bikes to Simpsiö - neither bike feels stable on turns or downhills and Paul's rear wheel's hub/gear needs to be replaced as it wobbles constantly and skips chain links any time there is any torque applied - we hiked the "mountain" up to a 9 story observation tower that moved a bit in the wind but provided a nice view of the area.
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.
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.
The events in the courtyard commenced while we worked in the studio and we were "serenaded" by some throbbing, annoying house music apparently designed for exercise routines to provide a driving, incessant beat and little melodic interest. We tried not to be distracted by the very poor and dangerous weight lifting technique the participants were being led in. A bit later a singer/guitarist did a set of pleasant songs. We finished our weaving piece and got some headway on the industrial paper towel panels with altered with twigs, leaves, paper and flour/water "glue". We enjoyed the very warm evening with a bike ride around town.
We finished up the day with weaving and adding the final coat of paint to the papier-mâché heads. For dinner we made our version of Latvian cold beet soup (though we used yogurt because kefir isn't available in the supermarket). And...we had a licorice tasting before bedtime.
We did stop in a Video/Candy store on the way there and found several different varieties of licorice (taste videos to follow). Fortunately Christine had recommended that we drive further through a string of islands to where the road ends, the world heritage site at Svedjehamn.
After lunch of a lovely salmon chowder at the cafe at the end of the road we took a short hike on the nature trail, stopping at the brilliantly designed observation tower to enjoy the views and read about the site. The land was compressed by the weight of the glaciers during the Ice Age and has been rising since. In 2,000 years the land raised the height of the tower and in another 2,000 years will do the same. Without the rising seas of global warming Sweden and Finland would become connected by land. Efforts have been made to reconstruct the old buildings historically utilized for salting herring. We originally set off on a longer loop but the very large mosquitoes made the hike in boggy areas a constant effort at swatting so we decided on the shorter loop.
envisioned paper walls for our installation and also took us to visit the community public cottage outside of town. Inspired by the photos of the deceased factory workers in the Center's chapel we have started building 40 papier-mâché "heads" for the installation.
Two bicycles have been loaned to us. Not the most stable vehicles on the road but we are definitely enjoying them.
Saturday we explored the austere chapel honoring the 40 who died in the 1976 Lapua Ammunition Cartridge Factory explosion then we went to check out the studio spaces available to us at Vanha Paukku. There is a beautiful side storage room upstairs that doesn't meet fire code standards so we can't officially use it. We finished the day with a lovely, very Baltic meal of beet soup, local cheese, pickled herring, and black rye bread.
On Sunday we took advantage of the lovely weather to walk to the Simpsiö Ski Resort and enjoy a lovely hike. As Karri Kokko told us, this area of Finland is known for being flat (and windy) so it is a wonderful surprise to find some decent sized hills. Finland has luscious dandelion flowers, the blossoms are at least 2 inches in diameter. Just as was true when we were in Hämeenkyrö, Paul regrets not being able to harvest them to brew Dandelion/Ginger Trippel Ale. It was great to hike in the trees, rocks and lakes - made us miss backpacking - and we only got a few mosquito bites.
We appreciate the Scandinavian sense of efficiency of design elements - especially in the kitchen - the cupboards above sink have metal grids rather than wood bottoms to allow for draining the dishes. The entire layout of the kitchen workspace is very ergonomically intelligent; Frank and Lillian Gilbreth would be amazed.
At the supermarket we were very happy to find plentiful and cheap root vegetables like beets and potatoes; lovely dark rye breads, local cheeses, and the very rich and creamy Salakis Turkisk Naturell Youghurt that we discovered a few years ago while staying in Hämeenkyrö. Knowing that Finns, while drinking more coffee per capita than any other nationality like their coffee very lightly roasted, we asked Karri for his recommendation and have found a passable brand of French dark roast. We toured the Cultural Centre Vanha Paukku, on the former site of a cartridge factory that exploded when the gunpowder for the bullets stored on the top floor was accidentally ignited, killing 41 mostly female workers that devastated this small town in 1976. The Centre includes a very lovely and austere chapel to honor the dead, museum, gallery, music and art studios, a theater, restaurant, and a beautiful library. The initial attempts to locate potential collaborators have begun. Unfortunately the local theatre company is taking a summer break after next week so we may have many potential collaborators off for holiday.
Karri is in the stop motion video Si, I See, in Assisi and his voice is heard on A Simple Thing. We were fortunate to work with him again in 2012 to create and perform Cagevent: Sometimes it Works, Sometimes it Doesn't. We enjoyed dinner with Karri where he helped Jo install a sim card in her IPhone and coffee the next morning We are hoping to meet up in Tampere later this month and visit our environmental installation Birch Loops to see how much is left/how it has changed in five years.
are happy to have it in a state that we can submit it and be rid of it....unless it is accepted and the editors ask for revisions.
On Wednesday we drove up to Licola and the Alpine National Park. Lovely country with low mountains and valleys. We were frustrated in our attempts to get to the gorge hike as the General Store in Licola was closed so we couldn't refuel (turns out that Licola's population is 9 so the store is only open during the tourist season) and the sign on the gravel road telling us to activate 4-wheel drive now disuaded us from driving the additional 60 km to the trailhead. We did get a hike in, on a trail that was advertised as being not maintained or well marked. An hour and a half up we realized that we weren't going to reach the clearing we thought we could see so we turned around and back to the car, thinking we could stop for lunch in Glenmaggie. But Glenmaggie is only slightly more populous than Licola so there were no services. In Heyfield for gas and a stop at the bakery for pies: tomato and onion and veggie. On Tuesday we drove back to Sale for shopping and to revisit the wetlands. Unfortunately we underestimated how much time shopping would take so, again, our hike was cut short.
volunteered their time and creativity to engage in a dialogic devising based upon Clive's Wish installation, writing haikus, creating and performing movement. We will need to videotape again for close-ups but there was some wonderful material. That afternoon we shared the bottle of Reserve Shiraz that had been given to us for that purpose. We really like these people.
Sunday Jo & I created and performed a work for video in the small playhouse in the garden that Carolyn's daughters once enjoyed. This morning we wrote an exquisite corpse poem based upon the free associated words I gathered from looking at the tiny house. At the same time we were making final edits to an article we are about to submit. Several bicyclists came to the Space to enjoy Clive's open studio, lecture-demonstration about how he sculpts in marble. We were able to catch the end of it after shooting our playhouse video. Meanwhile, Jo continues on her weaving with found objects project and I am collecting sound for my project(s).
miles of uninterrupted sand beach) and trod for 2.5 km. We decided that, while sandy beaches are nice, we much prefer the dramatic coastlines of Oregon and Northern California.
The Entrance is a natural opening that has been fortified by stone and concrete piers into a narrow entrance where the waves crash and churl before being diminished by the current flowing out of the lakes into the ocean. The path back to the pedestrian beach was through vines/shrubs that oftentimes became a tunnel.
The road was very narrow and winding. We had to slow down to avoid hitting a wombat crossing the road. The hike was, again, astounding in its beauty. Ancient Myrtle Beech with long root systems reaching down to the earth were surrounded by tree ferns. We were protected from the misty rain in by the rain forest's canopy. Back to the car, it was clear that the mist was starting to become rain.
We continued down the windy road, almost to where it would widen into pavement where two cars could comfortably pass. But a fallen tree blocked the road and we had to turn around and retrace our steps. When we reached the ridgeline the rain/mist was a vision-obscuring fog. Turning on the defroster in the car only made the windshield fog up more as the wind whipped the trees about. We were very happy to descend out of the cloud and into the valley. We saw a herd of kangaroo grazing in a field to complete our day.
flew into a tree above. Further down the trail we were serenaded by a stunningly varied 20 second song by an unknown bird (lyre bird?) that almost brought us to tears. Driving back I felt much more confident with this left lane nonsense (though I was quite relieved when the semi that was behind me turned off at the quarry).
We stopped at the Narkoojee Winery for tasting and a lovely conversation. We purchased two bottles and Jo, the vintner's wife, gave us a bottle to share with our hosts at Cowwarr Art Space. The only downside is that tasting those wonderful wines spoiled us for the lesser wines we had purchased earlier in Sale.
windshield wipers on the left of the steering wheel rather than the turn signal on the right, it went smoothly (though I do tend to leave too much clearance on the right and not on the left).
After shopping (the favorable exchange rate reduces the sting of high prices for groceries, wine and beer) we went for a too brief walk on the lovely trail system in the Sale Common Wetland. We wanted to stay longer but heeded the warning to not drive at night when fog obscures the vision and kangaroos tend to roam on the road. We woke this morning to the monkey-like call of the kookoobura. Now we understand why the old children's tune about the bird in the gum tree says "laugh kookoobura, laugh kookoobura".
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