decorative chocolate lambs in old cafés and small inky characters on the working table to what people are doing to each other, to the weaker, to this planet. Every day destruction continues, comes closer. I don't often succeed, but I try to take care of others, live carefully, protect what I can.
Teaching has started. Autoritarians are taking over, Meta is becoming unbearable, nazis are normalized. I have started to read more, maybe hoping it will be useful if I will need my brain again at some point.
