Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitars

Värikäsi [Jul 20 2007]
www.varipaletti.com | www.varipaletti.net

Windy and cold outside. It looks and feels like October and it's July. Unless I've slept about three months, which is also possible.

Somehow I managed to pull myself together after a few weeks of boredom, lazyness and just hanging around. Last Friday it totally hit me: I'll do the make-over (that I've been planning about four years now) to Coloria site. I was so excited that I hardly could sleep at all. I spent the whole weekend making the renewing of the site in über-energic mode and then it hit me on Monday: the total tiredness like never before. Yesterday and today I've been trying to catch myself with undone jobs but still my aim is to publish renewed Coloria tomorrow. I know there's not been testing of any kind and there are several hardcore errors but I just can't wait. Otherwise the site would have to wait it's publication for months.

I've been busy. Today I've made a temporary site for textile artist Hannele Ollakka (for now it's saying that the new site will open soon - which hopefully is true) and set a blog layout and instructions for the Dyer Guild. I've also made some small updates f. ex. Kirsi Neuvonen and will make some more updates f.ex. for Alvar Aalto Foundation and The Craft Museum of Finland websites. Back to normal, that is.

Silversun Pickups - Well Thought Out Twinkles

Säynätsalo Town Hall [Jul 16 2007]
www.jyvaskyla.fi/saynatsalo/townhall

I've spent some time dyeing wool this summer and I just came back from Iitti Colour Festival where I learned how to make earth pigments. I'm strongly considering moving my career even more towards colour related stuff. I'm not a craft artist in anyway but I like to give colour related lectures and such. Though it propably didn't proceed my colour career yesterday when one journalist from Yle X radio station asked me to give a radio interview - and I refused. The questions would have been about colour symbolism and such and that's not really my cup of tea. I'm more confortable with the (cultural) history aspects of colour and pigments and such. If she would have interviewed me for f. ex. newspaper, that would have been good since I'd had some time to think my answers. I feel that the radio is not my arena at all.

---

Otherwise this summer has gone fast. I was originally planning to have somekind of holidays but... The beginning of July passed by while recovering from Rymättylä (four days spent dyeing in archipelago) and then with Timppa's and Judith Clute's exhibition (which will end tomorrow.) I've sat beside my c:ter nearly everyday making all kind of projects but somehow I feel that I'm not getting anything done. Or that all projects are just feeling longer and longer and nothing gets finished. If Säynätsalo Town Hall net exhibition hadn't been published last week (it's been ready for publishing since the beginning of June, lacking just a few checkings), I'd propably gone mad with my projects. Not sounding very good.

And now there is Harry Potter, read into half way. Hard to keep myself here, sitting still and making any kind of layouts when I know the book is not finished. (Although, of course I couldn't protect myself of knowing how it ends...)

Go! Team - Grip Like A Vice

I haven't written for so long time that it starts to look like I'm not doing anything. But I am, I am!

I just came from Rymättylä Dyer Days ( :) ) day before yesterday and since them I've tried to make all the little updates that filled my mailbox during my lazy days...

I was actually selected as the Colourful Person of this year - it felt quite funny as I received the nomination in my black clothes (well, my sneakers had white stripes on them). But what a wonderful surprise that was! That kind of small things are the most important things when it comes to inspiration with colour things I'm working with all my spare freetime.

But before Coloria and colourful things: there are zillions of jobs to be done.

Maija Holma's and Kirsi Neuvonen's updates have been waiting for some time now, as well as Välittämö site update. And dozens of smaller updates here and there.

Layouts for artist/painter Virpi Lehto, paper artisan Eeva Ylönen and composer Antti Auvinen are on their way.

Setting up the basic new layouts for the Museums of Jyväskylä, The Craft Museum of Finland, The Jyväskylä Art Museum and Säynätsalo are on their way.

Satu Montanari's and Hannele Ollakka's websites are soon finished as well as Säynätsalo Town House net exhibition which is missing only a few translations.

I should set up a blog for Dyers' Guild also...

But the most topical thing right now is Bazaar of Banalities workshop that will take place next week. The workshop is organized by Live Herring in co-operation with The Jyväskylä Art Museum and the workshop is lead by media artist Outi Kotala. More information soon.

*sigh*