Spooky Office

Highlights 51 / 2011

Woohoo! It's been and still is a good, good week! I know I already celebrated finishing the final report for my Turku 2011 -project. BUT this week it was officially accepted and therefore on my behalf the year of cultural capital has come to the END! край! kraj! अंत! pabaiga! enda!

Cup & Pint after gala hours

It's time to pop a bottle of sparkly (at some point...) which is actually something we did last week at the Grande Finale Gala for 2011. But enough about that. If you haven't noticed, it's XMAS! I've been going on and on about it for weeks, cleaning and planning the menu. 

 And of course, when the time is - I've lost the feeling. But what can you expect - it's been raining for weeks now, everything looks brownish grey and ugly and muddy and dark and USCH! Miroslove already said it's not fall, its not winter but this season is called sylvi = in finnish fall is syksy and winter is talvi, so when combined, they become sylvi.

I had to make a second set of ginger bread cookies, 'cause we ate the first one way before christmas. Also my "Not so vaste nature" gingerbread world has experienced some natural selection - the elk has moved beyond, so has the sleazy snail and one of the sailor wise man trio.

Miroslove bought an illuminating shower thing. Unfortunately no music is included automatically, but still - It's a disco for us every day!

This year's gifts were wrapped in a hurry but they look crazy enough! I found those polka dot doileys from a local craft shop by accident!

Oops! These were my present for myself! I've become totally addicted to the webshop Endless and shoes by T.U.K. There are 3 pairs waiting for a debut in a fancy party :)

Maro the dog got a new best friend! He is in love with hand puppets, and every year he gets a new one. This year it is a vole!

And oh! You can't really blame Miroslove for not listening to my desires! This a wall clock I spotted from a webshop and ta-daa, here it is! I was too skimpy to buy it myself but thanks to M we now have it! (btw, it's black underneath the cover plastic)

My brother gave this wonderful design Lula- bowl to Maro - but unfortunately i think he is not too keen on having the lid over :)

One can always count on Andy, when it's time to get in the mood!

We also paid a visit to my parents home in Rauma. Maro the travelling dog tried out a various set of poses along the way.

My mom loves fruits. Every kind of fruits. Plastic and real ones.

Cake number one.

Cake number two (which if tasted would probably had take us on a wild ride back to the 1980´s - cocktail cherries!!!! who uses them as decoration anymore??? and with pineapple slices!!!! no! no ! no!)

 My baking included trying cantuccini - almond cookies from Tuscany. I thought my brother, who lived in Italy for a long time would have appreaciated them, especially 'cause they are the best when dipped into a cup of espresso. But what did I found out?!? He has stopped drinking coffee!!! Oh the decisions people make :/

Here is the dough for traditional bread they make in the archipelago. The ingredients include syrup, malts, rye + wheat flour and sour milk and then you are supposed to bake the bread in the oven for 2 - 3 hours.

 It's the BEST bread I know, but I don't know if it's our oven or my poor skills, but last 3 times I've made it, the cover gets so hard, it's nearly impossible to slice the bread. And still, the insides are a bit raw. Hmph, but I won't let go, 'cause as I said, this bread is mind blowingly tasty!

For the first time I tried also making more or less traditional casseroles - sweet potato and  rutabaga went together very well!

This is definitely my favorite package design at the moment!

I also tried to make fudge. And if you don't mind eating it with a spoon, then it's ok!

I have also made a 3 layer chocolate banana whipped cream dooms day cake for Miroslove and myself. There is no turning back after this.

 Here is the collection of Christmas decoration this and that. Clowns, hedgehogs, inflatable Santa and Santa with veeeery strange eyes.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Highlights 50 / 2011

It's a wrap! is the theme for the week.  It feels like yesterday when I started the Artist as Neighbour-project for the Turku 2011 - European Capital of Culture. But the truth is, that was 27 months ago and now we've come to the end.

At the same time, it is a relief but of course a bit sad too. It means new challenges and taking time to think, what I've done for the past years. You know, next year it'll be the 10th anniversary for me working in the field of socially engaged, site-specific art. 

Weird enough, I'm sort of looking forward being unemployed - something I've been fortunate enough not to experience before. And being unemployed in my case doesn't really mean out of work. 

I'm hoping to concentrate on my other artistic practice - meaning performing and doing some serious embroidery. My current exhibition "The Dance of Death" is now shown at the gallery Å here in Turku, Finland. It also got publicity from Mr. Xstitch, whose doing fabulous things with a needle, thread and world wide web. 

Next February these works in addition to some new stuff, will be shown at galleria Kingi Kongi in Helsinki. It'll be first time for exhibiting in Helsinki - superexciting! 

Here's another wrap by the way. It's my phone cover!!! Cassette! Miroslove bought me a new phone & this cover as a birthday & Christmas present - lovelovelove!! It's all making me annoyingly happy-chirpy-smiley-nervous-crazy and happy again!

After finishing cleaning the house from top to bottom, I rewarded myself with setting up the tree. And buying  a new one - but hey, when one has these wonderful vegetables, what else can you do? Right?

 

And the tree has to be in kitchen! And the other one in the living room.

I've also been buying gifts to my family, but haven't got myself to wrap them yet. It also seems, I've found a few presents for myself...but just a few!

Lovely polka dot cake papers.

Mummi & minä eucalyptus candy dishwash from LeenaElina shop.

Cards by Polkka Jam

More cards by Polkka Jam

Mid-December means also the annual gingerbread "competition" with my friend Petra. Last year I made a freak circus & she a suburban tragedy out of gingerbread. This year I had Avara luonto / The vast nature in my mind, but as it turned out, it's more like crowded nature.

In addition to sleeping, drinking, watching Star Trek (we just bought this) Xmas is perfect time to lure Miroslove into playing some board games & myself to the old school style reading - having an actual book in my hand instead of a screen!

But this is for now - I'll go and see if it has stopped raining...