Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

Where did autumn go?

@brittarnhild

Coming home from Italy I was greeted my the most beautiful autumn colours.......which lasted for a day and then the first storm of the season arrived. I was out in the cathedral part just hours b before the gale wind came. It had started to blow, just enough for the leaves to start letting their grip to their mother tree go.......and I had my cellphone there and could film the very special beauty. The footage is added into my most recent video on YouTube, and even though I continue to speak Norwegian, you can enjoy this video, a lovely video from Venezia with a Russian guy playing on glasses in the background, and also a short footage from a Sami mass I attended after I came home (a link to the video further down)

The autumn colours could have been the inspiration for a knitted shawl I finished yesterday. But they are not.....well, I started the shawl in spring you see, but the name I have given the shawl is inspired by the colours of autumn and especially a larch tree I passed the other day, lerketresjal, or in English, a larch tree shawl.

 

#lerketresjal
#larchtreeshawl

 

 

 

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A bicycle tour with Britt Arnhild on internet:

 

Blogs:
Britt-Arnhild´s House in the Woods
maskerade (knitting blog)
Britt Arnhild naturdagbok (my nature notes)
Akeleiehagen (The Blue Garden)
Britt Arnhilds dagboksbladet (my journal)
dagens lille grønne (ideas for a greener living)
Med bøker på menyen (reading journal)
.......and some more which are sleeping just now

 

Instagram:
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Akeleiehagen
brittarnhildsstrikkedagbok
TrondheimTales


YouTube:

Britt Arnhild på YouTube

 

RE-COVERED BOOKS

@brittarnhild

During one of my many walks in Venezia I passed by Scuola Grande di San Teodoro, its door open and a huge poster as you can see in the above picture. Re-covered books.......what is that? Curiosity got me and I walked in.......and was sold, transferred directly into another universe, the universe of re-covered books :-)

Title: Entering the Path of Enlightenment

A posted near there entrance wrote:

Artist statement:
With technology, a new way of life has emerged at an astonishing speed. While many remarkably improvements are taking place, I feel we are plowing full speed ahead without considering what is at risk of being lost. I use books to symbolise the change occurring in the world today.
To many people, books are sacred and evoke warm, nostalgic feeling. They are a reminder of times past. The devoted and contemplative act of reading is losing its meaning in today's fast paced world, along with other human endeavours that require thoughts and care. Are we evolved enough to handle our own creations?
In most cases, my ideas are driven by the books´titles. They inspire me to comment on many social issues, using humor to engage the viewer. For me, the most challenging and rewarding part of the process is creating imagery that transforms the title into a new meaning - other than the one intended by the book´s author. Regarding technique, I prefer using vintage books because their linen covers mimic fine canvas and provide an ideal surface to paint. Creating art with repurposed materials attempts to realise the untapped potential in the world and offers up the idea of looking at things in a different way.
Mary Jean Canziani

Title: My Self and I

Title: Everyday Ethics

I walked slowly along the wall of the church. Stopping for a long time in front of every book.

Title: Where There is Vision

Smiling. Nodding my head. Looking closer.

Title: Here to stay
(my favourite)

Sometimes looking even more close. Is this really hand painted on a vintage book? Amazing.

Title: Meltdown

Title: The Outsider

Title: Our Sex Life

Title: Let's Believe
Oil on Assembled Book Covers. 2018

Based on Icarus Myth, this iteration explores the possibility of different outcome. Rather than plunging into the sea, there is hope that Icarus will be caught in time to survive. Will humanity learn from its mistake and adopt the changes necessary for its future survival?
The female figures were inspired by a Veronese painting, "Juno Showering Gifts on Venetia" (1554-56) located at the Palzzo Ducale. It is among the magnificent panels on the ceiling of the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci.

 

I am deciding not to add too many of my own words to talk about these pieces of art. They stand much better on their own. Look closely, pretend you are in Venezia. Enjoy.

 

After the two rather sat artisan meetings I wrote about yesterday, this was truly a highlight of my wanderings. Thank you so much Mary Jean. For your art and for the lovely chat we had after I had seen the exhibition.

 

 
Title: The Origin

Here you find Mary Jane Canziani´s website

Go over and take a look. You will not regret it.
And I especially love the photo of her sitting in the Alta Acqua Libreria :-)

 

Hard times for artisans

@brittarnhild

I passed her little workshop while walking around. Looking in through the window I was drawn in by the bright colours and soon I found myself in deep conversation with the artist, a young woman named Ketty.

Ketty told me she was in the process of closing down her shop. "It has become too hard for artisans here" she said, continuing to talk about how the city has changed from a place where people appreciated and paid for art, to a place where cheap souvenir shops pops up everywhere and tourists not wanting to pay for the real stuff.

We had a long and interesting talk, while I admired Katty´s work,

ending up buying one of her pieces, though I had no intentions to do so when I walked into the shop :-)

 

 

The next artist I met was Davide at Pagine e Cuoio, where I for years have bought my journal. Every time I come to Venezia I go to his shop to buy a new journal, which I use the coming year. The first thing which met me was a sign on Davide´s door; "Sale. Shop is closing down!"

"Why? What is happening?" I asked.

"Venezia is getting too expensive" Davide replied, "and people don't want to pay for real handwork!"

I bought two journals, not just one as usual, feeling really sad for his closing down.

 

 

The third artist I met that same day was Mauro, my dear friend for so many years now. He invited me home, he cooked dinner for me, and while eating, together with his wife and daughters, we discussed the problems for artisans in Venezia.

 

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I am afraid that part of the problem is the tourists, like me and you. We love the city, we come here to enjoy but in many ways we look upon it as a Disney Land, like it is made for us, to enjoy. And we don't want to spend our money, the city is there anyway.

 

I am not sure this post is understandable, but I had to air my frustrations somehow, for the city I love so deeply.

 

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By the way, typepad is acting up tonight, refusing one picture after another, telling me they are not valid....... I have struggled with this post for ages, now I want to do something else!

 

Where the rainbow fell down and settled

@brittarnhild

Burano, the island with houses like colourful crayons.

The island where the rainbow once fell down and settled.

The island where even workers pay attention to what they wear :-)

and you know how to hang your drying.

Every house its own colour.

Curtains taking their colours from the walls. Walls taking their colours from the curtains.

 

Two peas in a pod.

In the midst of the rainbow everyday life goes on. Cloths are hung to dry, old women go grocery shopping, stop for a chat.

And me? I find myself showered in blessings. The rainbow had colours left to fill my heart.

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I made quite a few footages and put some of them into a youtube travel tale. As always the talking is in Norwegian, but this video is mostly filming with music, so it should be okay for everyone. Enjoy :-)

 

 

A fairytale morning

@brittarnhild

I have been here in sun, I have been here in rain, I have walked in aqua alta water, but never in the mist.

Stepping out from my hotel, right into a fairytale.

Venezia, Murano, both have they seduced me with their colours.

This morning I was spellbound by a completely different Murano.

Impressions from a day in Venezia

@brittarnhild

The last days in Italia for this time are spent in Venezia (yes, I know the English name of this city of my heart is Venice, but I like Venezia so much better. Venezia is what people say here, Venezia is what we say in Norwegian)

I went out with my camera this morning, knowing that the city would seduce me yet again.

Even though today felt like a beautiful day of Norwegian summer, it is no doubt that Mr. Autumn has arrived, with his warm, soft colours. 

With his arrival, the huge hoards of tourists have left and with them gone there are available seats to find on the vaporettis. Probably hardly any queues outside St. Mark´s Church either, but I do not know as I did not go there.

I seek out the road less travelled, never with a map, always lost but never lost.......if you see what I mean. I love it that way, and it never fail to gift me with adventures.

The tiny little fruit shop

@brittarnhild

I saw the oranges as soon as I turned the corner. Small, bright orange and extremely tempting. But oranges can be so many things, some are sour, very sour, others as like sweet dreams.  I passed the little shop at first, I had no plans to buy fruit anyway. Then passed it again and was greeting with a broad smile from the woman inside the shop. The third time I passed I stopped, and a sweet smell reached my nostrils. "Are they sour?" I asked in English, not quite sure how to explain myself in Italian. "No, no, no, dolce, molto dolce" the woman's smile was even broader, and her husband came over from outside the shop where he was busy with some kind of work. He grabbed a paper bag and started to pick out the sweetest of them all. Soon I had a full bag. Now I have tasted one, two, many, and agree with the woman, they are dolce, molto dolce.

Postcards from Terracina

@brittarnhild

We woke up to rain this morning, probably the only wet day during our autumn vacation. Perfect for us then, friends had invited us for a birthday lunch, and when the lunch was over, the sun shone from a blue, blue sky. On our walk back to our place I shot a few images :-)

 

Hiking with two fit fiddles

@brittarnhild

Terje is fit as a fiddle. Ingrid is fit as a fiddle. Baby Milian hikes everywhere, carried on his mamma´s front. I love to hike, but fit as a fiddle.......no, I am not.

Anyway, when my two fiddles wanted to hike today, I went with them of course. Sweating, breathing hard and enjoying every single minute.

And of course, stopping for photos are always a perfect excuse to have a little break.

 

Life at the piazza

@brittarnhild

Very long time readers of Britt Arnhild´s House in the Woods know about this piazza, in the old part of Terracina, a town south of Roma, (Rome= north of Napoli (Naples). Friends of us have an apartment in the palazzo to the right of the cathedral, we are lucky to be able to come and stay.

Life at this old piazza can be so many things. It can be a silver haired Norwegian woman sitting there with her morning coffee and her crocheting,

It can be a young bride struggling the steep stairs up to the cathedral on her high heels,

or it can be a little boy, eight months old just today, crawling around on bare feet. Feet too dirty for a grandmother's kiss, or.......no, they can never be too dirty for that. You see, a bestemors love makes tiny toes clean :-)