Year 2013

New year always makes me thoughtful and I look back what I've done and what has happened around me. Here are some highlights this year:
- Me and Asko got engaged last summer :)
(you might have noticed that at some point I started calling Asko my fiancé in my blog)
- I was the maid of honor to my best friend Ulla 
- I sold my first apartment (without a real estate agent!) and now we have a new beautiful almost twice as big home :) For the first time I have my own ateljee now!
- My artwork got published in an artbook!

Those are perhaps the biggest things this year :)
Here are some other things: I became aunt to 3 kids (identical twin boys included), I did my first ever canoo trip, had my first ever dance gig in a bar (bellydance),
I started a new hobby of photographing insects (and abandoned houses), I had a small art gallery and got lots of wonderful feedback, I had some very nice vacations in Estonia and Germany and and and...

The more you think about the the more things come up that have happened last year. These were just a few in my life. Happy New Year!

a few black and white photos

I was browsing through some stuff on my PC and encountered these. A few photos I've taken of Asko. See, I can sort of take pictures too! I like to be in front of the camera aaand behind the camera ;)

Like a haunted house

A few weeks ago me and Asko went to photograph this beautiful old abandoned building. It kind of looks like haunted house from movies. First of all, you can see Askos beautiful photos of the house here (askojonathan.blogspot.com)

My photos you can see below. I used some default camera photo filter for my pics, but sometimes it gives a cheap nice haunted look :D

previous blog entries with interesting abandoned buildings:
http://nadja-art.blogspot.fi/2013/10/forest-house.html
http://nadja-art.blogspot.fi/2013/07/abandoned-places-in-estonia.html
http://nadja-art.blogspot.fi/2012/11/latvia.html

farm life

I recently posted a few old photos of my dad (the boy and the rabbit). Here are a few more wonderful vintage photos of my photogenic dad ;)

Banksy graffiti

The other day I happened to watch the Banksy movie "Exit through the gift shop". Honestly it was one of the best art documentaries I've seen! At first I felt like I want to do some street art right away myself! Then by the end of the movie I felt like I don't want to do any art at all anymore... Real or not real? I don't care, it's just an entertaining funny documentary that also makes you think a lot about about the essence of art. 

Street art has never been my thing, but early 2000 when I studied graphic design in Hamburg, many of my friends were doing it and I was always happy to walk around the city and observe my friends art here and there. In Finland there is surprisingly little street art. I don't think any country has so little street art :( ...but there is some even here, and it always cheers me up if I see something that's skillfully done.

Below is a Banksy graffiti I photographed about a year ago in Hamburg (Karo Viertel). From what I've read the last intact Banksy graffiti in Hamburg was covered with acrylics (link to German article).

Apparently now the graffitti above is already covered up. See a newer photo here. Damn! >:-(

forest house

Ever since visiting Latvia last year (link) I've been a bit obsessed with abandoned old houses. I don't know why I find decaying old buildings so beautiful. Of course I'd wish people would renovate their beautiful old houses...but still...they are just so incredibly beautiful. Kind of like fading flowers. So far the most beautiful abandoned building I've come across was this old church in Estonia, that had trees growing on it!

I know there are a few abandoned houses in Finland too. A few weeks ago me and Asko photographed one house that happens to be closeby. Below are some pics of it. Sometime soon we will seek out more of similar abandoned places in south Finland.

The smaller things in life

Last summer I started out a new hobby of photographing insects and flowers. I have always been fascinated with nature and animals and I even considered studying biology. Long time ago after graduating college I even got a place of study for biology at the Univeristy of Osnabrück in Germany. Back then I wanted to move to the city of Hamburg, so Biology was lost for me. Nowadays I don't regret it much that I skipped biology. It's much more fun to be a hobby insect photographer :P

Anyway, below are some of my photos. These pics were taken in Estonia in Hiiumaa with an old Enna Munchen objective that I purchased at www.kameratori.fi. I'm especially happy about the first photo. It was taken next to the ruined church of Kuri Taevassemineku http://nadja-art.blogspot.fi/2013/07/abandoned-places-in-estonia.html

Six Spot Burnet (a day-flying moth)

Melampyrum nemorosum in swedish this flower is called natt och dag, which means night and day

Yellow Winged Darter ...looks a bit like he's smiling :)

crazy insect lady

Dr.Sketchy - (S)He's Got The Look

Here are some pics of the latest Dr Sketchy event I went to. The theme was He/She's got the look and the model was the fabulous Lola Vanilla/Bent van der Bleu. I had a great time drawing! Me and my glass of wine had so much fun! My drawings didn't turn out much, but I leave the blood, sweat and tears at home and just enjoyed the moment and the very talented model. 

I would greatly advice Dr. Sketchy events to anybody who likes to draw! These events are taking place pretty much all over the world, so seek the one closest to you! :)

Lola Vanilla/Bent van der Bleu - photo by Tuukka Ahonen

Drawing and drinking

photo by Tuukka Ahonen

The hot hosts: Tinker Bell, Pepper Mint and Jackie O´Lantern -
photo by Tuukka Ahonen

http://www.drsketchy.com/
http://www.drsketchy.com/branch/Finland
https://www.facebook.com/drsketchyfinland  

sunset

I don't know for how long I've been photographing sunsets. I don't consider it as my art...it's just that I try to catch the moment. Every sunset is different and beautiful. Here are a few from this summer :) I've been thinking of painting a sunset landscape...but then again, is it too cliché?

Alice Terry drawing

Here's another drawing I haven't posted before. The model is Alice Terry, a famous actress from silent movies. Again I'm thinking that I should do more drawings and small studies like this...

The moon drawing

Today, while cleaning, I found this drawing. I love the art of Alphonse Mucha and this is a copy of his painting "The moon". It's interesting to find something you forgot and apart from that it's even a nice drawing. I definitly need to do more drawings again! I've been telling that to myself a while now ;)

Maybe one day I get to see the Mucha museum. I've seen his work in exhibitions but I definitely want to visit the museum in Prague one day!

  

The boy and the rabbit

Here are some photos of a handsome man. These are real vintage photos and actually the "model" is my dad. My dad said he found the rabbit trapped on potatoe field (?). He then kept it for the summer and when the rabbit was grown he set the rabbit free in the forest.The photographer of these pics is my aunts husband Martti Niskanen. If I recall this right my dad is 17 in these photos. 

Train pin up

Here are two new shots of me by taken by my fiancée Asko. That train is just huuge! 
And yes, I'm again wearing my favorit dress. It's a favorit for a reason ;)

Hiumaa lighthouses

This summer we visited the island of Hiumaa in Estonia. We visited all three lighthouses on the island and climbed them. Below are some pics of the lighthouses. I'm slightly afraid of heights so standing on top of a lighthouse is quite scary and a burst of adrenaline for me. I was especially impressed by the Kõpun lighthouse, which is one of the oldest in Europe. It was build in 1531. The other two lighthouses are beautiful iron lighthouses which were both bought by Czaric Russia from the world exhibition of Paris in 1871.

Abandoned places in Estonia

For some reason I have an affection for abandoned places. Collpasing old beautiful buildings are beautiful and sad at the same time. There a re a lot of these abandoned places in the Baltic countries. Here are two buildings I recently spotted in Estonia. The first one is the Kuri Taevassemineku and the second building is the Ungru Loss.

I found the orthodox church Kuri Taevassemineku especially striking with those trees groving from it. Althought it's just a ruined building I see this place as something surreal and magical. Kind of reminds me in an odd way of Miyazaki movies. The field around the building was filled with butterflies and dragonflies. I also photographed som of those little fellows :) I'll post pics of them later.

Here is some info about the Kuri Taevassemineku and other churches in Hiiumaa: http://www.hiiumaa.ee/page/general/171&g=67&gr=12
and here is some info about the Ungru loss: http://www.mois.ee/english/laane/ungru.shtml

Ungru loss before

Tom of Finland Seura buttons

Recently I had the opportunity to design buttons for the Tom of Finland Seura (tomseura.fi/). I've been a fan of the art of Touko Laaksonen for years. I can't think of any more skilled pencil work really. His style is so unique and has so much importance for the gay community. And yet this super artist is so neglected in Finland :( it has always saddened me that people don't appreciate his art. All they see in it is porn. Yes, there is a lot of that too, but you could label any art into one aspect of it. Picasso can be just childish color splashing and Kandinsky just silly lines... well, art is always up to the viewer. We see different things in the same picture. I see a lot more than porn in the art of Tom of Finland. For me it was an honor to do nice buttons for the organization :)

Helsinki Pride Tom of Finland Seura March 2013

For the first time ever I participated in the Helsinki Pride along with the Tom of Finland Seura. Photographer and rope artist Tinttu Henttonen made some fabulous photos of the event :)