SPRING FLOWERS

COLORING YOUR WEEKEND

How are you? I have been away from here for a one month. I have had a bit challenging winter and spring so all the energy levels have been a bit low. But luckily now we are living very wishful time of the year. Everything is starting to grow, small little green signs everywhere. Birds are singing beautifully - expecially in the morning. The light is finally back with us. Oh, I've missed it. You have more time to make things in the evenings.

One thing is for sure - garden is waiting for its gardener :) This weekend I'm going to soak my anemone bulps and put them into soil and wish fingers crossed that they grow and we can enjoy beauty of them. Have you ever grown anemones? I've understood that they aren't so easy to grow and they don't survive through winter expecially here in the north where I live. You have to bring them in after summer.

Like garden our home needs to be taken care of. When the first sunny days come in spring you see how dusty and dirty windows you have. The light reveals so many things at your home that something have to be done. So this weekend we must clean the house. I don't like so much cleaning so I need extra boost to begin it. Good music is the answer, I think. A good thing is that after you have made all the things you have to, you can enjoy of clean home and sun. Maybe even have a good cup of coffee in the chilly garden (not to be bothered about that) and listen to beautiful bird song.

Have a beautiful weekend my friend!

xoxo

Kreetta

LOCAL MILK'S FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN VENICE PART III

STYLING 

 

Sometimes it's easy - usually not. Styling a pic, I mean. You really need to work with it and  that's not even enough. You really have to find a good light and think how to crop the frame. Will you go closer or stay a bit further. Can you take a pic straight from the above or can you have nice perspective by photographing it from side with chosen angle. What kind of props and colors you choose. The question list is a long one. 

But it looks so easy when they do it. Beth Kirby from Local Milk and Ginny Branch. I guess there isn't easy way out - I mean if you want to be good at styling you have to work with it. Hours. 

This is my last post of Local Milk's food photography workshop in Venice. Venice is magical place and I love it. The place where we had the workshop was also unbelievable palazzo. Huge windows, antique furniture, walls with reliefs - felt almost I was dreaming. Winter in Venice is also quite adorable. But of course if acqua alta - high water - comes then it's not nice at all.

WHEN I PAINT - I'M FREE

COLOR IS MY POWER

neiti Hattara 2015 (acrylic/145cm x 110cm)

Welcome to exhibition! These are my paintings from autumn 2014 to spring 2015. We made a group exhibition called VÄRIVOIMAA! with our painting class and the exhibition just ended in Herttoniemi sairaala. I decided to show you some of my work because I've been talking about it here in my blog quite a lot. So here we go! The first one is called neiti Hattara (ms Cotton candy, 2015) 

Korento 2015 (acrylic/mixed media/65cm x 63cm)

I have found painting very relaxing and powerful source of strong positive impact. I started about three years ago and before that I thought I couldn't do it. I'm not talented enough. Well some might still think so but I don't. I can and I've noticed that my life is more fullfilled now than before painting.

Hanami 2015 (acrylic/87cm x 68cm)

Hanami is my favorite and it will be on our living room's wall. It took 2 years before it was  ready. It is the longest time I've painted one work. There are many different kind of layers. 

SPRING SPIRIT

BEGINNING

Fresh green.Who can resist it? I am so in love with this spring color. I had to cut a branch from our plum tree and make a photo of it because those cute and delicate flowers doesn''t last long. Today I'm going back to forest and continue the project that I started on this week's Thursday. I found so charming creatures from the forest that I have to photograph them again and this time with real camera. I took iPhone photo of them and you'll find it in my Instagram feed. I think pic of these creatures would be very nice on the wall. What do you think?

Yesterday I was testing also new paints. I painted a cut board. Beautiful paint and what a matt texture! I have a feeling that I will use these painting colors in our workspace kitchen.

Have a happy Sunday!

xo,

Kreetta

Slow Living - Natural Dye vol. 5 - Opening Bundle Jars

I waited for one month. My natural dye bundles in jars were developing. Yesterday I opened the jars. One of the three was succeed. Other ones didn't have enough color in my opinion.

 

If you want to know more about natural dye go and see THE India Flint's work.

I will go to my friend's cottage for this weekend. We are going to mushroom treasure hunting and just relaxing.

I wish you wonderful and colorful weekend!

xo

Kreetta

 

Easy DIY Easter Egg - Dyed With Turmeric

This method is so much faster than my avocado natural dyed eggs. I made this DIY while I was waiting my avocado dyed eggs...This is so simple that you can make these on Easter day and you won't be late with your Easter decoration for your dinner party. All you need is cooked eggs, vinegar, masking tape, pencil, utility knife, cutting board, measuring tape, turmeric and a kettle with warm water....ok, you need more than one or two things, haha. But very basic ones!

Measure the egg's circumference. Use that measurement with masking tape on the cutting board. Draw the pattern. Cut it with the utility knife. Attach the patterns to the egg carefully. Then warm water and add turmeric, 1-2 tablespoons and a bit vinegar. Put eggs to turmeric water. Leave them there for 5-15 minutes. Move eggs time to time. Longer the egg is in the water more the masking tape leaks. The time depends on how deep yellow you want and how sharp pattern. 

Masking tape takes a lot of color too. Take it off.

This is easy way to make quite lovely Easter eggs. You can make these with kids too. I'm sure the kids will enjoy of making them! They don't have to be too perfect, I think...and I just love the yellow I got with turmeric. 

Here you can find a bunch of different kind of Easter egg natural dyeings.

Have a lovely weekend!

xo
Kreetta

ps. I can't wait to get my fingers on my air plants! You'll see!

#coloroftheweek - Inspiring Yellow Lemon

 I got un idea of yellow. Lemon. This is how it turned out to be.

On Friday I had only two things in my mind. I want to rest and I want to photograph lemons. Today I had time to photograph lemons after long breakfast. I like instagram at the moment a lot and this idea is coming from that direction. I'm a newbie in IG. Started there in beginning of this year. But already hooked, haha. Every week I choose a color. Any color in your mind?

Have a lovely Sunday!

xo
Kreetta

It's the color

How could you ever imagine that inside the rotten and wrinkled, you can find such a beautiful colored beans. Nature is just amazing.

Thursday has been full of things - almost too much for me. There are days when in the evening you are not sure what should you think about that day. Like today...today the best thing was to see the work of Nanna Susi. She is one of Finnish contemporary artists.

Slow living - Natural dye vol. 3 - avocado one more time

Yesterday I promised you to blog about my second avocado natural dye try. Well, here is the result of dye. I followed India Flint's tip "try mordanting your cotton in a little dilute ash water - especially if using avocado pits. Alkalis + avocado tend to give reddish colours :) " she left me this comment on my post and I was so happy to get this kind of very kind help from her. And I have to say I got a lot better red. If you want to compare you can find my previous avocado natural dye here. Isn't this result better? I think so. I also kept the fabric longer in dyeing water.

Apples are just perfect at the moment. I've been planning to make baked apples for few weeks now but somehow just haven't done it, haha. Today I will. Now I have to because I told you about it.  Maybe even take a photo of them - then my trilogy of this weekend would be almost perfect...

Have you already tried natural dye?

Have a lovely Sunday !

xo

Kreetta

Photography Concept and Styling - SUNSHINE

I feel everybody is talking about it. It is very fashionable. Have you heard the thing called breaking out of your comfort zone? Well, I have and I did. I decided to make my Photography Concept and Styling post as a video. I made it in one day about one word - sunshine.  I've asked people to give me a word/words that I can use in this post series. This time I got this word from lovely talent Michele Michael from Elephant Ceramics. Thank you Michele!
 

I have had one picture in my head when I've been thinking this word and it has been a picture of fabric in the wind. I don't know why. I made this video yesterday. Showing the video that I produced in so little time isn't easy. But going with the flow and being able to just let it go while you could still continue...well, that is the biggest barrier to conquer. Deadlines comes and goes and so should you also make and then just let it be. It might sound a little bit weird but in reality when you do a lot of creative work you can't get stuck with every one of them.

One thing more about this work. I think it was great word to work with. Not the easiest one but the best one if you like natural light like I do. I love it. It makes you smile and it makes beautiful lightning in photographs and why not in video also. Great inspiration.

This post is one of the Photography Concept and Styling post series that I began to make this year in March. It will be posted once in the month. So if you want to see other posts you find them here. 

You can also leave a comment or e-mail me a word or two if you are interested about this kind of making photography and art. I don't promise I use every word I get in my posts but I'm very happy if you want to participate. You are mentioned when I use your word and before I do, I let you know. 

My e-mail: sendtogretchen(at)gmail(dot)com

I hope you got some inspiration and decided to make something in a way you would never ever absolutely do! I wouldn't make a video without screenplay and some kind of storyboard - but I just did.

xo

Kreetta

Tulips in the garden - color inspiration

Yesterday summer came to Finland. I don't say that it will stay yet but we had a very good beginning! I took few photos in the garden. Love the colors. Hope you do too!

ps. My next post is number 100! I can't believe it...I will celebrate it with a photographic essey.Oops, nope. Haha, I did count wrong - it is 85 at the moment I counted my drafts also...yup. Whatever, there is always a reason to celebrate spring and life!

xo
Kreetta

Fabric Printing

Day 1.

I made two blocks. I used wood block and craft foam. I printed dots in four colours. I printed on used old fabric napkins. First one was the most difficult as always but this is still very easy method...the result should have been better. Maybe one should be more precise...

Tomorrow I will try woodblock printing.

Tein tänään puupalikasta ja softiksesta painomuotin. Tietenkin palloja ja neljää eri väriä sekä kahta eri kokoa. Käytin vain yhtä puupalikkaa - painokuvioita voi tehdä useammalle sivulle ja säästää materiaalia. Painoin vanhoille serveteille ja kangasnenäliinoille. Lopputulos kaikkien värien kohdalla ei ollut ihan priimaa...

Huomenna koverran puusta painomuotin.

Juhlat - Celebration

The most important in celebrating is spend time with your friends and family. What comes with it is just bonus. So relax and enjoy - try to make it easy - do it together. Like Kinfolk people. So beautiful parties and people. They have a splendid manifesto ...and lovely photos. Haven't really read their magazine yet but planning to and of course looked very carefully through their website. 


Here's what I think. It's not about money. Maybe the idea is that everybody takes part...and bring something to eat or for decoration or some good drinks or some good music, nice tablecloths - mix everything and don't care if you don't have everything in perfect harmony. Eclectic - let it be fun! If it feels too dangerous - choose a color and go with it. If color is too boring take a theme. But if these all are seen and done - make a trip to your old childhood photo album. Choose one pic and make your party theme like the feeling you have when you are watching that photo...


Have a lovely celebrations!