Fikk lyst Ă„ dele noen bilder av den fineste monsen jeg noensinne har bodd med. Snakk om go’gutt med personlighet. Var sĂ„ heldig Ă„ ha han i tre Ă„r fĂžr han dessverre ble pĂ„kjĂžrt. Stort savn.
Helmut
GrÞnt og blÄtt
Northern sky
“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.” đ
Symbol of the sun
Rainbow night
My little late night creativity painting.. Couldn’t sleep last night so I thought why not just spend my time wisely đ 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..đđš
This painting is 65 x 45. Acrylic painting.
Currently…
Reading:Â Nothing actually.. I loaned a bunch of book at the library, but I think maybe borrowing/buying books is an entirely different hobby than actually reading them!
Learning: Finally trying to learn Northern SĂĄmi. I am what you could call a “plastic sĂĄmi”; someone who is indigenous sĂĄmi by blood and flesh, but never learned the language because of the Norwegianazation process. So I often feel not “real” sĂĄmi but not “real” Norwegian either, it’s a bit of an identity crisis thing, and kind of an emotional wound that I know a lot of sĂĄmis have.
Watching: Random nature documentaries mostly..:)
Listening to on Audible: A wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (got it recommended by a friend on Facebook)
Drinking every day: Coffee. And more coffee đ (should drink more water..)
Happy about: Made new friends lately, and also understanding my own “language” better, how I think and relate to the world around me.
Not so happy about: Being in constant physical pain, so much that I cannot function properly. And I struggle expressing how bad it actually is, because it doesn’t show from the outside. My back, neck, face and head is so painful, that painkillers aren’t working anymore, and I am at a loss what to do.
Thankful for: People who love me. ClichĂ© but true đ
More blue
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 đđ€ 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 vulcanicđ
Also, I have two of my paintings at the Arctic Adventure center in TromsĂž. They are for sale by the way đ
Pride-parade 2019
har helt glemt Ă„ legge ut bilde av kofta mi pĂ„ bloggen fĂžr, og hele syprosessen, men dette er altsĂ„ min hĂ„ndlagde kofte (som ennĂ„ ikke er helt ferdig, hysjđ€)
GĂĄrgĂĄn
PÄ loppiskafé
Kulta hadde loppemarked, jeg fant meg en sykt kul kĂ„pe med inuitmotiv, en fargerik tights som viste seg Ă„ vĂŠre litt for trang over rumpestumpen da jeg kom hjem, et par rosa joggesko jeg hadde helt likens av for noen Ă„r siden (og angra pĂ„ at jeg ga bort) samt en fin svart singlet med noe mĂžnster. Kan legge ut bilder senere, iallfall av kĂ„pa! đ€
Pink peaks
Lekt litt med andre farger enn blÄtt for en gangs skyld. Brukte kun rosa, hvit og bittelitt gult i dette maleriet.
Heart shaped landscape
Acrylics on canvas, colours used; pink, white, yellow and black.
HĂžst i Rekvik
All your colours
Or tranced and fixed like South Pole silences;
Sometimes she is beauty, sometimes fury, sometimes neither.”
Go towards the people that see you for who you truly are, in all your colours. For your badass kindness and fierce compassion. How we treat others reaches far beyond outer beauty and appearances; touching someone elses’ heart and helping them feel free and loved unconditionally is a gift that will never stop giving.
Hope everyone had a great summer đ·
Outdoor exhibition
Noen bilder fra en utendÞrsutstilling jeg hadde pÄ Klimakunstfestivalen i begynnelsen av juni i TromsÞ.
I did an ancestry test and here is what I found
Some months ago I decided I was finally going to order myself one of those DNA kits I have been wanting, just for fun. It was on sale and I researched (by that, I mean one google searchđ) to see what is the best company when it comes to privacy and storing of information, and I landed on FamilyTreeDNA. I am no (conspiracy) theorist who thinks they will use my tiny bit of saliva for anything sinister, but still, you never know. Although if they want to clone me or something, that would actually be very practical!
I have always been curious about anthropology, culture and history. I believe people are people no matter where we live or come from, all sharing the same basics in heart and mind, but these relative things like ethnicity and DNA can be quite interesting, too! There is so much to learn, and it’s fun to see the connections across borders.
I think it’s good to preserve culture and language. I am what you could call a âplastic sĂĄmiâ; someone who is indigenous sĂĄmi by blood and flesh, but never learned the language because of the Norwegianazation process. So I often feel not ârealâ sĂĄmi but not ârealâ Norwegian either, itâs a bit of an identity crisis thing, and kind of an emotional wound that I know a lot of sĂĄmis have. Maybe this is a reason I wanted to test. I do feel proud and honoured though to carry on sĂĄmi handcraft traditions such as the gĂĄkti (kofta) and duodji and telling the stories attached to them and of SĂĄpmiđđâ€đ
I received my package, filled out the little form and swabbed my cheeks, one on each side. Next day, I shipped it off to overseas and waited for my results (which took some weeks).
Before getting them, I was pretty sure it would say mostly Scandinavian and some Asian (since the sĂĄmi peoples origins come from the East way back in the days, before settling in SĂĄpmi (Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia). Perhaps some percentage viking too would be cool, like 26% shieldmaiden, lol..đ
It showed 69% from Finnoscandia/Uralic
23% Scandinavian, 1% unknown (must be alien!) and the rest a quite small insignificant 7% East Asian/Siberian. (All results in pictures on the bottom).
Through doing this test I also discovered that I have Kven ancestry as well.
The Kven people are a minority group of people who migrated from Finland to the north of Norway, mostly to Finnmark before the borders between the Nordic countries were official. Kvens are considered an official minority in Norway.
“Sami wedding in Bossekop, Alta (1880). We see coastal Sami costumes, as well Kven clothings. A mixed ethnic wedding, I presume. Photo: Sommier/Mantegazza I believe these people are ancestors of many of today’s inhabitants of Alta. The true Alta-citizen is mostly descentants of Sami and Kven (Finnish languaged) people. The wedding couple are identified as Aslak Aslaksen and Guri Nilsdatter Mella from Rafsbotn.”
I found it interesting how it says ‘Finland’ instead of ‘Finnish’, but after reading a bit about the other indigenous groups and how many there are considered to be Finno-ugric or Uralic (15 in total with subgroups), it makes more sense. Different indigenous peoples coming from roughly same area, but mainly sharing language is the case here. SĂĄmi, kven (Norwegian finns – one of the subgroups) and Finns are for example grouped as Finno-Ugric and have similarities in language, and is as we know nothing like the other Scandinavian languages.
Here are some facts about the kven language:
-In 2005 it was officially considered a minority language in Norway.
-The University in TromsĂž now gives classes in kven.
-From the 1930s until the 1980s, the kven language was illegal to speak and use in school, and was considered a “bastard language”. Despite this, it survived.
Another cool thing about doing a test like this, is that you can match up with other relatives if you and they have agreed to be matched. I have found a lot of distant cousins, and have sent message to one of them, surprised to find out that she was adopted away from our family, and I am currently helping her find out who her dad was/is. Quite exciting stuff.
Learning all this about my Finnish/Kven ancestry, I instantly felt more inclined to buy more Moomin stuff, which I believe now is my cultural heritage đ
Video: origins of Finns, Hugarians and other Uralians
Another cool thing I found was that two of my relatives, Isak Mikkelsen Tornensis and Berit Mikkelsdatter Tornensis (siblings), in 1898 was part of the reindeer project in Alaska.
Read more about it here and here.
Wrathful
“The kÄ«la is one of many iconographic representations of divine “symbolic attributes” of VajrayÄna and Hindu deities. When consecrated and bound for usage, the kÄ«la is a nirmanakaya manifestation of VajrakÄ«laya.
He is embodied in the kÄ«la as a means of destroying (in the sense of finalising and then freeing) violence, hatred, and aggression by tying them to the blade of the kÄ«la and then transmuting them with its tip.”
Birmingham
Photos from summer retreat 2019, UK
Pastel sky
Bursdag
I gĂ„r var det bursdagsfeiring, og fikk endelig sjanse til Ă„ pynte meg ordentlig đ Kjole fra BikBok og seconhand sko jeg fant i New York đ
“Januar”
Et av mine nyeste maleri; akryl pĂ„ lerret, 45 x 55 cm. Inspirert av det kalde arktiske landskapet i januar đđ
Creative work
Some tips for making the most of your creativity/getting shit done! đ
1. Put on inspiring music while working. Inspiring is relative of course, whatever floats your goat. I personally like anything from Lady Gaga (her new stuff) to Guts to Enya.. Just make sure it’s not distracting.
2. Write a list of the things you need/want to do/make. As you cross them off, sense of achievement grows.
3. Take pictures. Sometimes when I paint, I take pictures instead of just looking at it to find out what to do next, because somehow I feel like the camera shows a slightly different reality which your eyes can’t always spot.
4. Use Pinterest or Instagram for inspiration. These are great platforms to look for creative work. I know Instagram specifically has this bad reputation of “giving” people terrible self-esteem, with all the filters and “perfect” pictures, but it all
depends what you look for. Like almost anything, it can be used in a healthy way.
đ·đ·đ·
PainnebÄinn
Slik sier man pannebĂ„nd hvor jeg kommer fra iallfall đ En enkel d.i.y som jeg ladge for masse Ă„r siden; sydde et lite hĂ„rtĂžrkle/pannebĂ„nd ut av et sjal med fint fargerikt blomstermĂžnster. PĂ„ midten av bĂ„ndet er det et lite tĂžystykke som klemmer det sammen og gir sĂ„nn fin fasong. Enkel dobbelknute i nakken â NĂ„ som jeg begynner Ă„ fĂ„ hĂ„r igjen (holdt det pĂ„ 7 mm en god stund), sĂ„ er det gĂžy Ă„ leke med litt farger, frisyrer og diverse hĂ„rpynt. OgsĂ„ mĂ„ jeg innrĂžmme at min naturlige hĂ„rfarge ikke er sĂ„ verst, er nok ferdig med Ă„ farge det!đđâ€đ
Thought of the day
Ă i Lofoten
“Ă i Lofoten”, 45 x 55 cm đ
Syns paletten jeg brukte nesten ogsĂ„ ble et lite kunstverk đđš
All the colours
Having sewing projects going on like the one I am working on now (stay tunedđ), makes me so motivated. The more creative work I do, the more creativity flows. And it flows from a natural, not forced place, which I think is crucial for good results. One less positive thing about being in a creative mode though is how much money I spend on craft supplies đ I probably didn’t need to order all these ribbons/bands. But they all looked so cute. And I like having options. Sorry, wallet. I will make sure to use it all, somehow!
“Create with the heart, build with the mind”đč
Sewing: handmade sĂĄmi silk shawl
Handmade traditional form fitted sĂĄmi silk shawl for my Sea SĂĄmi kofte made with Asian brocade fabric traditionally used in buddhism. Lotus and vajra pattern in yellow and gold đ Turned out so nice, very happy with the result, it’s glowing in the sunlight đ My kofte (gĂĄkti) is green, which will look amazing with the yellow đ
Barndomshjem
“Barndomshjem”, 30 x 40 cm
OgsĂ„ har jeg tjuvstarta litt med pĂ„skepyntinga…đŁđ»
Veversken Tid
Veversken Tid
Den blonde veversken Tid
sitter i skyggerisset under trĂŠrne
med renningen av solstrÄler
spillende mellom fingrene.
â Jeg vever lys av mĂžrke,
sier veversken Tid,
â og fletter sang av sorg.
Med forvandlingens under i fingertuppene
slÄr hun livet ditt nennsomt
inn i veven av glemsel.
Og det gjĂžr ikke vondt mer. Din angst
blir lyset i en skjĂŠr bjĂžrkelegg
i mainatta, din lengsel
en blomst som vender krona si blygt
for nattens dugg.
– Hans BĂžrli
– Hans BĂžrli
Being no-one, going nowhere
The way of yoga and dharma is to become less and less until we are like the wind in the trees or the ripples on the water. In reality only a beautiful movement of love, compassion and joy seeking nothing for itself but serving the world with genuine kindness and generosity. Letting go (awakening) of the ever demanding ego (self identity) is the greatest gift we can bring to our own life and the life of all beings. The less of âyouâ there is, the happier you will be. What a paradox. Becoming no-one, going no-where. A joyous zero, empty yet fulfilled.
Et sÄnt samfunn
“Du vet nĂ„r en tulipan henger med huet, og sĂ„ trĂžkker man den inn blant de andre for at den skal stĂ„ oppreist… Et sĂ„nt samfunn vil jeg ha.” đ§Ąđ·đ
Currently…
Reading: Aspergirls by Rudy Simone
Watching: Shameless on Netflix. British series from early 2000s. It’s brilliant!
Listening to on Audible: The Life of the Buddha and The Bhagavad Gita
Drinking every day: Black tea with stevia and soy milk
Happy about: Becoming better at expressing my wishes and boundaries
Not so happy about: Feeling confused about my living situation
Thankful for: Having a bit more financial security for the first time in years
GrĂžnne fingre
Jeg er nok i overkant glad i Ă„ ha lange negler og neglelakk. Idag ble det grĂžnn đ Vanligvis klipper jeg de helt ned nĂ„r jeg driver med klatring, men av og til lar jeg de vokse ut đ
Sky
When one looks toward oneâs own mind â
The root of all phenomena â
There is nothing but vivid emptiness,
Nothing concrete there to be taken as real.
It is present and transparent, utter openness,
Without outside, without inside â
An all pervasiveness
Without boundary and without direction.
The wide-open expanse of the view,
The true condition of the mind,
Is like the sky, like space:
Without center, without edge, without goal.
By leaving whatever i experience
Relaxed in ease, just as it is,
I have arrived at the vast plain
That is the absolute expanse.
Dissolving into the expanse of emptiness
That has no limits and no boundary,
Everything i see, everything i hear,
My own mind, and the sky all merge.
– Shabkar
Magical projections
What we understand to be phenomena are but the magical projections of the mind.
The hollow vastness of the sky
I never saw to be afraid of anything.
All this is but the self-glowing light of clarity.
There is no other cause at all.
All that happens is but my adornment.
Better, then, to stay in silent meditation.
– Yeshe Tsogyal
Kvite toppa
Blooming
Authenticity
What is authenticity, as in being authentic? I have been thinking about this lately, although I can barely spell the word. Is is being completely transparent and honest all the time? Is it being open about your struggles, hopes and dreams? Or is it to be so in touch with your true nature & your personality that you simply cannot be anything else?
I think it might be a combination of all these, as honesty, openness and personality all seem to shine forth automatically when one is resting in one’s natural state. My goal would at least be to try and live in such a way that I am not fooling myself or those around me. I find it difficult though. By fooling, I mean that I don’t always speak my mind when I should. Sometimes I choose holding onto resentment. Sometimes I even nod along to things I don’t agree with. Sometimes I dress differently than I would like to, just to fit in.
I have been trying lately to be more open about what my experience is, it feels a bit dishonest and lonely to not do so. From a relative point of view, I have lots of labels on myself, and I try to speak openly about these matters, both in conversations and on social media. I don’t feel like hiding these aspects of me. They are useful to relate to other people and for me to navigate myself in the world, and find meaningful relations. I am all of these things and that’s okay đ
- buddhist
- bisexual
- polyamorous
- autistic/atypical
- feminist
- artistic
- indigenous
- chronically ill
From an absolute point of view, I guess none of these labels matter. But I am still trying to understand the absolute, so I think maybe I should not write too much about what I still need to learn and live first hand.
Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and has a Happy new year! â€
Polar night
Det kvile ei natt over landet i nord,
Husan e smÄ der kor menneskan bor.
Men tida e travel i karrige kÄr,
rokken han svive og vevstolen gÄr
Det leve i lĂža, i naustet og smia
Et lys, et lys, et lys imot mĂžrketida
SnĂžen ligg tung over frossen jord
ute stÄr mÞrket om fjell og om fjord
vÄr herre gir livberging, sÞtmat og sul
nÄr dÞgnan sig fram imot advendt og jul
sÄ stÞpe vi lys midt i hardaste ria
et lys, et lys, et lys imot mĂžrketida
Dagen e borte og natta e stor
men i mĂžrketidslandet skal hĂžres et ord
ei sol som skal snu sÄ det bÊre mot dag
om folk som skal samles til helg og til lag
pÄ veien mot Betlehem bÊre Maria
et lys, et lys, et lys imot mĂžrketida
– Trygve Hoff
Foto av Susanne Pedersen đ
NyttÄrsutstilling
I hele desember og januar har jeg utstilling pÄ Seven Design Ateliér i TromsÞ. Sykt gÞy Ä fÄ noen av mine verk opp pÄ veggen!
…but nature more
Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 17 𧥠“Der borte” (“Over there”)
“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea,
and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but nature more.”
