kiasma, this and that

While in Helsinki we visited the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art and enjoyed an exhibit of video installations by European artists. We specially liked The Trainee, a disquieting yet hilariously absurd situation in an office setting and a caustic political comment on video by Spain's Pilar Albarracin

For me however, the piece was an interactive installation where the viewer composed shapes and movement by acting in front of a light beam and some reflecting glasses which broke them into kaleidoscope shapes. Very apt because i have been working a lot lately with the Kaleider program using it for textile designing and animations.
The video here was shot by my partner who was more attentive to running the camera than my performance :). Guess he's seen a lot of that, LOL. BTW i'm not the guy in the video.

But, as ever the good photos of the building are his
as the architect's eye sees the building and not funky details as i do.

On another note there's excitement in the weaving world as there is an initiative to create a weaving social network along the lines of Ravelry. A hub for us! Read about it here.

neki desu

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a sisyphean task-balance

Balance between the menial and the important, leisure and work, full and empty, wants and needs, thoughts and actions, simplicity and complexity, dharma and adharma.
In other words life.

How to portray balance? Not as a concept embedded in a balanced work, but to give it an iconic presence and make it it visually tangible.

This month's TIF became a living challenge as situations arose and had to be juggled into the available time slots.
The starting idea was walking on a tightrope, then as time went on the idiom to straighten out the kinks came to my mind , perhaps as a result of a very hectic month with not too many hours and too many things to attend.

Finally last weekend everything fell into place, the ideas, the visual stimuli i had had during the holidays and the sense of having some space and time. The studio was waiting for some action and the piece flowed almost effortless.
i think i've succeeded in creating a visually tangible image.

neki desu

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blue bird of happiness

The bluebird of happiness flew over me and brought a new friend. Actually the blue bird was made by her. She gave me this amazing creature which now watches over my sews and my sewing machine. i met Vero and we shared some wine, conversation and laughs.
Thanks, Vero and here's to more times like this !

neki desu

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are these rigid heddles, paddles or what?

Back from Madrid and i have to be grateful, as we flew back the day before the accident. Family issues are more complex than what we expected and as a result i'll be blogging less frequently and studio time will also get cut down.

This interesting and beautiful wooden contraption was located at the National Museum in Helsinki. i am under the impression that it is a 6 end rigid heddlefor weaving bands, but i could be wrong. There is also a different spacing on each side something that leads me to believe those wove the border of the band. It was shown in a case with other rigid heddles and in one of the fascinating textile related rooms.

This other one is a 4 end rigid heddle, methinks. i had never seen anything like these before and had to sneak some photos. Hope broadcasting it here doesn't get me into trouble. Think i've paid my dues as the photos came out blurry and crummy :)

What do you think about these? Are they actually rigid heddle systems? If you have any ideas please leave a comment.

neki desu

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we're back, ravintola!

From the land of design, textiles and architecture. Where people are incredibly warm and the language has 22 letter words, mostly consonants. Where it is sooo relaxing because not only is the city quiet, but also you don't understand a word, so you can concentrate on looking. And everywhere you look there's something verging the exquisite.
Guess where we were?

i took many photos,details mostly and textiles while husband-san went nuts taking architecture photos. Therefore when you look at his photos you can tell where we went.
We visited some of architectural shrines and met others who were doing the pilgrimage too.

We saw some friends and they took us to Hvittrask, the home of Eliel Saarinen and to Porvoo, a beautifully picturesque quaint little town an hour from Helsinki.

Oh yes, that's where we went to.
And by the way ravintola,the only word we understood means restaurant :) :)
More to come soon. For now check my flickr for some photos i took thinking of blogging friends and lots of textiles :).

Be back again next week, as we are heading to Madrid due to family issues.

neki desu