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We took the train to Tampere where we were greeted by Karri Kokko and Katja Matakainen. After a lovely buffet lunch at Heiska ry in Hämeenkyrö we headed to Arteles Creative Center to see Birch Loops, the environmental installation we created while in residence at Arteles in May 2012. We had high hopes that there would be quite a bit of the work still remaining after receiving two photos from an artist who had been at the Center in April. We were stunned to find that most of the work was intact. Even the dead wood that we used to build three rings on the ground wasn't totally decayed and the braids of living saplings still held strong. We had forgotten just how immense the installation actually is. It is impossible to capture the entire installation in one photo. As you enter Birch Loops there are braided arcs over a ring on the ground to the left, then you turn to the right and note that the work keeps going and surrounds you on all sides. If it weren't for the mosquitoes we would have been quite content to stay inside it for quite some time. We are humbled and honored that over the years artists in residence at Arteles have interacted with Birch Loops as a site for their creative work.
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We returned to Tampere where we enjoyed coffee, long discussions and a wonderful dinner prepared by Karri featuring a typical Midsummer cold course of pickled herring, pickled salmon, roe, boiled potatoes and dark bread followed by a warm course of fish, carrots and salad. After a walk along one of the two large lakes of Tampere we enjoyed delicious pine flavored ice cream with strawberries.
In the morning Karri and Katja served as our guides for a walking tour of the very aesthetic city with the Tampere Cathedral as the highlight of the day. The grounds of the Cathedral were ringed with a hedge of manicured oak trees. We ended the day with a stop at a real coffee shop, appropriately named Runo ("poetry") with funky furnishings and artful decorations.
In the morning Karri and Katja served as our guides for a walking tour of the very aesthetic city with the Tampere Cathedral as the highlight of the day. The grounds of the Cathedral were ringed with a hedge of manicured oak trees. We ended the day with a stop at a real coffee shop, appropriately named Runo ("poetry") with funky furnishings and artful decorations.
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