Uralic artist who blogs about art, culture, nature, dharma and love for photography. Welcome!
Emotions make us act and feel in strange ways
But the real you remains unchanged
Experiences and challenges shape us, like pots of clay on a spinning table
Still, the real you remains untouched
Illness, pain and grief chip away our vital energy
Even so, the real you remains ever so vibrant
Death arrives, entering without knocking
Yet, the real you remains.
A poem I wrote today, while contemplating impermanence. ❤️
“People wearing their national dresses symbolise unity. A research conducted on this subject showed that youngsters wearing traditional clothes, irrespective of western pressure, had fewer behavioural and emotional problems. The reason being that they are in touch with their ancestral culture, religion and traditions and thus not confused about their identity or who they are.” Makes sense to me; feeling like you belong and have a community is very important. Nowadays, I think many of us feel a part of many different groups, because we live in a globalised world, and clothing can be changed, thus changing your identity. Maybe that makes our traditional and national dresses even more special? ❤
Here is the link to the study for anyone interested. It also sheds a light on the dangers of not allowing indigenous peoples to use and wear their own clothings, as we have seen happen all over the world.
Both Sámis and Khantys are Uralic peoples.
December went by fast, only a week left of 2021. Today is Christmas eve, and we get to celebrate it with fresh snow, but most importantly; with our son, whose first Christmas it is. Wishing you all a peaceful and magical time, with lots of rest and good meals. Xx
Acrylic on mixed media paper, A4
❤💙
When the Sun goes down in the Arctic, we need to get our vitamins from the fish oil. It is essential during the Polar night 🐟🌬
Acrylic on mixed media paper, A4. Illustration made for a Nenets writer friend of mine. Copyright Monica Olivia Art 🎨🙏🏻
This is the “place” I went to in my imagination before and during giving birth. It was cold and silent, and this is where I could go in my mind to gather strength and breathe fresh crisp air. I could also clearly see our son there the whole time, sitting close by, waiting to be born 💙🧡
This is # 1 of 6 in a small series I plan to make, all same size.
Being a mama has really opened my heart, not just for our child, but for all children. I have always loved the little new humans obviously, but being a parent takes it to another level somehow. Truly an automatic bodhicitta practice; infinite love and boundless compassion – our true nature.
Here are some beautiful motherhood art pieces I really like. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 🥰
How has motherhood changed you? Has it opened your heart (more)?
For the past 11 years or so, I have been teaching myself how to relax and be calm.
I have always been quite a worried person, so I feel I had to learn this in order to simply have a better life with more control. I still sometimes forget how to, but each time I remember, I do the following:
An easy quick way to instantly relax the mind and muscles, causing bloodflow to spread more evenly in the body, is to do three things simultanously: relax the jaw and eyes completely, breathe deeply into belly for at least 8 breaths and move the inner gaze/attention to the feet or ground below. Get a sense of the Earth. Notice the effect.
Another way, if you have the oppotunity, is to lay down flat, do the same with jaw and eyes, and to focus on the in and out breaths in the belly. Take deep slow breaths. Imagine them as waves ebbing on the shore.
And lastly, going into nature of course has a calming effect too, even just for 10 minutes. If you cannot go outside, perhaps painting or drawing nature is an idea.
Hope this helps! I truly believe knowing how to relax and calm our selves is an important skill. Getting carried away by the storm can be both painful and result in regrets.
God påske 🐣
Was so lucky to receive this traditional Sámi bracelet from my partner’s mum as a gift “for giving her the greatest gift” (our son, her grandson) 🖤
It is made from black leather, reindeer antler button and decoration, and the braids are traditional tinwire used in duodji/daidda. It is made by @tinntraadfruen on instagram if you want to see her work 💫
What was a gift you received that had a nice meaning behind it?
How is/was your March? 💛
The copper coloured mountain is also known as Zangdok Palri; Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava’s non-physical pure land.
“An amateur (literally means ‘lover [of something]’) is generally considered a person who persues a particular activity or field of study independently from their source of income/does not persue it professionally or with an eye to gain.” 🎨
#amare #amateur #amour ❤
Be more of an amateur this year ✨
First painting of the year finished!🌟🌟🌟
Visited the beach in Sandvika twice in oct and nov before polar night; once to take the photograph and once to try and paint outdoors, but it started raining so finished it finally now in the first day of January 😁
Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 cm 🌅
Colours used: blue, yellow, orange, purple, gold and white. Varnished with waterproof UV protection spray.
“Art is for everyone” 💜🧡💛💚🎨
One of my paintings inspired by the icy landscape:
Kjøpte noen kjempesøte små trehjerter på Flying Tiger for en ukes tid siden. De er vel egentlig for å bruke som gavelapper, men de funker også tydeligvis bra til å male på 😁🙌🏻🎨🎄❄
Come see my little exhibition of 13 paintings at Magic Ice Tromsø ❄ Most paintings are for sale 🙏🏻 They also have the cosiest tiny coffee place there, an impressive ice sculpture gallery by Lithuanian artists and a cocktail bar – all ice, even the glasses ☃️🥂🌌
This leaf survived in my bag for weeks, on planes and buses (from some travels in february, I hope to find time to share some photos with you soon!) Only a bit broken in the edges 💜💙💚 Turned out great as canvas for a little landscape painting🎨🍁
Wishing all a lovely end of autumn 🍂🍁
Liker å pynte stua med egne maleri 💙🧡💛💜 #myart
Some things I truly believe are yours to keep, that no one can take from you:
Your spiritual practice. In my case, it is vajrayana buddhism. It has saved my life in many ways – both in dealing with chronic illness, but also the normal existential stuff like finding purpose and joy 🙂🙏🏼📿
Your ambitions and dreams (if they come from a place of pure motivation and love). In my case now, it has been starting a little family with children 💜🤱
Your ethnicity and ancestry, no matter how lost or scattered it is in this modern world. In my case from my personal experience, I feel very connected to my home in the Arctic and being uralic/finno-ugric. I didn’t as a kid and teenager, at all, but now as I am older, I feel like I can “own” it more. I don’t speak any of the uralic languages, and feel a sadness about this. A disconnection from my own culture. And a feeling of not belonging to a community, when they can’t speak to me. I hope my son will not feel as disconnected. But I have found other ways to express this – primarily through art and duodji. Not all languages are of verbal nature, but are equally important, I think. 🎨
Your creativity. Not necessarily arts, but anything you find a solution to that involves stepping out of the habitual intellectual mind and into a state of spontaneity and flow.🌊
Your struggles. This sounds negative, but for me I mean that my struggles are valid. I have a body that has its big share of physical problems, and I don’t mean to whine. At all! 🙂 Just to express that this is my reality, and that chronic (perhaps invisible to others) illness can happen to anyone, any time in life.💙
Your love. This one sounds cheesy but I think we all can feel love and that we have love as a basic human need. To receive it and give it. And we all have different ways of showing it. I like giving gifts for example.. but am not so good verbally expressing how I feel. I like receiving kind loving deeds, but not to be smothered. So understanding how we show it differently is important too. I also believe that as humans we have the capacity to love many at the same time. Whether it is friends or partners, plural. Romantic, familial or platonic.❤
Akryl, 24 x 32 cm, mixed media papir 🌖
Farga brukt: blå, hvit, lilla, rosa, rød, gul 🎨
Ei jeg ‘jobba’ med på Turbo Tromsø hadde lyst å tegne meg digitalt etter et bilde tatt av meg. Sa så klart ja! Og ble kjempesmigra ☺ Tusen takk!🖤
Did you know there is a reason why orange+blue and yellow+purple work together so well? 🧡💙💛💜 They are considered complementary colours! “Complementary colours are pairs of colours which, when combined or mixed, cancel each other out by producing a grayscale colour like white or black. When placed next to each other, they create the strongest contrast for those two colors. Complementary colours may also be called ‘opposite colours’.”
60 x 50 cm, acrylic on canvas with matte varnish 💙 No title yet 🙂
Had some gorgeous light today, perfect for some photography and filming 😉 #staytuned
☀️🍁🍂🌊
Painting from my photograph 🍂🍁🌅
Spent so much time in this place by the ocean 🌊 Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 18 cm
Resharing this one for autumn purposes 😊🧡🍂
20 x 40 cm, acrylic 🍁
Not for sale 🙏🏼
How is autumn where you live?
Very small and cute painting framed in a 10 x 15 cm frame. This little painting took me ten minutes to make, I wanted to make it without thinking too much; just go with the brushstrokes 🌬🧡🍂
“During the fall, if a polar bear is pregnant, she digs a den into a snow drift. She then climbs into the hole and stays there to give birth and care for her cubs for the first few months of their life. She and her cubs will not emerge from the den until the spring. Male bears and non-pregnant females continue to roam and feed throughout the winter.”
One of the absolute top animals on my list I wish to see in my lifetime.. Guess I need to head up to Svalbard for that!
Happy to be back to painting since rearranging the flat. It’s been a mess for months, but now it’s starting to look and feel much better and I got my work/painting/crafts station back!🙌🏻🎨🌼
Tenker at maleri er små vindu til andre verdener 🎨
Begge disse maleriene var gaver 🎁
Summer has finally arrived in the Arctic, kind of. Still some snow around, but also green and some flowers!🌿🌻 Didn’t realise how much I missed some warm weather, although I absolutely love winter.
Male våren og sommeren mens vi vente på den..🙂🌱🌻🦋
Some pictures from the painting process ☝🏻
Just updated my domain and header. All in all, still the same blog with same content; art, photography, occasional personal thoughts and ideas, adventures, health related stuff and maybe some tantra/dharma. The name Ask the mountains comes from my favourite song by greek artist Vangelis and swedish singer Stina Nordenstam.
Some cool penguin facts for world penguin day:
– There are currently 17-26 types of penguins, depending on definition (I read many conflicting definitions). Emperor, adélie and macaroni penguins being my favourites 😁
– Male penguins searches their habitat for the perfect stone to present their chosen female. They mate for life and they both take care of their offspring.
– Penguins are defined as birds although they cannot fly. Their wings are made for swimming. They are great in water, but a bit awkward on land.
– Penguin feathers are shorter and stiffer than most bird feathers, which makes penguins more streamlined in the water and traps more air to keep them warm.
50 cm Ø, acrylic on round canvas. Colours used: pink, blue, gold, white, purple.
As soon as I go up in canvas size my paintings turn out very different than my small ones. But this time it didn’t, so I think I have found my ‘limit’.
I have sooo many more pictures from this year, but some of them I feel are nice to keep private 😊💛
Happy new year, everyone!✨
“The sight filled the northern sky; the immensity of it was scarcely conceivable. As if from Heaven itself, great curtains of delicate light hung and trembled. Pale green and rose-pink, and as transparent as the most fragile fabric, and at the bottom edge a profound and fiery crimson like the fires of Hell, they swung and shimmered loosely with more grace than the most skillful dancer.” 🌌
My little late night creativity painting.. Couldn’t sleep last night so I thought why not just spend my time wisely 😄 A bit unusual colour choices for me, but I like how it turned out. Was unsure if I choose the right colour for the mountains but I can always change that later if the mood strikes me..🌈🎨
This painting is 65 x 45. Acrylic painting.
One of my latest paintings! It didn’t turn out how I saw it in my head, just different, but still good. I used only three colours on it; white, blue and brown. Mostly blue, as I do with 90% of my art 💙🤓 I rarely use black in mountain/rock paintings, it’s too harsh, I find it much better to use different pigments that makes it all look much more true to nature. You rarely see all black nature, unless you are in Iceland or somewhere else vulcanic😄
Also, I have two of my paintings at the Arctic Adventure center in Tromsø. They are for sale by the way 😄
Lekt litt med andre farger enn blått for en gangs skyld. Brukte kun rosa, hvit og bittelitt gult i dette maleriet.
Noen bilder fra en utendørsutstilling jeg hadde på Klimakunstfestivalen i begynnelsen av juni i Tromsø.
Et av mine nyeste maleri; akryl på lerret, 45 x 55 cm. Inspirert av det kalde arktiske landskapet i januar 😊💙
Ask The Mountains 