I thought the day would never come...

The books are here.

Mackenzie and I are going to do our best this weekend to get all of the books signed and ready to go. The books and artwork will be shipped as soon as possible. I apologize for the delay on the artwork but hope that after seeing the book, you feel it was worth all of the wait. Actually, some of the work had some finishing touches to be done while waiting for today.

From Rauma Blog

Finally, the book is Finnished...

The printers now have all of the files and they are busy making a physical proof for me to give the OK, so I thought I would upload some of the pages for everyone to see. Please let me know what you think.

If you have already ordered the book and/or artwork, you should expect them in the mail as soon as I get them. For those of you who ordered a complete PDF and soundfiles, I will be sending you instructions on how to view it.

Signed, edition copies of the book with CD insert are still available for $30 plus shipping and handling ($5 in the US), but I am happy to say they are going quick, only a handful of copies left. PDFs of the entire book and mp3s of recorded stories in the Rauma dialect are available for $10. You can order through Paypal or send a personal check. If you want to order with a check, please contact me through my homepage www.ronlsaunders.com or from the link on the right.

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Rauma in New York

We are getting ready for another lecture tomorrow at the Newfield Fire Hall in Newfield, NY. We will be talking about the newest collages made which were inspired by our sojourn in Finland. We will be bringing many of the collages that were made while in Finland. Also, this lecture will be the first time people will have a chance to see pages of the book. All of the design is finalized and has been sent to prepress. With any luck, we should be getting a proof in the mail before the end of September. Once this happens, Mackenzie and I (and a few other lucky people) will have a chance to look it over, making sure there are no errors and verifying the color accuracy. After that, it will be printed, and then, finally mailed off to anyone who ordered it.

Just a reminder to those who are interested, there are copies are still available, but I'm excited to say that most have already been sold. It’s a great opportunity to own a book for your coffee table that doubles as a limited edition artwork (125 copies). This artwork is different, though. Instead of just a simple edition print, you get a signed, full color 56 page book, and it’s the same price as a print, $40.00. In a few days I will post some of the pages so you have chance to see the work.

I am still very inspired by my time in Finland; the landscape, the culture, and the people continue to fill my mind with an insatiable creative drive. I plan to continue this work through the winter, but at the same time, the Finger Lakes Autumn season is beginning, and the trees are beginning to change. It is such a beautiful time of year in and around Elmira, even though the Goldenrod is giving me the sniffles. In the end, my current work may be a result of memories of Finland merged with the wonderful landscape of the region, particularly the rolling hills and old architecture.

With that, I leave you with two images of Mackenzie and I, one taken of us at the lecture in Elmira at the Steele Memorial Library on September the 8th, and one taken 5 minutes before we left Rauma (we literally had to run to the bus stop to catch our bus to Helsinki).

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Library lecture

Last Wednesday, the OIC held a lecture for the public at the Steel Memorial Library. Along with the information provided about their Raumars Artist Program experience, attendees took a survey at the end of the talk. Also during the meeting at the library the OIC invited collaborators to work back into images from Rauma, Finland. These images were pre-edited for content using a porous white ground. Collaborators could turn these images in at the end of the night or take them home to complete them at a later time. Collaborators could then return finished art pieces to the OIC or frame and hang them in their home. Two pieces were returned at the end of the night, many were taken away. We look forward to seeing these art works as they materialize, regardless of physical ownership.

Below are some examples of works waiting for a collaborator... Anyone out there see potential in any of these? Anything you'd like to add? Let us know. The Office of International Cooperation looks forward to working with you.

Sunset at Syvarauma Bay (unfinished) 11"X 14.6"

From Rauma Blog

Our Boat (unfinished) 11"X 14.6"

From Rauma Blog

Repairing the Damage (unfinished 11"X14.6"

From Rauma Blog

Rauma Old Town (unfinished) 11"14.6"

From Rauma Blog

A second presentation will be held at the monthly Finger Lakes Finns meeting in Newfield Fire Hall, Newfield, NY on Saturday the 19th of September at 1pm.

http://www.fingerlakesfinns.org/events/index.htm


View Newfield Fire Department in a larger map

The Latest Collage Work

This is embellished modification of a personal postcard image made into an 8" X 10" work mounted on paper from Rauma. The windows in the old town have some of the most amazing and original carpentry I've ever seen, rivaling the old Victorian architecture of Elmira.

The problem... everyone in Finland has a sauna.

Window Shopping, 2010
Korean Hanji, Lace, and Photocollage on Rauma Paper
8"X10"

From Rauma Blog

This collage is composed of images taken from Helsinki and Rauma. I was trying to capture the quick transition from Winter to Spring in Finland.

Bloom, 2010
Digital Print, Ink, Wallpaper, and Acrylic on Finished Masonite
18"X18"

From Rauma Blog

This Beautiful Seagull, 2010
Acrylic, Spray Enamel, Decal Paper, Photocollage, and Plastic on Finished Masonite
16"X18"

From Rauma Blog

The Mark Twain painting is finally done.

Well, it's been a year in the making but it's finally finished. Last year, I was asked by the Center For Mark Twain Studies to design the 2009 Christmas card, and was invited to stay in Mark Twain's Summer home and I was inspired. There has been a lot of stop and goes with this, but I'm finally happy with the apocalyptic, atmospheric vibe.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death in 1910. I wanted to create a universal likeness of him in front of an apocalyptic background. The purple funnel cloud appears to have devastating properties, but upon closer inspection a bolt of light representing Halley's comet breaks through the chaos. It is unclear whether Mark Twain is coming or going.
(cue Space Oddity by David Bowie)

Legacy (The Exaggeration), 2010
Acrylic, Spray Enamel, Korean Hanji, Plastic, and Ink on Masonite
24"X9"

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Book progress and future events

It's been a long time since I had a chance to sit down and update you on my most recent activities! A real whirlwind since leaving Europe. Finally after all the unpacking and working hard on art, I have a few events coming up. Thanks to the continued support from the The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and The Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes, Inc. I will give a presentation about my residency and at the Elmira Steel Memorial Library on September 8th, from 7-8pm.

http://ccld.mhsoftware.com/ViewCal.html

If you are unable to make it to the presentation in Elmira, I will be presenting again at the Finger Lake Finns Fall Festival on September 19th from 2:30 at the Newfield Fire Hall. I hope to also have some prints available there as well.

http://www.fingerlakesfinns.org/

Some great news on the book! I am about three-fourths of the way done. There are so many excellent images and ideas that my original plan of making it 35-40 pages has extended to around 50. Also, originally I wanted to print 100 copies of the book, but I am now extending it to 125 to cover the additional costs and the larger number of requests. This means everyone gets a bigger book! If you pre-ordered a book or art, you can expect it around mid-september.

To wet your taste buds, here are some images of the art work I completed while in Finland, maybe you are one of the lucky ones who will be getting one.

This work below was a created from a nostalgic Finnish item (a grandmother's chest) and a preserved boat figurehead from Rauma

From Rauma Blog

This work was inspired by two immigrants stories: one from India and one from the United States.

From Rauma Blog

As you might guess, ice skating is a popular past time in Finland. This image caught the eye of the Rauma Art Museum and postcards of it may become available at their store.

From Rauma Blog

Finland was the first place I got to see a swan in flight. One day while enjoying time on the Sanharanta bay Mackenzie and I heard a boat off in the distance not starting. A few minutes later a huge swan flew by and we realized the sound was not a boat, but the bird!

From Rauma Blog

You may not know, but Holland is tropical

Since I arrived, Holland has maintained an above 80 degree average. This trend has driven me to ice cream stands, cold beverages (mostly beer), and standing in front of the refrigerator too long. Despite the heat, it has been a rather successful two weeks. I have gotten a chance to meet a lot of artists and check out residencies here in Rotterdam. I look forward to returning next year for a longer stay, hopefully to work on a new project. As scheduled, I gave a lecture last week about my time in Finland. It coincided nicely with the World Cup Netherlands vs. Brazil game. We were expecting a good crowd so first we spruced up the garden a bit. One of the permanent residents, Marielle Buitendijk and I decided to collaborate...

From Rauma Blog

People began to show up and had a lot of fun interacting with the space we had created. On the bar and the ground I had posted small "reserved" stickers over areas I had cleaned the day before, a few bricks steps here, a spot to stand there, a few places to 'reserve' your drink. The whole night people were asking each other if they could sit or place their drink down...

Person A "Is this spot taken?
Person B "Uhhhh, I don't know, are they here yet?"
Person A "Who?"
Person B "I don't know."

From Rauma Blog

Around 8:30 the game began. Perhaps from the photos you can see who won!

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

The artist lectures followed this amazing game. There was no way to compete with the excitement of the win, but we did our best.

From Rauma Blog

...I went first

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Followed by Jan Bokma
who traveled all the way from the north and installed his animation with audio for the event!

From Rauma Blog

Finally a studio visit with Gerben Meinders who is the current AIR.

From Rauma Blog

The night was completed by a great BBQ party.

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

"The Greatest BBQ ever!"

From Rauma Blog

A big THANK YOU goes out to the artists and the people of Het Wilde Weten for organizing this great event.

And on to the rest of Europe

Finland was amazing, it is hard to believe that it is over. I spent my last week with Mackenzie's former Finnish host family on a small island near Lahti. It was the most relaxing time in Finland by far. I now understand why the Finns all have summer homes.


Here is a picture of Janne and me fishing (didn't catch anything but beers)

From Rauma Blog

Here is a view from the island.

From Rauma Blog

On June 22nd I took the Viking ship over to Stockholm. To be honest I was totally shocked with how expensive Sweden was, however, for something that is totally worth the cost I highly recommend the Vasa Museum, which is now one of my favorite museums in the world.

According to Stockholm's visitor guide: "The Vasa is the only preserved seventeenth-century ship in the world, and a unique art treasure. More than 95 percent of the ship is original, and it is decorated with hundreds of carved sculptures. The 69 meter-long warship Vasa sank on its maiden voyage in the middle of Stockholm in 1628, and was salvaged 333 years later in 1961. For nearly half a century the ship has been slowly, deliberately and painstakingly restored to a state approaching its original glory. The three masts on the roof outside the specially built museum show the height of the ship's original masts"

Location:

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From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

After two days in Stockholm I made my way down to Copenhagen. My first impression of this city was that it was more run down than Stockholm, but soon it became more comfortable. You could find a wider variety off people and food and there seemed to be a good art scene. I visited a gallery of one of the Mita Meri artists that I met in Finland, IMO, as well as the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Both I would highly recommend if you happen to be in the city.

IMO Gallery: http://www.imo-projects.com/

Location:

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(It is in a large parking lot next to two other galleries)

Copenhagen has a nice system where you can get a discount on the entrance ticket if you buy the train ticket and museum entrance together, so make sure you go to the station and take advantage of this. Right now they have a killer Sophie Calle show up and the perment exhibition is great as well. Finally don't forget to bring a picnic lunch and sit on the hill by the sea once you are done with seeing everything.

http://www.louisiana.dk/dk

Location:

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In order to head down to Rotterdam I booked an over night train to Amsterdam. I could not get a sleeper car and so only got a seat. I assumed that it would be a reclining seat, but nope. It was a six-seat room- three chairs in a row facing each other, and nothing reclining about it. I sat for 16 hours trying not to put my feet on the person across from me. It was a test of endurance. But I made it. I then took one more train down to Rotterdam to find a huge studio waiting for me at Het Wilde Weten. Thanks to my good friend and collaborator Dirk Studio, I was invited to give a lecture and stay for two weeks. If you are around tomorrow please stop by!

Office of International Cooperation Lecture
Date: July 2, 2010
Time: 6pm (come early for World Cup- NL vs. Brazil!)
Location: Het Wilde Weten, Rotterdam

Here is the link for the location and more information:
http://www.hetwildeweten.nl/2010/artist-talk-%E2%80%93-bbq-%E2%80%93-exhibition/

Boat Performance/Installation and Upcoming show in SF

On June 12th, our vessel made its maiden voyage on the Syvärauma Bay carrying drawings collected from the people of Rauma of objects that could not be left behind. We acquired an old boat through an article written in the Lansi-Suomi about our recent activities in Rauma. The boat had at least five holes in it. The Office of International Cooperation is not in the business of boat repair, but collectively, we have done our best to resurrect this vessel make it sea worthy. Band-aids have been added, and a new motor has been constructed from a variety of new looking old motors from classic American cars. It is now installed at The Rauma Art Museum as a special exhibit for Mita Meri? (What's Up Sea?) Rauma Biennale Baalticum. The work will be on display for the duration of the summer.

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Show in San Francisco

While in Rauma I was contacted by the MCCLA in San Francisco to contribute to the "Today" exhibition. The curator asked each artist to write the word 'today' in any way and in any language. I saw it as a clear connection between the work I have been doing in Rauma and chose a variant of the Rauma dialect word for 'today'.

The Rauma dialect is often described by other Finns as “peculiar” or “exotic”. It has gained a special reputation as being unique among the other southwestern dialects and many locals even consider it a separate language. Seafaring has been for centuries one of the most important sources of income and of livelihood in Rauma. In the past local sailors and mariners spent not days but consecutive months or sometimes years offshore and overseas. As a consequence, the Rauma dialect is said to include plenty of words with English, Dutch, Swedish, German, and Russian origin. Although the dialect has standardized, many distinctive features such as a drastic shortening of words and a fast syncopation can be found everywhere in Rauma. According to one expert, in the old Rauma dialect, people pronounced (and still do, in fact) the word ‘today’-‘tänään’ as tänäpä or even tänäp. This dialect, sometimes even referred to as a language, is being actively preserved in Rauma and some smaller towns outside of Rauma. Its origins come from the writings of H.J. Nortamo, who wrote extensively in the dialect about all things maritime.

The word is written in water-born pigment with water from the Baltic Sea on paper from the paper factory in Rauma, and is preserved (like the language) using 2 layers of boat varnish and 1 coat of fiberglass resin, also for boats. I also included a Band-Aid sticker from a project the curator and I did together at the Pomona Swap Meet car show. I thought it was funny how much effort people would put into their cars to preserve the original parts.

Tänäpä is a variable edition of three, numbered and signed on the back.

From Rauma Blog