Finnabair Art Recipe June 2021 - Canvas

I had started this canvas months and months ago, when I had wanted to give my subconscious a voice to be heard. I mean, sometimes it is quite nice to start a project without having a single thought in your head. Just let your hands pick up materials and have a go. This canvas was the result of those mindful, quiet moments of creativity.

 

I had an empty 30x30cm canvas I picked as the base and started to glue wrinkled cardboard (from a cardboard package) and Moda Tissue Paper randomly on it, using Soft Matte Gel, primed the whole thing with white Heavy Gesso, and added some ornamental dimension in form of Iris Tapestry stencil and Icing Paste White Gold, with a slab of White Sand Texture Paste here and there. And on a whim, added a layer of Impasto Snow White on top of everything, to get a simple background where a hint of golden glimmer shined through.

 

Only then I started to think what to do with the canvas, and simply dived into my endless supply source of driftwood and seashells; our family has (or had, it’s covid time with no travelling right now) a habit to drag at least one luggage full of seashells, sea glass, and driftwood from our travels, so there is way, way more of those than I could ever use, which means, I always use them as part of my embellishments. 

 

 

So, I attached the ones appealing to me right there and then, with Heavy Body Gel, one by one, together with a happy mixture of a broken gear (I had used the large Gear mould with air dry clay, and dropped and broke the largest gear, but it fitted in perfectly here), vintage clock hands, and Finnabair mechanical embellishments with some Melange Art Pebbles.

 

 

Then I painted most over with Heavy Gesso and added a mixture of gesso with Mini and Mega Art Stones here and there, to add more dimension. I still had no idea for the colouring but thought I’d start with Liquid Acrylics, my all-time favourites, thinking about a misty morning in an otherwise empty beach with no sound but those of gentle waves and of seagulls calling, and our family leaving foorprints in the low tide sand, breathing fresh air and memories on the making. With a mist sprayer in one and a brush in the other hand, I started applying colour into the canvas. Only a little, painting a distant echo of that misty morning of my dreams. I used Titanium White, Burnt Sienna, Ink Black, and Prussian Blue. At that point I wasn’t satisfied with the look, and thought I’d continue later.

 

And later it was, by some months, as I simply forgot the whole canvas… I digged it up for this Art Recipe, immediately realizing what was missing: some Gold Metallic Flakes and Light Patina Metallique acrylic paint. And indeed, it did not need anything else, but a softest touch of gold flakes resembling rising sun, and Light Patina blue – which I added only a little here and there, spraying a lot of water to make it blending into the canvas like morning mist gently rolling in the horizon. And the canvas will always remind me of that magical morning in a faraway beach, of the echo of seagulls, of five pair of footsteps in sand and of a happy, contented heart.

Emilia

 

 

 

MATERIALS USED:

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-basics-heavy-gesso-white

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-basics-heavy-body-gel

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-basics-soft-matte-gel

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-finnabair-tissue-paper-moda

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-extravagance-icing-paste-white-gold

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-finnabair-stencil-iris-tapestry

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-ingredients-art-stones-mini

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-ingredients-mega-art-stones

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-finnabair-mould-large-gears

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-extravagance-texture-paste-white-sand-tube

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-extravagance-jewel-effect-paste-golden-dust

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-extravagance-gilding-glue

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-ingredients-metallic-flakes-gold

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-impasto-paint-snow-white

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-liquid-acrylic-ink-black

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-liquid-acrylic-prussian-blue

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-liquid-acrylic-burnt-sienna

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-liquid-acrylic-titanium-white

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-metallique-light-patina

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-metallique-ancient-coin

                                   

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-mechanicals-metal-blooms

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-finnabair-mechanicals-woodland-ferns

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-ingredients-melange-art-pebbles

Rustic Knobs 967130

 

Rustic Gears 963439

 

 

Vintage Style Curiosity Cabinet for Finnabair

 

I’ve wanted to create an old-fashioned curiosity cabinet (or I’d rather say memory box) for years and years, since childhood when I read how Jo March had one in the Little Men. I loved the idea of collecting nature’s treasures, lovingly store them, and carefully taking them out for looking every now and then… 

 

 

I thought that now or never, it really is time to do something about it – and hopefully, to give you some inspiration to create your kind of treasure memory box, now on the brink of summer. There’s still time to search for a cabinet or box of your wishes and then prepare it for the treasures you’ll collect during the coming summer…

 

 

For my own memory box, I have used precious treasures from our family vacations. There are seashells, driftwood and sea glass from Britain and France, even from the Lofoten (which are, by the way, the islands up, up, up in the Arctic in Norway), I have included a ranunculus from Nice flower market and even a vintage rubber stamp found in Nice antique market, a coin I found on my birthday in Copenhagen… There are fossils from Lyme Regis and feathers from the D-Day beaches of Normandy, even one pottery piece from archaeological excavations in Tel Kinrot, Israel, over 3000 years old… Not to mention some lovely vintage buttons I got from my grandmother. You see, you can collect any kind of things that matters to you, and then create your kind of beautiful memory box. It doesn’t look like mine, it doesn’t have the same vintage colouring, but to preserve memories to cherish, that’d be a lovely summer project.

 

It really is an easy project to do, even if you do it my way and distress the box looking vintage. (If you happen to find a real vintage curiosity cabinet, consider yourself lucky and just skip the painting parts and move happily on to the collage making!)

 

 

I had a white, wooden box (originally designed for teabags, I think) measuring 30cm x 30cm, each individual box 7cm, to give you the idea of the size. I wanted it to look vintage, so I cut pieces of vintage book pages for each individual box and attached them with Soft Matte Gel. After drying, I primed the sides with white Heavy Gesso, also giving a light whitewash to the vintage papered background. 

 

 

Because I wanted a light but still really, really distressed and tattered vintage look, I did not left the box without some painting. First, I mixed acrylic paints, Impastos Snow White, Dark Chocolate, and Pitch Black and painted the whole thing, wiping most off with baby wipes but leaving traces of paint and colour especially in the corners. This gave the box a whole new look. But I wanted more, so I then applied a generous amount of Clear Crackle Texture Paste to the box and all its sides and let it dry for several hours.

 

 

After that, I mixed Liquid Acrylic paints Ink Black and Burnt Sienna and did the same I did with the Impastos: painted the whole thing and wiped/dabbed most off with baby wipes. And then the curiosity cabinet / memory box was ready to welcome the actual treasures.

 

 

At this point it’d be maybe wise to stop for a moment and think where you are going to store or keep the curiosity cabinet. You see, if you intend to put it on the wall, you need to arrange your compositions differently from the option of storing it flat. I decided to go for the option of storing it on the wall, so I needed to arrange the compositions keeping in mind they are actually looked not from upwards down, but horizontally.

 

 

For attaching the treasures, I used Heavy Body Gel as I knew it will make the compositions hold fast and last forever. I added (Victorian and Edwardian) vintage laces on some boxes to give a bit more dimension and break the rhythm of vintage book pages clearly showing.

 

I also collected moss, lichen, and dry hay from our garden to use as props. (Please do keep in mind that it might be illegal to take lichen or moss from the woods – you need to check your country’s regulations. In Finland it is illegal to collect moss or lichen still growing without asking permission from the landowner, but it is ok to collect some that is fallen from trees etc. In my case, I asked permission from myself and got an answer that it’d be ok just this once to rip some moss out from our lawn…) My idea was to add some natural elements to complement and underline the general, very natural look of the box and its treasures. I added just a tiny pieces of moss or lichen or hay among the other treasures, and I also used dried flowers a lot (all from our journeys, of course).

 

 

I wanted to add some tiny notes here and there but I am a bit silly in a way (well, yes, in more ways than one, but, you know) that instead of going for the most obvious choice of labeling the items according to the years and places for example (which is, by the way, completely normal and sensible and perhaps the best thing to do), but I wanted to add some poetic notes in there. So, I chose a poem by Emily Dickinson, to underline the whole idea of collecting moments and memories and treasuring them and appreciating them and making most of our lives, and typed it using my vintage typewriter and 200gm paper dyed with strong coffee. 

 

And that was it, really. It is just as easy and straightforward as you make it to be. I tried to show with my own curiosity cabinet that you can add just one fossil or stone or a seashell to one box, or then create a whole composition if you wish, creating true mini art capturing your moments to remember. But the main thing is to enjoy, to walk with your eyes open, to stop and admire, to treasure, to breathe, to see the beauty and wonder all around you, and preserve it.

 

Here’s a link to my tutorial video: https://youtu.be/1_4Lc2sVS6I

Wishing you a beautiful summertime to treasure forever in your memories,

 

Emilia

 

 

MATERIALS USED:

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-basics-heavy-gesso-white

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-basics-soft-matte-gel

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-basics-heavy-body-gel

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-extravagance-texture-paste-clear-crackle

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-impasto-paint-dark-chocolate

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-impasto-paint-pitch-black

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-impasto-paint-snow-white

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-liquid-acrylic-ink-black

 

https://mixedmediaplace.com/prima-art-alchemy-liquid-acrylic-burnt-sienna

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoons

And suddenly, it smells like summer, like sunshine, like happiness.

Two weeks ago, we had snow. Yes. Snow. And no. We don't have normally snow in May. We live in Finland, but actually, this is not the North Pole. (I heard once some people think there are polar bears in Helsinki, and it's quite dangerous to walk there... Well, I lived there for over a decade and did not see any, but - you never know.) 

While we were happily beachcombing in Devon, spring did it's magic here, and now it's all green. I love the bright, happy spring greens of birches, with their silvery white trunks, the bird concerts we hear all day long, the smell of fresh grass. I enjoy looking how our chickens happily peck on. Autumn is my favourite time of year, but spring has a lovely promise in it.

Now, those following me on Instagram, do know we were in the southwest of UK couple of weeks. I feel better there than anywhere else in this world. The seaside really suits me. This time I was really sick, though, having extremely high fever, and it will take some time to get over with it all. But I don't mind. I saw lighthouses, I sat hours in Slapton Sands beach, looking at the waves and cried about the cruelty of human kind. (And kindness, too.) If Slapton Sands and Operation Tiger does not ring any bells, you might like to google it a bit - or maybe not, just WWII things. I have always been a bit of a history geek, and political history was once a thing I knew a lot about, but my brain injury and memory loss took that away too. We collected memories, we collected sea glass, driftwood, fossils...

Normally, after a holiday, people unpack, yawn a bit, maybe take a nap and drink a bit more coffee than usual, load their holiday pictures for the world to see, and that's it. For a chronically ill person, it's a bit different. It takes months to recover, literally. We have been a week home now, and I have been in bed the whole time, and cannot see it changing for a while. It might actually not occur to normal persons, how easy their lives are, because they never have to stop to think about it. They just do, live, and be, end of story. So, I decided to once again tell you about the Spoon Theory, original one here. 

People like me, with rare, chronic illnesses have a very limited amount of energy to use every day. We cannot just overdo, decide that now I will do this and then rest. No, that's for normal people. For us "spoonies" every day means making hard decisions. Everything we do affects to our energy amount. And with everything, I mean, everything. You know the moment in the morning, when you open wake up and open your eyes? You stand up, go to bathroom, maybe take a shower... Oh, wait, hold on! Opening your eyes, it's a huge effort number one. And now we take out the spoons.

Spoonies (chronically ill persons) count their energy in spoons. You have a very limited number of spoons to use every day. All the things you do in a day, means that you use one spoon. And, let's say there are about 15 spoons to use (I feel very generous now, for your sake, because you might not be able to get over the fact that I, for example, have like 5 spoons a day). So, back to the waking up.

Opening your eyes, one spoon. Standing up, one spoon (two in my case). Going to the bathroom, third one. And you didn't even get dressed yet, or brush your teeth, did your make up, or hair... By the way, shower takes at least 3 spoons. So, beginning to get the idea? You have dressed up and used at least 7 of your 15 daily spoons. Oops. Breakfast, then to work, and it's pretty much it. How will you be able to get back to work, without no spoons? Cleaning up the house, cooking, washing? How about hobbies, seeing friends? No chance, whatsoever.

Now, you may start to see my point. Going to a holiday means I must think a whole year ahead how to use my energy/spoons every single day to be able to survive. (With surviving, I mean in my case that I'll be able to breathe the whole time, not getting unconscious in an airport and scaring the hell out of the personnel and not getting to the flight, and luckily be able to speak and walk too.) And afterwards, months of silent days in bed. But it is so worth it. I don't mind seeing friends, shopping, anything, if I am in a good condition enough for a bit of reading, listening to my children, looking out of the window, maybe writing a letter sentence by sentence... 

My point of telling this is not to make you feel sorry or pity for me, I just wanted to tell you some facts about what it is like to live like a spoonie. I consider myself like a winner and champion, I made it! I was on holiday with my family!

Something completely different. It is lovely how, at times we need it, we stumble upon things we need the most. For me, it has been many things. One is Jenny Colgan's books. They have brought me so much joy over the years, her light, happy, reassuring way of telling how one thing ending might not nessessarily mean the whole life is ending. Her books have carried me over some quite dark times, like Leonard Cohen's poems. I have found new music at times, describing just perfectly my feelings. Now, I must admit, I "found" a Finnish band I had never heard before, even though I learnt it is quite popular in Europe. But hey, I am more like a Cecilia Bartoli - Maxim Vengerov - Jacqueline du Pré -kind of girl. Being in bed all day is sometimes a bit, well, boring, so listening to music (when there is spoons for that!!) is a bless. I love to listen to the lyrics, and I only listen to music that have something to say. (Recommendations are always warmly welcomed.) 

This band is called Sunrise Avenue, and although it's a bit far away from my usual opera-arie antique stuff, I love the lyrics. (They sing in English.)  How could I not, when they sing, "hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter". 

Now, I'll show you two example, why I love them. If you have followed me a while, you know immediately, and if not, I'll tell you very shortly: I have been through some quite hard times accepting some parts of my life, like being not able to do my beloved PhD, instead learning how to use electric wheelchair, and it's been a bit rough sometimes. These two lyrics are pure gold to me.

"Nothing Is Over"
 (listen here):

 

Don’t turn away
There’s still time
A tiny moment
Don’t let go today
We can still shine
We are not broken
Scares to see that we are
A step a way
The one to take us
one way wrong way
Say nothing is over
Though everything’s crazy
Be brave and trust me
It’s not a game over
We gotta try harder
You gotta stay with me
There’s nothing we can’t reach
Cause nothing is over
I won’t turn away
Cause I can’t hide
The pain would find me
Don’t send me away
I’m on your side
That’s where I want to be
It seems to me that we are
Just like the rest
We could use a word of guidance
I hate to see that we are
One step away
The one to take us
One way wrong way
Say nothing is over
Though everything’s crazy
Be brave and trust me
It’s not a game over
We gotta try harder
You gotta stay with me
There’s nothing we can’t reach
Cause nothing is over
Say nothing is over
Though everything’s crazy
Be brave and trust me
It’s not a game over
We gotta try harder
You gotta stay with me
There’s nothing we can’t reach
Cause nothing is over
Nothing is over

"You Can Never Be Ready"
(listen here:)

Sometimes
Our hearts get broken
But keep them open
Cause when it comes
You can never be ready

Let it all out
And dive
Deep in
Don’t worry
Go all the way
No fear
Don’t hide
It’s over

You must feel lost
And kind of scared
To let go
Bring all your scars
And jump right in
Here we go

Sometimes
Our hearts get broken
But keep them open
Cause when it comes
You can never be ready
Hold on
You can’t let go now
This is your time
Hold the line
You can never be ready

I’ve been there too
You know
It made
Me hurt
I thought I would die
But hey
Still here
Still breathing

I fell so hard
It messed me up
To the bone
But I’m not scared
No I want more
Here we go

Sometimes
Our hearts get broken
But keep them open
Cause when it comes
You can never be ready
Hold on
You can’t let go now
This is your time
Hold the line
You can never be ready
You can never be ready
You can never be ready
You can never be ready

Sometimes
Our hearts get broken
But keep them open
Here we go

Sometimes
Our hearts get broken
But keep them open
Cause when it comes
You can never be ready
Hold on
You can’t let go now
This is your time
Hold the line
You can never be ready

P.S. Their most listened song is Hollywood Hills, here.

What Matters Most

Thank you for asking how I do, you dear soul. Yes, you. 

I was thinking not one soul reads my blog, and did not bother to write, but there you go. You should never assume anything. Now, where to begin. Winter has definitely became spring. Today sun is shining and my daughter brought me the first flowers of this spring. Tiny, crushed, precious coltsfoot. Always the promise that soon, soon the nature will wake up and there will be so much to admire. But meanwhile the modest yet so gorgeous little sunshine of a flower can have all of our attention and admiration.

There has been highs and lows, its called life. I had some serious thinking too, about social media and being part of it. It seems that what ever one does, someone will always try to crush, hurt, and destroy. I have had my share, in plenty. However, I decided that - as one kind official pointed out while we were sorting some mess other people had kindly arranged for me - those persons must have "life as ugly as hell", and as a theologian I had a very good laugh and had to agree. I decided to concentrate on kindness, beauty, and dignity and let those people have their ugly life all theirs. Life is too precious to spent in bitterness, and I have absolutely no intention to waste my tiny energy amount for anything negative. (Nice example. I had to think for good five minutes what is the word for bitterness. Both in English and in Finnish, I could not get crasp of the feeling and the word.) There are so many things that matter more for me, for which I want to spare my energy.

I have not still managed to find my Finnish. It seems to have gone forever. Doctors and speech therapists have had some interesting moments trying to figure it out. I miss it. Being able to express myself fluently on my own language. I was so very talented and good at it, and it was the one thing that I could still do - write - even though I could not work anymore, or do much else. Now my communication in Finnish is limited to short text messages that takes ages to write and looks like the writer must be five years old, max. But there seems always be something there, waiting for the perfect timing to arrive in to ones life. This time it was journaling and snailmailing.

Did I tell you that in autumn my neurologist told me to start keeping diary and to carry a calendar with me always? That I would need them to practise my memory, or the lack of it. Being a researcher seems to be essential nature of mine even though my brain is supposed to be retired, so I dived deep in the world of journals, diaries, planners, notebooks, and calendars. And was extremely delighted to notice that OMP (my four years old misheard the OMG once, and the saying stuck) I can combine them: a calendar and a diary in one, and also, I could do it myself.

I ordered Midori Traveler's Notebook, passport size wonder of a notebook. It was love at first sight like none before it (except, of course, nothing can ever compete with me seeing the very first time my own custom made violin by the best violinmaker ever, but that was couple of lifetimes ago) and I begun my journey in the new world of journaling. Oh, how I have had beautiful moments with beautiful souls in Instagram, sharing our passion. 

Soon I noticed that there seems to be some kind of connection between the people keeping journals and the exquisite photos of beautifully decorated envelopes, and... Well... Here I was again, like a three years old in a candy store. I just could not help it. Being creative, seeking for the little things in life and enjoying them, and sharing them with others. How come I had not found the world of snailmailing before? I am absolutely certain there is one good reason for it. Loosing my mother tongue and being able to communicate only in English, there is enough reason for many good things to enter my life, don't you think? (For some reason I can't change the color of the text here, sorry it's blue!)

They are very convenient hobbies for me, journaling and snailmailing. Journaling ensures me to memorize things, if only the little ones (that matter the most, in the end) so it is practically a medical treatment for a person like me, isn't it? Snailmailing, on the other hand, for me is a perfect way of being social. I can limit it in doses, have a rest, and then continue chatting with friends, and there is quite a limited amount of noise too, or movement, that fatiques me so quickly if seeing people. 

I happened to stumble upon beautiful lyrics I want to share with you. It's about love, but for me, it's also about life. About the things that matters most.

 What Matters Most

It's not how long we held each others hand
What matters is how well we loved each other
It's not how far we traveled on our way
Of what we found to say
It's not the spring you see, but all the shades of green

It's not how long I held you in my arms
What matters is how sweet the years together
It's not how many summer times we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

It's not how many summer times we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

What matters most is that we loved at all.

-Kenny Rankin- 

About new years and new beginnings - about life

 

I have learnt not to make promises just because year changes from one to another. I have learnt not to make plans just because of a new year. Above all, I have learnt both would be pointless. One cannot plan life. When the year 2016 changed to 2017, we raised a glass, me and my dear husband, and were grateful for all the things 2016 brought to us. Not all things were pleasant, easy, or something we would have chosen to live, experience. But I am certain those things were the ones that made the rest even more dear, precious, and beautiful.

 

A year has 365 days, mostly. It's a lot, when you think about it. At least when you cannot plan your next day. When you don't know if there would be a next day. To celebrate life is to give it a change. Normally we are too busy trying to define, mould or change our life to stop and take a deep breath or three, and listen. Just let it be and become what it should - or should have been long ago, given the chance.

No, I am not talking about making your life one big mindfulness exercise. I am just thinking aloud. My birthday is in January. I have used to changing my age around the same time the Earth gets older. It might lessen the glamour of new beginnings, being a January girl. At the same time, it makes them essential and natural part of my life. And thinking back, about last year... Oh, my.

 

In the New Year 2016 I didn't guess that in two weeks’ time I would lie in a hospital bed wondering if this would be it. I didn't see that I would be told I could never again continue my precious PhD about the Urban Culture in the Early Iron Age Northern Israel and surroundings, because my twisted genes and rare diseases have destroyed my sight, my brain, my body. I totally could have not predicted my ability to speak and write in Finnish would vanish in an overnight, one bright, sunny September day. Nor did I foresee cerebral stroke, well... A lot of things. But. I had no idea I would also enjoy memorable shooting session with Miss Windy Shop, I would design my first Varalusikka jewellery (or that soon later my husband needed to take the responsibility and make Varalusikka to work because I had not strength for it), I would discover that even if I have not strength for painting, I could use my iPhone and "paint" photos and discover a whole new world of Instagram.

You see? It's rather pointless to plan to ahead when your body does not speak the same language as your mind. (In my mind I would be writing my dissertation right now, instead of lying in bed, cannula in my arm and tubes saying drop, drop, and writing to you there -hi- about new years.) But even if your body is not as broken as mine, it might be the same. Carpe diem, they say. I don't. I say, let the moment go, let it be, let it come, and enjoy it as it is. Above all, remember, not all moments in life cannot be lovely pink rose petal dance, but it's worth living anyway. Because it might well be the moment of utter misery that is leading to the lovely pink rose petal dance moment. I want to believe it, anyway.