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 :)

Cake and boobs

Me and Asko drink a lot of coffee and we like to drink it somewhere nice. One of our favorit coffee houses is the Petris's Chocolate Room in the beautiful Fiskars Village. The cake and chocolate is super delicious! The best in the world in my opinion ;)

Anyway, I started to do this silly series of me eating cake...you can only see the cake and my boobs in the pic, so it's cake and boobs :P

Midsummer 2013

I just spent midsummer in the countryside at my parents summer cabin. There is a lot of "folklore magic" in midsummer. For example when you pick 7 different flowers and put them under your pillow you will see your future husband in your dreams. I used to do that when I was single and never dreamt anything ;) but picking up flowers is always fun and this midsummer I picked up flowers just for decoration. Eating (excellent food by my mom), sauna, swimming and I read my first Wallander crime book (Mördare utan ansikte). Soon I have a longish vacation so hopefully I'll do a lot of painting! :)

Rope photo

Recently I had a nice project with rope artist and photographer Tinttu Henttonen. Tinttu is a famous rope artist in Finland. She has had a 3 year training in Japan for the art form.Tinttu has seeked out various Japanese bondage masters and had training with them, since obviously such a thing as a bondage school does not exist. Bondage is usually considered a bit of a "dirty" art form. When you think of people in ropes, you think of fetish and hostages. Tinttu uses her art in many different ways: In her photos the ropes are often fashionable accessories with the symbolism that we are all "tied up" to something in life. In her rope artist career Tinttu has worked for several fashion shows and other commercial projects. Among others she has done a unique rope outfit for Lady Gaga together with shoe designer Minna Parikka.

Below is the wonderful result of my photoshoot with Tinttu. I was  a bit afraid of getting tied up for a photo, but in Tinttus knowing hands I felt completely relaxed even though we were in a park with several people around. I had a lot of fun working with Tinttu and felt that we are similar creative minds on this planet :)

photo by Tinttu Henttonen

Links:
www.tinttuhenttonen.com
www.facebook.com/KoysitaiteilijaTinttuHenttunen

Library gallery (2)

Below are some pics of my current library gallery. The Vihti library has a very good gallery area at the main entrance. I have a little guest book there and it's already filled with nice feedback from people :)

Here is a link to my library gallery last winter: http://www.nadja-art.blogspot.fi/2012/12/library-gallery-1.html

News article about library gallery

I currently have an exhibition in my local library. I'm really happy about the possibility to display my art in a library. Art galleries charge rent and profits and the library show is free of charge. I have 18 paintings on display from the years 2010 until 2013. Below is little news article about my gallery :) obviously it's in finnish ;)

Alone (painting)

This is a pretty new painting I have been working on for some months. I never knew when it was finished... I just kept splashing more and more paint on it, until one day I decided that it's a finished piece.... I seem to love painting inexpressible face expressions.

Alone (60cm x 80cm, acrylic paint on canvas, year created: 2013)

detail of the painting "Alone"

Cherry stencil framed

I just got a perfect frame for my "Cherry stencil". I love getting my artwork framed! The end result just  makes each piece so much better. For this painting the slightly exaggerated frame is perfect :) 

Volvo Amazon

Here is Askos "new" car. A Volvo Amazon from 1965. Asko is a Volvo Amazon fan and this is his third Amazon.Obviously we had to take some photos of the new car right away. Asko has a new owl tattoo as well so that one is also visible in the first photo. Actually I realized that the tattoo and the reflection in the car window make a nice combination; a dark forest and a spooky owl. I'd like to say that it is on purpose but it's not :/ just a nice coincidence.

Couple photo

Here is an old couple photo of me and Asko. Taken about 4 years ago :) the wig was my inspiration to go blond ;)

Winter swimming

Last winter I tried out ice hole swimming. I never thought I would do it but since my 8 year old nephew went swimming as well, I could not be a sissy and I had to dip in the ice water too ;) Luckily there was sauna afterwards ;) ...and yes, of course I made somebody take a photo of this unusual event! These kind of things need prove!

cold dip in the ice hole...

...and sauna :)