March 10, 2013

69 :: Looking Up (A Bare Tree)



Jaana: Looking up an old, and still very bare, birch tree with polypores growing on its trunk.

Kia: Some of the trees in our area have little green buds, some have already the first blossoms, but many have still bare branches.

March 3, 2013

68 :: Branches This Weekend



Jaana: Our trees might still be bare of leaves, but something's growing on some anyways.

Kia: You know spring has finally sprung when the buds on the trees start to burst open with tiny flowers.


February 24, 2013

67 :: February Scenery



Jaana: The scenery still looks very wintry overhere, but now you can feel the sunshine again! Today the length of day is 9h 28m, sunrise at 7:48 AM, sunset at 5:16 PM.

Kia: We are still getting the odd flurries, but the delicate awakening of nature is already showing. Today the length of day is 10h 21m, sunrise at 7:20 AM, sunset at 5:41 PM.

A reminder of how our sceneries looked like in January.

February 17, 2013

66 :: Classic Architecture



Jaana: The building was originally designed in the style of Renaissance Revival by Johan Ludvig Lybeck in 1883, but in the middle of its construction it was redesigned and got a Gothic Revival look with the spires. In the past the building has functioned as a town hall and a police station, among others, but since 2008 it's been the home of the Cultural Centre Valve.

Kia: A classic of Scottish Baronial architecture, Craigievar Castle is a seven-storey pinkish harled castle built by the Forbes family and completed in 1626. The contrast of its massive lower storey structure to the finely sculpted multiple turrets, gargoyles and high corbelling work create a classic fairytale appearance. During World War I it was used as a hospital, and as of 2006 the castle and its estate are owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

February 10, 2013

65 :: At The Museum



Jaana: The 1840s showroom at the Northern Ostrobothnia Museum in Oulu.

Kia: Floating Heads by Sophie Cave has become the symbol of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. This sculpture installation, like floating balloons, draws the gaze of the visitors up to the upper level from a lower level rich in Victorian busts. With its many different faces, ranging from laughter to sadness, this unique work of art encapsulates the word "expression".

February 3, 2013

64 :: Sculpture



Jaana: Ajankulku, The Passage of Time, is a bronze sculpture consisting of 34 miniature statues of known and anonymous characters who have contributed to the city of Oulu over the past centuries. It was commissioned for the 400th anniversary of the city in 2005. Every now and then the individual characters get clothed by an unknown knitter.

Kia: Foot and Arch is an unusual two-piece sculpture by Ganesh Gohain, an Indian sculptor who was Artist in Residence at Glasgow School of Art in 2003. It was installed in the grounds of MacKintosh's House For An Art Lover in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, by Alan Kean in 2005.