net:design:station

Timo Sälekivi & Päivi Hintsanen - Exhibition in Porvoo, Finland

2011-08-24T14:23:00.000+03:00

We will have a sort of joint exhibition - but still not. The artworks will be in the same space in the gallery, but we haven't planned anything together. So in that sense we have two solo exhibitions in one space...

For the poster I used the same layout as in the exhibitions before, only Timo's bird image was changed. For the exhibition opening invitations I used the same idea as we had in Poriginal gallery, Porvoo, a few years back. Only now the card is printed both ways also to b-side where there is an invitation text: another one in Finnish and then another one in Swedish...

Opening in September 1, at 6pm - welcome!

What remains - ex votos - exhibition in Portugal

2011-08-23T18:51:00.004+03:00

A joint exhibition organized by a Portuguese born Rita Vargas. The exhibition poster and other print material were designed by Minja Revonkorpi.

Random Prints vol. 2

2011-06-15T18:40:00.000+03:00

Last year I started this project I call "my own personal art therapy" - Random Prints. The idea is, that I made a series of 90 numbered and signed prints which I left all over when I was travelling. I've left teh prints in envelopes to random people to find and to keep. I hoped that those who found them would have filled in a small enquiry to tell me where the prints have ended up.

This year I'm going to make an interrai trip in Central Europe, and I've made a new print, called The Essence of Whispering Tree, which I'm going to leave to people to find.

I have written the last year's travels and whereabouts of the Random Prints vol.1 prints to Random Prints blog at randomprints.blogspot.com - and this year - hopefully - the stories will be continued.

Tunne maisema

2011-06-14T19:40:00.001+03:00

Tunne maisema is a Jyväskylä Art Museum project can be interpreted in two ways: "Know your scenery" or "feel your scenery". The art museum project shows different view on interpretation of scenery and our environment via connecting works by pronounced Finnish painters Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865 -1931) and Pekka Halonen (1865 -1933) to some modern art, like photography and paintings. I made the visual design for the Tunne maisema site and I also executed the whole site. It contains the introduction of the works and artists, some extra information about the context of the artist (for example timelines of Gallen-Kallela's and Halonen's lives) different kind of tasks for both adults and school children and also a "sound scenery" of how the sounds affect the pictures. So, massive project.

My brain almost popped with this one. But surprise: not with the actual project: we had a couple of very efficient meetings during spring and talked all the content through. With so many people everything could have gone wrong in so many ways, but it didn't. I got the material early, I got a lot freedom to do the things however I wanted as long as the mainpoint came out right (which actually always helps a lot!), there were only a few things to be changed... but my web connection went totally off on the beginning of June, just when the project was truly starting on my part. So, I have a key for wireless connection and though it was a saviour, in the end I had to finish this massive project with really slow mobile connection. But after a lot of ()=/#)(¤/)(# and a lot of ####¤)(#/)¤/ I got it online - this morning early.

*Phuh.*

Only in Finnish: www.tunnemaisema.fi

Dipday

2011-05-31T19:19:00.000+03:00

DipDay has been on my mind for ages, but it was only now when I got myself to add some dipdayish look to the blog. The logo of the event is designed by Tiina Leino and I used the logo form in making the background design. DipDay project was started, when textile designer Ulla Lapiolahti and I started think like: People knit in public (KIP) - so why not dye in public (DIP)? The idea was introduced to the Dyers' Guild (Association of Dyers) of Finland and they were also interested. So we decided to organize this event for the first time on 2011 when it's the tenth anniversary of Dyer's Guild. The date is (and propably will be on future years) September 2, which in Finland is a "name day" of Sini, which means blue (sort of).

We invite dyers from all over the world to dye together and open the doors for public to see. The events can be small - just invite some friends and ask also some other people to see - or as big as you choose. As we know that the dyeing may be difficult on public places the DipDay events can also be organized in people's backyards. The main point however should be, that the event should be public - if someone wants to come and take a look, it should be easy!

There are no rules or specimens - you can organize sun dyeing events in the park just to show how to put the yarn in the glass jars or have a bigger happening in your backyard or any other place. It doesn't matter if you have one dye pot on fire or ten of them. It doesn't have to be "professional" - pure experiments are welcome too.

So, if you are dyer of any kind or interested about colours in someway, please click yourself to the DipDay blog at dipday.blogspot.com

Plankko

2011-04-18T20:17:00.000+03:00

The cooperative Plankko was founded at the end of last year. The members are mostly artists - the one I talked with most before deciding to join the cooperative was Kirsi Neuvonen. After all the paper works and official background work and such, Plankko is now taking its first steps in the real world, first by organizing and producing exhibitions and later with more innovative approach to art events. Our main aim is to have an own art gallery in Helsinki, one day.

www.plankko.fi

Höyrygalleria

2011-04-17T18:32:00.001+03:00

Hoyrygalleria ("Steam Gallery") is the new soon to be opened gallery, which is owned by Emalipuu / Enamelwood owners Ulla Huttunen and Arto Salminen. The gallery will open to the harbour of Korpilahti, Jyväskylä (Finland), in the beginning of June, 2011. The name of the gallery comes from the old steam saw building where the gallery now takes place.

The gallery website is very simple and is based on the logo graphics designed for Hoyrygalleria by Tiina Leino. As any CMS wouldn't have worked and Ulla would like to update the new herself, I used very basic site plan and then implemented some rss feed includes from Höyrygalleria's blog, so that the news always show on the first page. There is also Admarket's flickrSLiDR used in the front page: it makes the photo gallery automaticly of the images uploaded to Flickr.

This is propably only the temporary page - as the gallery starts running and all the smaller things are cleared, we'll propably rock the site - totally!

www.hoyrygalleria.fi

Alvar Aalto Museum website reneval

2011-03-30T19:51:00.001+03:00

...again. But for a good reason: there has been changes in the organisation and the museum wanted their front page to show that. Some parts of the site remained the same, like the top two grey-blue navigation bars. The name of the site changed from Alvar Aalto Foundation to Alvar Aalto Museum and the content and hierarchy of the navigation was renewed totally. The front page now carries and photoslider with images of current event, and also, below that, introduction to four main destinations of the museum: the museums both in Jyväskylä and Helsinki, the head quarters of academy in Helsinki and Aalto's own summer house in Muuratsalo.

I designed the new layout and was involved also in drafting the new site hierarchy.

I'm quite pleased to this and quite proud of it, as it was realized in very short time - from scratch to reality!

www.alvaraalto.fi

Tarinakone logo

2011-02-28T17:42:00.014+03:00

As the lamb image I designed for Anne's company Tarinakone suddenly proved to be quite good "trademark" itself, Anne decided to renew her logo to fit to it. The logo is now based on both the old design of the word Tarinakone ("Story machine"), with the letters a-n-n-e highlighted, and one of the lambs.

At the same time these designs went into use as her Moo minicards.

The Sketchbook Project

2011-02-20T03:00:00.001+03:00

As I seem to live a very computerized life, I deciced to take part to the Sketchbook Project organized by Art House Co-op. The project collected over 28 000 sketchbooks so I was glad that somebody picked just my book at the opening - what are the odds?!

This was totally art therapy project for me, with no higher aims, but since I illustrated and wrote the whole story about A Little Witch Who Knits, I got more and more inspired. I'm waiting for the scanned view of the book - so I can get proper views from it too. Images on this posting are all from "in making" stage.

THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT ON TOUR:
Brooklyn Art Library February 19-27, 2011 / 103A N. 3rd St., Brooklyn, NY 11211 | Open Tue - Sun / Noon - 8pm / Closed Mondays (L train to edford Ave.)
Austin Museum of Art March 12th, 2011 (during the SXSW festival!) Austin, TX
SPACE Gallery March 30-April 2, 2011 Portland, ME
The Granite Room April 8-9, 2011 Atlanta, GA
Transformer Gallery April 11-30, 2011 Washington, DC
Form/Space Atelier June 10-12, 2011 Seattle, WA
111 Minna Gallery June 18, 2011 San Francisco, CA
Hyde Park Arts Center July 14-17, 2011 Chicago, IL
Full Sail University July 29-July 31, 2011 Winter Park, FL

Pehtoorska blog

2011-02-09T18:51:00.000+03:00

"Pehtoorska" aka Anne Kojola contacted me last autumn and we discussed about her website. Pehtoorska is a one woman company, and mostly from hobby base. Anne takes photos of people, nature, events and phenomenons, and she sells her photos and the postcards made from them. After a discussion of her needs and future use and budget, we came to conclusion that maybe the blog would be the best for her purposes. Blogger seemed to be most easiest way to blog, so we chose that. Anne chose the background from free Blogger backgrounds, I designed the header, tweeked the html a bit and made the blog settings for her.

pehtoorska.blogspot.com

Random prints

2010-08-23T19:12:00.002+03:00

During August and September 2010 I'll leave a numbered and signed edition of my pigment ink print in envelopes around Europe to random people to find and to keep. I hope that those who find them will fill in a small enquiry to tell me where the prints have ended up. The travels and whereabouts of these images will be seen at http://randomprints.blogspot.com/ this fall.

Tarinakone website & graphic design

2010-08-20T17:53:00.011+03:00

Tarinakone is a small one person company that specializes in creating stories for products. Tarinakone is owned by my friend Anne and she wanted to have "something else": not so ordinary website with a lot of information, but something very very simple - not much words but more of those seventies graphic feeling. We had a quite long time when I found hard to catch any ideas because there were so many roads to follow, but finally we found two roads to follow: first of all the lamb and then the next one were the words.

Anne has used a red yarn for demonstrating the story telling - the whole point of her company is to find a red yarn of the basic idea and then bring something extra to it. She had a story of a very sad lamb in mind, who first would be very down with all her wool messed up, then a "waking" lamb noticing that something is happening and lastly a very cheered up lamb with all her red wool on good condition! She had first ordered the designs from another designer and they were a little more traditional comic style which made it hard to include to the seventies inspirated red, black and white design. Then, after thinking what comes to my mind of 70s and those colours (the obvious inspiration is seen on the right side - I'm not gonna even try to cover up that...), I designed three very simple lambs. And from there the whole website design started.

Only, there was not so much to design. Anne wanted to have only three pages with very little information and very strong front page, to which she wanted to put words - so I ended up making this draft for her front page.

www.tarinakone.fi

EDIT: The website has now been renewed to more "wordy" version (not my design).

Website for printmaker Aino Pajari

2010-07-29T13:27:00.001+03:00

Aino wanted something fresh (turquoise colour was one of her wishes) and simple, so I designed this really basic site with absolutely no extra fuss aroud. The pages show image details very plainly and by clicking each image there is a introduction of work shown.

The only thing is, though, that the site is still on it's old url at personal.inet.fi/taide/aino-k.pajari, at some kind of "free" account which doesn't support for example ajax or anything like that. Aino will consider new server this autumn.

Jyväskylä Adult Education Centre

2010-07-08T19:10:00.001+03:00

I was asked to redesign Jyväskylä Adult Education Centre's website. They wanted something very fresh and joyful - and still informative. The site is using the Jyväskylä City CMS, which itself limits a bit, and the city also has some rules of what can and can't be done. However, when I set my eyes to the logo, I got this idea of "spinning" logos rightaway. There isn't of course any kind of movement really but for me, permission to play with the logo gave a lot to the final design.

It has happened me more than once, that my bright colour scenario has been approved but then after a few meetings everything is toned more subtle or changed to something blue - so I was so glad, when my colour suggestions - all those bright colours - were ok by themselves and that decicion didn't change.

www.jyvaskyla.fi/kansalaisopisto

Exhibition at Galleria Carree, Kuopio

2010-06-15T12:53:00.007+03:00

My new series Hiljaisia harhoja / Quiet Mirages will be first seen in the three week exhibition in Galleria Carree, in Kuopio.

This series was quite hard to make for some unknown reason. All the images didn't come out as I had first planned, but I really like the image which is also seen (partly) on the invitation and poster, called Morning Dew.

Lisää väriä

2010-06-07T13:20:00.001+03:00

The Lisää väriä ('More colour') is an event for every colour enthusiastic... One day lecture series on Thu June 10 (only in Finnish, though) includes several lectures from colour experts with various backgrounds. The one day colour event on Sat June 12 will hold potato printing workshop + several demonstrations, for example of how to make pigments from earth.

The event is planned by Print Center of Jyväskylä together with textile artist Ulla Lapiolahti and me and at the same time, it's Coloria's 10 year anniversary event.

The poster and the flyers are designed by Meri Tuomi, who was working in Coloria as a trainee for one month.

Program + info (in Finnish) http://www.coloria.net/lisaavaria/

Saarijärvi exhibition

2010-06-05T11:08:00.002+03:00

There will be an exhibition of my Poissa - Absent series / installation in Saarijärvi this summer, from next Thursday until the end of August.

With this exhibition everything should be already in order; exhibited images were first shown last summer (so they are already printed), all the tools for setting up are collected in one place ready for use and all details are already cleared with the exhibition place.

I'm quite looking forward to this one.

Badges ---

2010-05-05T10:14:00.000+03:00

--- Badges are already sold in the Jyväskylä Art Museum but now they are also available at the Jyväskylä Artists' Society Gallery Becker.
My Etsy shop of colouring images is closed for a while (I haven't got time to upload images) but I'll be tuning up my Monsterium products during the summer. After clearing my desk of zillions of small undone projects.

Uno and Wolmar

2010-04-21T10:14:00.000+03:00

Today the net exhibition telling the story of two Finnish notable men, Uno Cygnaeus and Wolmar Schildt, was opened in a very ceremonious event in Jyväskylä University - where I couldn't unfortunately participate. How ever - after a slightly rocky road and verrrrrry tight schedule, the net exhibition was finally set online successfully.

This project has taken my whole spring actually - even though I had dozens of other projects planned as well.

Ellinoora

2010-03-22T10:23:00.000+03:00

A light site design for a cultural producer friend who has helped me in many projects and in many roles.

Just an ordinary day

2010-02-23T11:58:00.002+03:00

I'm mostly lucky to have clients (I'm quite selective, after all), but some projects make this site feel so real: Clients from Hell.

Somehow I feel a slight dejavu coming from this:

Client: “I didn’t get anything.”

Us: “Sorry, our email is down.”

Client: “Can you just fax me the animated gif so I can see how it looks?”

Us: “Well, it’s about a dozen frames. (Joking) So we’d have to fax it like a flip book.”

Client: “Okay.”

This made me reflect my projects today to the projects ten years ago. I'm getting it easy these days :D

Alvar Aalto Foundation

2010-02-11T23:20:00.000+03:00

"Finally" n:o 2.

Grrrr---

2010-02-09T22:01:00.001+03:00

Fighting with Aalto Foundation site... I've got some gray hair when I've tried to solve mysterious not-working website with some ajax and some javascript code... After over weeks fight with the front page looking allright and next time uploaded, after a very small code changes, it's complete mosaic - I nearly lost my nerve when the solutions is not just found. Until this day I realized that it's the poor temporary Elisa web hotel I'm using to make this. Coloriasto front page is on the same server (temporarily though, I hope) and I have some time wondered why don't the page load completely even though it's not very heavy page (177Kb). This was both a very reliefing realization but somehow I'm now more frustrated than before. I don't have the time to move the whole site to another testing server since I have so little time and I can't trust in what I see on my screen. So, I just have to go with the Force. With my eyes totally covered and just trusting myself to make this right. Wow.

But after the site is refined I have to move it anyway - I just realized that if it doesn't show itself to me, how will it work with people who want to check it first before publishing. Whoa.

Close my eyes and count to ten...

Jyväskylä Artists' Association

2010-02-01T23:30:00.001+03:00

"Finally" n:o 1.
www.jkltaiteilijaseura.net

Jyväskylä Artists' Association site finally up and ready - but unfortunately not in English (at least not yet). This was a much more bigger mission than it probably looks like, since the site holds actually three sites: one for association itself, one for the art gallery with exhibitions and one for the art shop. Each artist of the association has a possibility to add an image/photo and some contact information next to his/her name; I've used accordion scripts to complete that one so that the site isn't too busy. Main page uses three main images: one for gallery is always reserved for on going exhibition; one is for art shop and one for the association. Images are clickable to full view with name and other information.

The update took the whole night and I got to go to bed at about 6am. What a glorious feeling it was to know that the site is up - at least until about 11 am when I went to have a meeting in Live Herring office and found out that the site didn't work at all. After waiting a while and after sending an angry email to web hotel provider I finally got information (this was already afternoon) that there were some kind of trouble with servers which were down. After some time I got a new message that everything is ok now. But it wasn't: they had replaced my new site version with old old old site. Boiling boiling boiling. Some boiling emails later the matter was fixed though.

Hey, mr. Murphy! Hope you had a nice visit here and hopefully I won't hear from you soon.

Ultravox - Thinwall

2010-01-30T03:03:00.003+03:00

Oh, Vlad, you say things in your website that I've hoped I had said - just about a million times.

The beginning of the year has started with massive re-design of Alvar Aalto Foundation site - which is not nearly close over. Which makes me a bit anxious.

Also at the working table now are the renewing of Jyväskylä Artist Society site (closer to re-launching than I can bear to think...), english pages for print maker Kirsi Neuvonen and some smaller sites for artists and friends - including Timppa and myself.

And also, the mother of all projects: a massive web exhibition about Uno Cygnaeus and Wolmar Schildt as it is their bicentennary celebration year (from their births if I remember right). Well, not so massive exhibition in contentwise but in realization... Let's see how it will turn out.

I started making some badges already before christmas but since then the time bubble for my own projects just miraculously disappeared. I have to somehow break out from this bubble.

Riiminka product labels

2010-01-19T22:27:00.000+03:00

Fast order: a simple two-sided product label design 50mmx90mm for Riiminka.

The new year...

2010-01-03T01:51:00.000+03:00

...started with a slight panic. I have been sleeping and eating and sleeping and... what the good people usually do in their super holidays. And now I'm standing here with my calendar on my hand wondering: in which moment it already filled?

I really have no time to wonder endlessly: I've been working with renewing of Alvar Aalto Foundation site and that has been a sort of hell. I was first commissioned to renew only the front page and the navigational system but as the navigation changes it affects to all pages. I haven't been with in planning the navigation (or user interface) and it's a bit hard to take in and implement the whole thing wisely. We talked first about a very slight code-based renewing which would help updating the site (which is not using cms) and which would be easy to do, but somehow I ended up receiving a folder full of new documents and updated texts on the site too. I realized today that I will have to start again and re-design the whole site - even though that is not my commission. Let's see what happens. These "one part" renewings has never been my friends, at least when I haven't been on the original team myself.

Uh, and I'll have a dentist next week. Not a good start.

Sivistyksen syke - bicentennial anniversary site for Cygnaeus and Schildt

2009-12-23T01:49:00.000+03:00

First pages of an information site for bicentennial celebration of two notable Finnish men, Uno Cygnaeus and Wolmar Schildt were published today. The bicentennial celebration will take place next year, in 2010. This is a very small information site which will contain - besides short introductions to both men - mainly the information calendar to the anniversary events. The event calendar and exhibition calendar will be opened during the beginning of 2010. I designed the overall visual look of the site commissioned by the City of Jyväskylä and the Museum of Jyväskylä University.

The anniversary will hold also an net exhibition which will open in March 2009. I'm commissioned to make graphics and execution of the site, but my work will be based on the script and vision by Anne Kalliomäki who has also written the texts to the info site.

unojawolmar200.jyvaskyla.fi

Christmas rush

2009-12-20T01:48:00.000+03:00

The year has been busy. I've been planning to update my web site (and Timppa's - which I had promised already before summer) and also start a new portfolio site but somehow time manages to pass us by flying. There have been some action on art front so I won't complain. I didn't sell any works from the Poriginal Gallery exhibition but while the exhibition I got a commission of 85 prints from Central Finland
Health Care District - which was good enough reason to start to plan another trip to Tuscany, Italy. Also, I have some of my prints on "Jouluksi kotiin" (To Home for Christmas) exhibition in Rööperin taidesalonki in Helsinki until January 6, 2010.

I also made some small sites. Jussi Jäppinen ky - graafinen suunnittelu was totally a collect-the-pieces-and-put-them-together gig: the site graphics and user interface as well as the whole content was provided for me by Jussi Jäppinen and his son (working in the same graphic design agency) Juho Jäppinen, so I won't take any credit for web design there. But it was a work project allright.

I still have to finish a layout for an anniversary site for Cygnaeus and Schildt - which is laid out in the cms of the City of Jyväskylä which cuts off a lot of creativity...

So, this is christmas: snow snow snow and it's freezing cold. But candles burning and hot cocoa. And chatting with Ulla who's still couple of days in the residence in Oaxaca, Mexico. It could be worse...

Badges...

2009-12-14T01:47:00.000+03:00

I designed my first snap-on badges to sell in some christmas events, f.ex. Art Museum Christmas Bazaar in the beginning of December. They sold quite well... The rest of my first badge set will be sold at the Jyväskylä Art Museum, museum shop and they will cost about 3 euros each.

I ordered another load of badge pin-back sets and hopefully I find some time to make more of these badges...

The Art Council of Central Finland

2009-11-18T01:46:00.000+03:00

The Art Council of Central Finland website was only "sort-or-renewed". There has been discussion or the renewing for years now but nothing concrete has happened so far. The old visual layout was last time renewed in last spring to its flowery springy look but it was meant to be a temporary look only. Since the decision of remaking the site is still on hold, I decided to make at least something refreshing: the Art Council logo was re-designed on September 2009 by Aino-Kaarina Pajari and instead just placing the logo into the old site, I decided to utilize the fresh logo design in site design as well. No constructual or code renewing was make, the update was cosmetical only.

www.kstaide.net

Live Herring ad in Arctic & Fabulous festival mag

2009-10-25T12:38:00.000+03:00

Live Herring and Arctic & Fabulour Film Festival have been working together since the first days of Live Herring and it was only fair that we would buy ad space from the festival mag. Plus it's a good place for us to info about our activities - even so, when we have this great show and workshop coming next March (by Sami van Ingen).
One page A5 size black and white ad.

Papiina site renewed

2009-10-25T01:45:00.000+03:00

Renewing Papiina site was a truly awaited project: the last site design was really hard to update. The site was simplified a lot and stage was given to those beautiful designs and beautiful photos and colours instead of text and logos. I used image scrolling in some pages to give some dynamic essence to the site.

www.papiina.com

Emalipuu - Enamel Wood

2009-09-19T01:44:00.001+03:00

I can't really remember when did we first start to plan the website project with Ulla and Arto (a couple who owns Emalipuu), but it was years ago. About five or six I guess? But it was a good thing that we could stew the project long enough, because now when it's done, I can proudly say that this was the most interesting and intriquing project in this year (I bet there are none web commissions like this coming, at least this year). I have visited Ulla and Arto in their home in the countryside several times with Tiina Leino who has made the printed material (calling cards, brochures, packages...) We've enjoyed coffee and talk a lot of other stuff too.

This project has been some kind of therapy for me, even though these kind of forever-lasting projects can be a pain in the ***. This wasn't. That doesn't mean that I wasn't relieved when the site was finally published.

I usually don't write any content to my commission websites. Normally I may advise with the headlines and content in general but I won't write the stories and do the copy writer's job at all. This time I took the copy writer's job as well as Ulla and Arto gave me free hands to write in my way. The texts came out a bit sentimental but overall good.

~~Only in Finnish:~~ www.emalipuu.fi

Animoitu liike - The Animated Movement

2009-09-16T12:23:00.001+03:00

Finally - the time is here for animated movement...

In this year’s programme of the Jyväskylä based Time of Dance Festival there is a novel workshop that combines dance and media art: Live Herring work group organizes Animated Movement workshop in cooperation with Time of Dance Festival. The workshop is an open to all, walk-in workshop and it's organized in September 24-26 in Jyväskylä City Library.

The event is produced by Live Herring and planned by Matti Niinimäki and me. Matti and I got a joint grant from AVEK to prepare the project: Matti has concentrated on the technical side of the project and I have been working with the workflow of the workshop, the overall concept and on more artsy side background graphics - and ofcourse the printed material. The concept of the workshop was originally mine but has been since developed in co-operation with Matti.

The Finnish site of the project: www.liveherring.org/animoitu_liike
Read Live Herring feeds of the subject in English www.liveherring.org/tag/animated-movement

Jyväskylä Seura ry

2009-08-25T01:43:00.000+03:00

Jyväskylä Seura ry aka The Jyväskylä Society is an regional society aiming to develope the surroundings in several ways. The society wants to spread the information of the area of Jyväskylä and also tries to get people to be interested on their own home surroundings.

Making this website was a few year project (as many of those website projects for societys and associations are) and it was first meant to use wordpress as cms. But after some time, the whole idea of word press went out and I made the whole page in old fashioned way (using some ajax to ease the navigation etc. though). The site is now updated by the societys secretery.

The site design is very minimal. I had a fading background in my first implementation but the final version is very clean - and ofcourse the main colours are blue and white...

Only in Finnish: jyvaskylaseura.fi

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

2009-08-16T13:09:00.001+03:00

A three days workshop period took finally the whole week of preparing and changing the plans - especially when the target audience was not the original planned. When the workshop didn't sell out to its target audience, the orderer filled the course with its own workers and students. Which is ok otherwise but I had planned the whole three day session to a particular group of people. So, suddenly I stood there with a material I had made for many days and of which I had no use because the basic situation had changed so much. Everything worked out well however, and there were at least few people there who were very positive and thought that they had received a lot from the course. Still - it wasn't my best workshop, not even near.

The exhibition in Lahti will open in beginning of September and all the promo material with press releases and such should be already there. We made posters and invitation flyers and managed to post them on time but I still have to write some texts today and update my CV for the gallery. Actually, I was quite shocked when I saw the invitation flyer printed. I didn't require the proof before printing because I had to be in the workshop and because the image was totally the same as I used in the Jämsä exhibition (with absolutely no changes on the imagefile but the texts) and even the paper was the same. So, when after Timppa had posted all the posters and flyers and brought me one to see, I noticed that it was almost black and white. What the hell? It doesn't actually look very bad, but *it's not the original*. I have no idea if the posters are the same, since I don't have any extra posters myself but everything was shipped to Lahti. I have to go to the print house tomorrow to hear their explanation of this - and hopefully to get some price down.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

2009-08-11T18:37:00.000+03:00

My (almost) pro bono -project... I designed the The Craft Museum of Finland website about nine years ago and nothing's changed since then (besides small front page update) - until now! I decided to renew the whole site using ajax and all kinds of small improvements that help generally to keep updated information... well, up to date. The site is still in trial so there are amounts of small things still to be fixed but any way... I still have to design more dynamic background - now the site is too plain and somewhat boring when it comes to its structure. I actually designed the site last winter when there was still the old logo - which was more light and sort of "flying" and created a whole another atmosphere to the site. But anyway: I hope that the functions are now more dynamical and hopefully also the content will be easier to manage.

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Hot hot hot. They promised thunder and rain in the weather forecast but so far only small few drops water have fallen. The air is so sticky and heavy though that I'd be amazed if this didn't lead to a grande thunder storm later today. Hopefully I have battery enough on my laptop to finish all the prints for Lahti exhibition (starting in the beginning of September).

Live Herring calling cards

2009-08-10T11:52:00.000+03:00

FINALLY I got the calling cards ready to print. It only took about six months to move them from my laptop to my home computer and to change two minor thingies. Lazy me. But hey - we had something more important to do...

The card is double sided: the black side showing Live Herring is the same with every one and the other side holds the information of the card holder.

Smashing Pumpkins - Siva

2009-08-07T23:52:00.004+03:00

I did it - FINALLY - after so much time just planning! I now have a small shop in Etsy: colorianna.etsy.com where I'm selling my unique colouring pictures and later also some other stuff. Like those monsterous badges I wrote about earlier: I ordered some plastic snap-on badges and I'm planning to make them very soon, after I get some of the most critical jobs done.

I also made another shop in Etsy where I will sell my smaller non-limited edition prints - later. I'll open it after I've got my other shop well running.

...And after I've managed through August. Next week is a bit frightening: at least one meeting a day, three major deadlines, three-day (whole day) course to run and finally: finishing the invitations and posters to Lahti exhibition opening in September 1st. Hmmm.

But nothing feels so bad as long as there are those warm sunny days outside. :D

La Roux - Tigerlily

2009-07-22T11:39:00.000+03:00

I've been planning to make Monsterium badges for ages but for some reason I've done nothing to proceed with that project for ages. Yesterday, however, the Riiminka designers were visiting me and we made some badge designs for their collection. They've purchased a badge machine which made me to look around web for some prices etc. The badge machines are a bit expensive (well, in this state when I don't actually have the product quite ready yet and no byers to be seen) but I found some nice looking clip on badges which won't need machine at all. I thought I'll give it a try. If it seems that there is some demand for Monsterium badges, I could always rent a badge machine for a day (and I could borrow one from Riiminka, they promised). I however could first try out some clipping badges and see how they'll be received. (I also found some nice printable puzzle templates etc. Hmmm...)

I've been also making new colouring images. It's easier to find time when the weather is like this: thunder and rain and constantly turning my computer off and on. (A few years back during a thunder storm we took of all the other plugs but the old phone - which was then hit by the thunder. Even though we live in a block of flats in the city, not somewhere in the countryside. That's why I've become somewhat paranoid with thunder - I don't want to buy all the electrical devices. Even if the insurance would pay for them, I couldn't face another installation process of all computer thingies... Grrr.) Anyway, during the rainy thundery days it's nice to sit on a comfortable chair next to the living room window and just draw. Somehow it's always more rewarding to finish something hand made.

(This one in the images is not actually a badge design but part of the Monsterium poster I made last year...)

Royksopp / Robyn - The Girl And The Robot

2009-07-20T20:14:00.000+03:00

[Absent 29. Pigment ink print, 15x14cm. Edition of 5.]
I sold one image from Wanha Woimala exhibition (to Canada!) and one from Pikku Galleria exhibition (to Helsinki). But gladly the Poissa - Absent series seems to be quite popular: I've used a couple of days just printing and signing the images... which isn't a lot really: I'm just slow. The hot and thundering weather makes me sooo slow in all possible ways. Anyway, I should only get my new site finished as soon as possible with all the new images and a good catalogue of my work. (*Should.*) I've tried to tell people to request the images via Gallery Becker / The Gallery of Jyväskylä Art Society which also lends out images with small down payments.

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I also got a little surprise a while ago: Matti Niinimäki's and my "Animated movement" project got a small grant for project planning. More about the project later - the workshop (+ sidekicks) will be a part of Tanssin Aika (dance festival) in the end of September.

Mansun - Wide Open Space

2009-06-23T11:57:00.002+03:00

Elsewhere - exhibition in Jämsä from June 23rd to July 14th, 2009.
Open daily, free entrance.

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After this exhibition I have a few months break from art exhibitions, hopefully I'm able to finish my print website before the next exhibitions hit. I'm a bit late with my work projects at this time but I just have to put some extra effort... After I've returned from Medieval Festival from Turku where I'll be going for the end of the week...

The Mummers - Wonderland

2009-06-04T12:42:00.003+03:00

This has taken my time: making images and all the work projects at the same time. + School.

Hopefully I'll get a tiny glance of the summer at one point...

Timo Sälekivi & Päivi Hintsanen Absent
Exhibitions in Wanha Woimala
(Naissaari, Vaajakoski, Jyväskylä)
10.-28.6.2009
Exhibitions open from Tuesday to Sunday 12-18
Free entrance

Welcome!

Villakas

2009-05-13T01:42:00.000+03:00

Tiina Leino is my good friend: a graphic designer, emphasis on the print world. This very talented woman has worked about zillion years in advertizing agencies until she finally decided to move in countryside and start her own business as freelancer. A Finnish name of "Villakas" refers to something woolly - which brings out Tiina's another hobby (and hopefully work too): crafts. She will organize at least some natural dye workshops during the summer of 2009.

The site design is heavily based on Tiina's own calling card design and she has also drawn the outlines for the whole work.

Only in Finnish: www.villakas.fi

Malmilta maailmalle - net exhibition for Alvar Aalto Museum

2009-03-19T01:40:00.001+03:00

"From Malmi (airport) to the world" is a net exhibition commissioned by Alvar Aalto Museum. It exhibits f.ex. the designwork that Aalto's architecture bureau made for Aero Oy. The exhibition also shows the numerous trips Aalto made and how those trips influenced his architecture design.

For me, making this net exhibition was a great deal of fun: I got to view the old, vintage tickets, cards and Aalto's personal calendar notes. The schedule was quite tight and it was clear that I was not able to make any kind of flashy multimedia show, but - and as I understood the museum as commissioner wanted - I ended up making a clear three part site; one part presenting the housing area Aerola, one the interior design of the airport and one of Aalto's travels. I kept those three parts separate and created very simple pages for them.

Net exhibition, only in Finnish: www.alvaraalto.fi/net/malmilta_maailmalle

Flying (Live) Herring

2009-03-12T12:52:00.000+03:00

There is a communal exhibition on the theme of flying in The Art Museum of Jyväskylä and of course Live Herring wanted to be part of it. We bring some old flying related films and also flying games to the exhibition. And our own flying agency A2 size poster - only three pieces were made.

I had so much fun in making this. I haven't been making printed material a lot and I've made even less anything vector based. This is most likely my first public / commission work made by using vector graphics. I used both Illustrator and Photoshop in designing this poster. I wanted the print to look old, so it was printed to offwhite matte paper - the printshop didn't have any yellowish paper on stock and we didn't have time to order one. But I'm quite pleased with outcome.

The Shop page for Craft Museum of Finland

2009-03-06T01:37:00.000+03:00

The Craft Museum wanted something different for their shop - not the usual nanny-layout so many times associated to crafts but something different. The task was to create one page which could present the whole variety of the shop selection, not to create an online shopping possibilities. When I started to make layout I knew already that updating the page could be a difficult task: information runs well but photos are the issue. So the whole layout could not be based on some topical visual issues but I had to find some timeless elements. And something dynamic.

The page is actually very simple: just one page with two main items: books and other items. Books, other items and the t-shirt poser are picked randomly with every reload of the site. So, first time you may see the girl standing on white t-shirt, a book about rugs and hand made toys and the next time you come to visit you'l may see the girl standing on black t-shirt, book about socks and some jewellery made out of forks. Small product introductions will open by clicking the small images.

Because the "other items" div is placed on the right lower corner, the site seems a bit empty when viewed by larger browsers. I'm going to fill the background of the page with badge images to avoid empty spaces... - when I'll get them...

And because of the lack of shop photographer - my first photo commission ever! Quite good photos with my compact camera without any special lightning. Would not work in brochures, but on the net site - who would guess that they are not taken by a professional photographer... :D

www.craftmuseum.fi/shop/

This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren

2009-01-29T00:58:00.001+03:00

Antti Auvinen

2008-12-03T01:35:00.000+03:00

The Finnish classical music composer Antti Auvinen's website was both challenging and fun to make: something different for a while. Antti's idea of having a "different" website was born when he visited my work-o-matic - he wanted some kind of grazy machine also for himself. The final site is based on my first sketch but boy was it built! There is also a more user friendly version of the composer machine there, somewhere...

Cardinal - Dream Figure

2008-12-03T00:38:00.001+03:00

Some time ago I got a little order for unique coloring pictures and finally I got the set ready to be sent to orderer. I'm hoping to get some more coloring images to be sold in Art Museum Bazaar. These images are drawn to a 200g acid free Fabriano drawing paper with water proof archival pigment ink Picma Micron 08 marker and each image is unique with signature. I've planned my colouring tip site for ages now... Maybe it's finally the time to realize some ideas. Soon...

Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why

2008-11-25T14:45:00.001+03:00

www.taitoshop.fi/en
Just went online: Taito-Shop site also in English (selected content...) with a christmassy layout.

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And short advertisement is always a good thing: At December 13-14 there will be an "art bazaar" at the Art Museum of Jyväskylä where I'll sell (or try to) my prints and possibly some colour/dyeing related stuff. I have prints ok, but this dye thing (I had planned to make some dye example kits) is still unsure since I've been with flu for some weeks already and not very vital at the moment...

Walkmen - The Rat

2008-11-11T03:01:00.003+03:00

Three membered (Soile, Ilkka and I) Live Herring work group was nominated as regional artist of film and media-art by the Central Finland Art Council. We start our project from the beginning of year 2009. After two years work there is still a possibility to have three more years if we do our job well... Our Very Official (!?) portrait is from “Wish You Were There?” installation of Tomi Knuutila which is part of the Live Herring ‘08 exhibition.

More about Live Herring and the exhibition going on right now (until November 23rd) from www.liveherring.org

Live Herring 08 print design

2008-10-24T12:05:00.000+03:00

How did I end here? My first ever printed two-sided REAL brochure (not those copied ones), a poster and a flyer...

The brochure design is a doubleside A4, folded in three parts, the inner sleeve showing the main works of the exhibition. The poster is very simple A3 size poster.

More about Live Herring and the exhibition going on right now (until November 23rd) from www.liveherring.org

The National - Fake Empire

2008-09-03T03:14:00.001+03:00

Documenting work days, project continues:

(~10am) Started the day with answering some emails with full coffee cup on my side. The exhibition place for next June is now reserved for Timppa and me - this was truly good news since we were already thinking that the place wasn't available anymore. The meetings for tomorrow confirmed. Sent some Project X ideas to be read before the meeting. Requesting about one missing url for one net exhibition (of which people are starting to be mad to me even though its not my project at all... Grrrr.)

Some photo searching and photoediting for Swedish Taito Shop site (to be open soon).

Some wlan modem configuration... (ARGH!)

Received a letter with intranet passwords from school. Wrote some stuff for school.
Started making demos of the Craft Museum one page shop layout but couldn't get too far when I had to leave.

Went to computer shop to ask about the missing bioprotection of a new laptop / notebook. (Where I met one friend from a looooong time ago - who actually doesn't live that far from here. Promised to send him Facebook inv. but this day it just didn't happen...)

(~1pm) At about one met with A in café. Discussed about some personal stuff + some design/art related possible projects (for the next year).

(~2pm) because of cancelled meeting ended up to the Central Finland Arts Council to have more coffee and to read some encyclopedia. Wrote down some ideas for following meeting and some ideas for the art project next summer.

(~4.30pm) Project X meeting in Sohwi - where I also had my meal.

(~5.30pm) Live Herring project meeting with only some things to talk about.

(~7pm) Home, downloading some press images for a couple of projects. Sending my comments of the flyer of Live Herring / Arctic & Fabulous / Jyväskylä Art Museum / Jyväskylä light event. Forwarded dates for Art Fair in Helsinki.

(~8pm) Some small updates for Swedish Taito Shop demo. Also some product updates for Finnish TaitoShop.

(~9pm) Setting up the wlan for new laptop / notebook. (Hallelujah, it's now working. So proud of myself.) Continued a bit with Craft Museum shop layout but still didn't finish. Thank God for coffee.

(~11pm) Working with if you just project.

(~1.30am) Small updates to Värjärikilta site. Sending blog invitation to one dyers' guild member.

(~1.50am) Updating Savi-M site.

(~2.30am) Still some adjustments with if you just project.

(~3am) Writing this. Very tired. Head filled with stuff.

Come - Bell

2008-08-19T12:43:00.000+03:00

I haven't been to Estonia since 1990 (for a few days in Talling in some strange rock / punk festival) when it was still part of Soviet Union. Except for a short drive through via Via Baltica in 2002 when Timppa and I drove with Sebastian B. to Vilnius, Lithuania in one day and then Timppa and I returned for about week later from Vilnius to Tallinn by bus in one night and then right across the sea back to Helsinki without seeing anything. So, the former is a whole different story and the latter doesn't really count.

When textile artist Ulla Lapiolahti told me last autumn about this potato print festival that she had heard of, I was ready to go right away. So, when the middle of the August finally came, we packed out bags and after one night stay in Helsinki we crossed over to Tallinn, took the train from Tallinn to Türi and continued from there to the Laupa mansion. The whole festival was organised very freely without any timetable stress or pressure to do everything in a strict way or order which suited me more than well. We even worked in my normal day schedule (breakfast in 10 or 11 ... or at 1 pm...).

Since I find myself sitting in the front of my computer monitor 24/7, the festival was really a refreshing break to my usual life. I found also the place, the Laupa mansion and its peaceful surroundings, to be absolute meditational heaven. The mansion, which works as a school these days, was under renovation and everything was piled and wrapped - the pianos for example were wrapped in plastic foil - which brought more of the surrealistic clang to the place. I enjoyed sitting around the building just feeling the atmosphere. There were many empty spaces and I was a bit frustated that I *didn't* pack Zoom (digital sound recorder) with me - there would have been many strange and beautiful voices and soundscapes to save...

Anyway, I really didn't get as much images done as I had planned but I got some new ideas to my future art work and other work projects too. I wrote many pages to my memo book after arriving home at Sunday night / Monday morning at about three/four am, before going to sleep. I'm absolutely enthusiastic right now! Ulla gave a lecture of natural dyes and pigments and for the first time I tried printing with natural dyes - I did most of my prints with soot black (which is pigment) and cochenille and madder tinctures mixed with gum arabic. This is the thing that I must continue to do. (I still have to find more detailed info about concentrating the natural dyes into inks and paints though.)

Sadly I noticed that I haven't got any images from the lecture of potatos (changing the world) by the director of London Print Studio, John Phillips, which I found really interesting and entertaining. Lecture by Phillips was not the only thing I didn't take pictures of. I'm quite angry with myself for not taking more images from the event generally, since there would have been so much to document. When I looked through my photo files I found mainly images from the Laupa mansion rooms and little details all over... Well, it's the organizers' fault really: why do they find such an interesting place to have the event... :)

Anyway: new ideas, new working methods, new techniques and most important: new, interesting contacts. People taking part to the festival were with various backgrounds which made the festival more interesting. I hope to be in contact with those people in future too.

More about the festival: www.printpotato.pri.ee Festival works will be exhibited in EKA Galerii (Eesti Kunstiakadeemia, Tallinn) September 3.-15, 2008.

Bookhouse Boys - Dead

2008-08-07T21:01:00.001+03:00

Unbelievable - three months have passed since my last blogging. What has happened? Well, we spent the most wonderful two weeks in Florence in Italy in May; in June we took a short trip to see Finnish lighthouses on the west coast, I took part to the Medieval Market in Turku with Värjärikilta (Dyers' Guild); in July we went back to Turku for Ruisrock and on the end of the month I travelled to Evo to spend some days in dye courses etc - and next week I'll be travelling to Estonia. But nothing has happened on my digital web / graphic mastering office. NOTHING at all. (Copy-pasting doesn't really count.)

I'm a bit behind with all of my work projects; many ideas going around inside my head but nothing coming out except blurry versions of them - so there's really absolutely nothing new with my life at this time.

Except: in June I found out that I got accepted in school: in autumn I'll start studying masters programme in media production in Tampere. Not moving there though. That should be interesting...

Css - Rat Is Dead

2008-05-03T15:04:00.000+03:00

Eemil.fi www.eemil.fi [January 2008; graphic design]

It's soooo beautiful outside that it almost hurts. Well... It hurts. As I am sitting inside trying to finish some projects off so I can have a few nice holidays without worrying unfinished projects.

The spring has provided me some lowest lows and highest highs. I won't talk about the lows more than that it was something to do with my health and everything is ok now, nothing to worry anymore. But more words about the highs: the absolutely highest point of this season was when I received the Cultural prize of The Jyväskylä City. It was given me in the ten year anniversary seminar of the Jyväskylä Art Museum April 22, 2008. I learned about the prize already in February but I had to keep it hush-hush until the prize giving day, but because my spring has been so full of things to think about, I actually realized the whole thing after the prize was given to me and partying happened. Feels quite strange. Nice but strange.

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Lately I've been working with my portfolios. I decided to apply to a school - to get me an upper level degree. I *did* fill all the forms needed and I *did* made myself a portfolio of my recent doings, however, I'm not here when the interview part of the process is going on. So, let's see how it goes and can I fix something up.
I updated my work-o-matic and simplex a bit but there are still some projects missing. I'm hoping to get myself pulled together to make a proper portfolio and also a new art site. But this has to wait for some time...

Marit Bergman - Out On The Piers

2008-03-28T13:29:00.003+03:00

The Finnish Critics Association www.sarv.fi [2007/2008; graphic design]

Spring is the time for endles copy-pasting. New spring collections for both Papiina (the site design is not mine but I've been updating the site anyway) and Riiminka are now online.

This last week I've been having a short easter holidays and then a few day trip to Kuopio (not really recommending for spending more than one day in winter time; propably nice town to live but not for city tourist). I've done some projects that have been hanging there for a while, f.ex. Värjärikilta (Dyer's Guild) logo and new site layout which I hope to realize in a few weeks time.

I've also been fighting with composer Antti Auvinen's website. I've liked that project from the beginning because Antti had such strong opinions and wishes of how the site should be and I've had some challenges that I've really like solving - like a large puzzle mystery. But now it's finally starting bugging me a bit because nothing works like I've planned. The very same thing is happening with Jyväskylä Art Museum site.

Then there is co-operation project with dancer Noora Nenonen (If you just...) which is a cross media art project. I should finish the website this weekend... Another project that I don't know yet how to execute the whole thing.

So off I go. To scrub my head.

ps. About the SARV project of which the image is from... The final layout is a version of my layout. Originally there was quite different navigation font, a little bit lighter (not due to colours but not so heavy).

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Misery Loves Its Company

2008-03-17T11:37:00.001+03:00

Textile Artist Hannele Ollakka www.hanneleollakka.fi [December 11 2007]

I've been passive onliner for a couple of weeks: I've read a lot blogs and just wandered around the net but haven't written anything or finished any work projects. I've just put things to be done further away. Some kind of overload.

Beginning of this year - so far - has held the deep lows and highest heights, the both at same time. There were some serious things happening in my life - still are, but things are looking much more brighter at already. Although I'm not writing about anything devastating, somebody passing away or anything like that, there are sometimes these small defining moments when you just stop and look around and notice where you are and what you've done.

My moment turned out to be good: a new start really. I decided to put more effort to the visual design, illustration and design thingies in general. Maybe those zillions of post-its will get to put in "projects done" file instead of "projects that will never be realized".

Plumb - Cut

2008-02-29T13:48:00.002+03:00

Photographer Mikko Auerniitty www.auerniitty.fi [December 11 2007]

About Mikko's site (above): I really enjoyed making the simple site with simple solutions for Mikko. The project was fast to execute and co-operation went fluently. Right now we both have images exhibited in the photography exhibition in Galleria Harmonia still a few more days. (This is a funny thing really: I was packing my exhibition works to be removed from the gallery when I noticed that there was an invitation to all photographic based word to be juried to the exhibition. So I left three of my works to be juried and they all made it!)

Some of the other projects I'm working with are a bit heavier and slower to execute. Sometimes it just feels that I would like to finish the projects already. But sometimes I feel that the time has brought up some new and fresh ideas (like with Auvinen's website, almost finished) that I wouldn't have got otherwise.

But what's really irritating are my own projects: I've been adding post-its about my ideas to my wall and now there are about thirty of them. Some of them are a littler harder to start but most of them would be so easy to make when I just would got myself to do so. Grrr. It just feels that when the day's work is done, there's no more mental capacity to do anything else but stare voidly telly and think about nothing. I should organize myself one day at week which would be completely dedicated to me, myself and I.

There's some light at the end of the dark working tunnel though: yesterday I bought a paper cutter (gilliotine type) and I'm seriously giving some time and effort to make these small booklets I've dreamt about. We took also a brochure from the shop and yesterday I noticed that they sell these large envelopes (that the post office doesn't) into which I could fit my large prints. I calculated that I could also fit in a few cardboards to give some strenght. One problem solved; only few - like custom declarations etc. - to solve.

Jeff Buckley - Lover You Should've Come Over

2008-02-21T12:01:00.000+03:00

Taitosaari project www.aivia.fi/kadentaitajat [December 10 2007]

Last autumn I was teaching at Taitosaari project in Viitasaari and Saarijärvi on weekends. The courses / lectures were given to the craft makers of that area. The website above, published in December 07, was the final ending to the project. During last autumn I got to know some really nice and talented people and while I taught them about the digital possibilities, they got me inspirated of making things with my hands. I found myself drawing and cutting paper and making all kinds of small hobby crafts. And enjoying it.

My book making enthusianism has gone further: I've made lots of sketches and all kinds of notes about my following projects. I'll be also making I've ordered a paper cutter - which did cost quite much (can't be lazy now) - and I'm planning opening a webshop. Shop opening hoolaballoo will propably take place after we'll come back from Florence at the beginning of June... I'm very hopeful about this whole project and I wish that some day I could concentrate more on graphical designing (and *my kind* of graphical designing) but at the same time I know that work in the craft field can be quite devastating.

Because there are also some sad news: the web site for Eeva Ylönen got cancelled when Eeva decided to end making craftworks. That's quite sad because I was really waiting forward to publish the site - there were many new ideas and small visual effects that would have made the site very interesting (and of course the products themselves).

Klaxons - Atlantis to Interzone

2008-02-05T20:11:00.000+03:00

Noramies.com kainoramies.com [November 27 2007]

Last weekend I learnt how to make books. I've taken a similar (or actually two week) course of book binding when I was in school in Tampere but it was ages ago. I noticed right away in the very start of this weekend course that all the old information had vanished from my head. This time I have to take care not to forget this craft because I really enjoy the possibilities of what I could do with book binding skills. I have one idea of making these small 10-page "dye books", each binded using different printed and numbered sheets with image and dye samples; each book containing different leaves. Another idea is making sort of artists books about colour which all will be individual, used both printed material and some collage techniques.

Making prints and books and developing different techniques to complete my art projects have given me enermous amount of energy with my other projects too. Some how making things with your hands and creating stuff makes you even more creative. Odd, but seems to be true.

Small updates to Alvar Aalto Foundation, The Craft Museum of Finland, The Arts Council of Central Finland and satumontanari.com.

Don Fardon - I'm alive

2008-01-30T02:12:00.000+03:00

Textile Artist Satu Montanari satumontanari.com [August 2007]

Unbelievable how the time flies. I generally find blogging a way to sort of "empty my desk" after a workday or after an extensive project but somehow I seldom blog these days. Maybe there's just too much happening and I'm starting to avoid nerdy life style. Or maybe there's just nothing going on with my life... Anyway, I notice that my English is getting rusty. Have to start practising again.

Actually, there has been something going on: my exhibition will go on still + one week and I've already sold two works! Last week I received a grant for update/developement project for Coloria and Coloriasto, and also a new project with dancer Noora Nenonen and I ...If You Just Asked got a small grant.

Also, my Grande Art Project News is definitely the most biggest artwork order this far: before christmas I got a call from the Jyväskylä Municipality which wanted to order 90 prints from me to be given as gifts. Of course I said yes. So, it was a bit hectic for a while when I tried to make both these commission works and my exhibition + all the work projects. Right now it starts to look good. I've already delivered some of the artworks to my client and there's not much left to finish.

At the same time when I'm feeling absolutely exhausted, I'm very enthusiastic too. Positive comments from my works lately have really swinged my mood up and given some extra energy. I would so much like to do something completely new and different design projects right now - something more graphical and powerful. I'll have to sketch something down soon - maybe using Illustrator again after a while. Would do good. Some practising there too...

Displacements - Lazy Bones

2008-01-04T13:47:00.000+03:00

Once Upon A Time...
Galleria Harmonia Jan 10 - Feb 10 2008
(Hannikaisenkatu 39, Jyväskylä; across the road from the railwaystation)
Welcome to exhibition opening
in Jan 10 at 6 pm

Raveonettes - You Want The Candy

2007-12-09T02:59:00.000+03:00

This autumn has beed absolute madness. I've never worked as much as I've been doing this few months.

These are finished:

satumontanari.com for textile designer Satu Montanari, published already in August (in Finnish, English and Italian).

kainoramies.com for the Noramies family (about sculpturer Kai Noramies and his daughters Irina and Anita, both artists), published in November 27 (coming soon also in English).

Taitosaari project was a EU project including craftsmen from Northern Central Finland region. I travelled to small towns Viitasaari and Saarijärvi almost ech weekend during the autumn and gave lectures about net and designing and stuff. Website for project was actually opened today at www.aivia.fi/kadentaitajat (only in Finnish).

First autumn layout, and then christmas layout for Taito Shop.

Flash screening project for Jyväskylä Art Museum's window for December.

Websites for f.ex. composer Antti Auvinen, photographer Mikko Auerniitty, artist Anna-Lea Kopper and textile artist Hannele Ollakka are well on their way and so are visual redesign of Säynätsalo, Craft Museum and Jyväskylä Art Museum sites and visual design of the site for Jyväskylä's museums.

And about my own art projects:

The co-operation project Lepidophobia dance piece with Noora Nenonen (dance) (+using Mikko Hietaharju's soundtrack) got its premiere in November 15th. I made a flash piece based on my online Lepidophobia project (which I haven't been able to update due to my technical problems).

The most nerv breaking though is my future exhibition: one month to opening and nothing ready. I'll let you know...

Lancashire Hotpots - Chippy Tea

2007-09-13T02:55:00.000+03:00

More illustration, more print...

I did some small illustrations (six) for Craft Museum's following exhibition. I had a small crisis when I started to make them since my hand started hurting and I couldn't draw them as I had originally planned. Thankfully the pain went away nearly totally in less than a week and I could finish the job the way I had planned. (Well, not quite, because I'm not very pleased with all illustrations I made.) I scanned my drawings and then added some ideas with Photoshop.

Today I started day by conversation with Eeva Ylönen / Paperiverstas to whom I'll be making netsite and some printed material (business card and some brochures). I basicly KNOW much about print world but I really don't have that much experience on that area, so I'm a bit excited about the project.

Bat For Lashes - Horses & I

2007-09-11T10:27:00.000+03:00

A few weeks ago we took a week+ tour in Iceland. Before that I was overloaded with work and after the trip I've been so empty headed that I can barely write my name anymore. (Images of that fab trip are seen in http://www.coloriasto.net/kuvat/07islanti/ - descriptions only in Finnish but photo
s speak international language... *grin*)

And now I'm back in my own private working factory, here's how it goes - my today's hc-listing:

* Wrote to T.V. and invited him to be one of the guests in Spirited Herring in November exhibition
* Paid my taxes, one invoice and also paid back the loan I took for Iceland trip
* Wrote a short of my colour tree lecture (kept in June on Dyer's Days in Rymättylä) for the Värillä zine
* Ordered some print papers for my new printer (HP Photosmart 9180)
* Got a photo cd from Eeva for her brochures
* Talked in phone with Mikko about the illustrations for exhibition sheets
* Searched image material for projects
* Updated exhibition images to Gallery Becker site
* Small updates to Alvar Aalto Foundation site and The Craft Museum of Finland
* Downloaded new project images for Kirsi Neuvonen, Eeva Ylönen and Papiina to my hard drive
* Made some updates to Papiina site

And that was it. Drop dead tired.

Etta James - Tell Mama

2007-08-01T22:17:00.000+03:00

Coloria [Aug 1 2007]

And there it is. My private headbanger's ball. No use for non-Finnish speakers though and not yet so visual... But getting there.

Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitars

2007-07-31T16:37:00.000+03:00

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

2007-07-24T13:07:00.000+03:00

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

2007-07-03T13:42:00.000+03:00

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*

Editors - The Weight Of The World

2007-06-19T15:19:00.000+03:00

Back to the reality.

I was planning to keep myself busy working the whole weekend but as I had my birthday yesterday... I had decided earlier that there won't be any kind of party thingies going on (and there wasn't, just an early morning tournee to fleamarket (3 dvd Travolta box just about covers my cultural void for the moment: Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Stayin' Alive!) and some wondering around the town before entering home). However, I received Kingdom Hearts II as present and I just had to try it a little bit. For three hours.

This morning I woke up early and decided to play an hour and only for one hour. Well, I played one and half but who's counting? The important part is that right now I'm working.

---

I've had some interesting new acquaintances lately. Some of them through my new projects (of which I'll raport later when they are more topical).

McQueen - Numb

2007-06-03T15:30:00.000+03:00

sisasuomentanssi.fi (published 27.5.2007)

Work + work + gadgets + work = no time for writing down thoughts.

I've purchased new Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium package and I'm so fascinated by it... I've had this terrible urge to make something unreal and untraditional small projects with Flash. Only, I haven't used flash for so long time that it took me forever to make a few very easy fade-ins and -outs to Maijas Tanssiva kaupunki (Dancing Town) project. But I'm optimistic.

On Friday I had a meeting with dancer Noora N. first about our artsy project next autumn, based on my Lepidophobia project and Noora's studies on butterflies. I'm really excited about the project since I've never before done any own projects that are so strongly connected with dance.

I also met composer Antti A. with whom we've had such fun meetings... I can hardly wait to start his homepage project since he absolutely don't want anything ordinary. I know I'm going to challenge myself with this project and I already get some small panic attack symptoms when I even think about the project. But Antti and I think lot alike so I KNOW this project will be absolute fun.

There are a lot of projects unfinished but so near finishing line...

I've already promised to make a few big projects in autumn but from now on I'm going to give a big NO (well, not that loud) to anyone asking (at least for big projects). I'm going to make time for my artsy projects from September to December as much as possible. On weekends I have some teaching projects in Viitasaari / Saarijärvi region but I'm going to bring my laptop with me and have the courses as some kind of retreat also. Also the "students" will be from cultural jobs (artesans & such mostly) and the area of my teaching is very clear for me, so I also expect that the interaction with us will give me some new ideas for my work.

Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle

2007-04-27T12:40:00.000+03:00

Something finished... finally

www.taitoshop.fi
Taito Shop site opened April 5th

www.craftmuseum.fi/taitolehti/
Taidon sata vuotta (The Hundred Years of Taito (which means skill)) aka the Taito magazine centennial exhibition opened April 18th

Both sites are only in Finnish (for now).

The spring is here. The sun shines. Angst away and super manic processes turned on. As I didn't have enough in my official works - I still had to begin making (finally) Coloriasto which will be an archive of all kinds of colour related texts...

The Banshee - Talking On The Phone

2007-04-17T01:00:00.000+03:00

Detritus exhibition at Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, US, has opened today.

I've been back home since Friday. NIN and Ladytron gig was good and the whole week was quite fun... But I'm soooo glad to be home again. Work-a-holic.

As soon as I came home I started working with Taito mag Centennary net exhibition. The project is not anymore in so deep panic mode as one could think - actually, I'm feeling quite calm about it. There's still tomorrow evening - when I can fix the rest of it. Eh.

I've also made dozens of small updates and continued making site for Satu Montanari... And I *should* make few layouts before next Monday and finish the dancer's site before Tuesday. I propably have never had as many unfinished projects at the same time as I have now. Nevermind. I'll survive.

Tomorrow and the day after that I'll be teaching in JAO. Oh, what an evil plan I have on my mind...

Bloc Party - I Still Remember Sebastian Mix

2007-04-03T19:11:00.000+03:00

I just got a request to keep one big course about net and its possibilities for craft makers. I expressed my interest towards it since it will happen next autumn. Hopefully I'm finished with all my projects until then...

There *has been* some changes to SARV layout as I earlier jinxed. Not all my design is deleted, but enough: it's not really my design anymore even though the basic scene is still there. I don't mind otherwise (since the very base of this job is to the client the right to be always right) but this time I'll start being quite strict about it that my name isn't mentioned as designer in the cases where I see my design altered too much.

I'm kind of stressing about Taito mag Centennary net exhibition. Or I *should* be. The reality hasn't hit me yet. But I have about two days to finish the project since it's released on April 14 and I just realized that there is Easter first and then I'll be in Helsinki for some days. No time to adjust too much.
But I quite enjoying making the exhibition layout - something different for a while.

30 Second To Mars - The Kill

2007-03-28T00:01:00.000+03:00

Not a very good working day. I've accomplished nothing big and there has been dozens of buzzing things and small fast updates here and there. Though my meeting with Ellinoora about dance project website was good (and FUN!) and things are going forward. Ice creamy meetings are always the most succesful ones.

I also saw the first coded template of SARV project. I wasn't quite happy with the result yet. I hope that my layout design is not completely ran over. But I'm already adjusted to the thought that maybe the original layout won't be the one published. Gave up upon that, sort of.

Oh, and just for note: Papiina changed their website look to resemble their graphic design in their printed material. Original print design is made by Leea Wasenius. I still continue updating the site but I have nothing to do with the design of this version!

Elastica - 2:1

2007-03-26T23:36:00.001+03:00

No time to blog - too much work to do. This is pure madness. I work my *** off and still it seems that nothing gets ready and the work just doesn't end. The most strangest thing is that when I actually DO work, I have good time and not any kind of anxiety at all. But when I take a break and view my so-called-mission-board with dozens of post-its of what I should do - or rather of what I should have done - it absolutely makes me collapse. It's the amount of those things on my to-do-list, not the content itself.
Although I have a few projects that I'd rather would like to see finished already. These little site projects that show no progress at all after this time. I would like to bang my fist to the wall and shout out to the people about this: please PLEASE make the decisions so we can continue with the project.

No, actually, what makes me mad is my forever battle with my c:ter who hates me more than it's possible to imagine. It crashed again last week and I'm running out of ways to communicate with it. I've secretly planned a new career as a soap maker. ¬_¬
And as it comes to my work, I'm actually at good place with a few projects. Here's what has happened:
I've made a demo layout for textile designer Satu Montanari and we'll continue with the project soon.
I've done demo layouts for dancers (having a meeting tomorrow about how we'll continue).
I've met with textile artist Hannele Ollakka to whom I'll make a small site soon.
Next week I'll start making Taito mag 100 years festitive net exhibition site.

So *there is* something new coming - not everything is on ice.

Features - There's A Million Ways To Sing The Blues

2007-03-07T20:15:00.000+03:00

The kite illustrations for the craft museum are now finished... They are a bit laconic and strange, that's all I can say. But I'm quite happy about them. Maybe some of the audience will notice that I'm not very experienced in making illustrations - but hey, WHO cares? You always have to start somewhere.

I'm actually feeling a bit sad (and somehow also a bit mad for myself) about not giving a offer about making graphic design for one big organisation which contacted me a few weeks ago. Not only the graphic design of their website but also their logo and all the printed material from letters to forms. I had some ideas straight away. I really think that I could have managed all that but since I don't have yet so much experience about print designing, somehow the amount of new technical things that I know I should have learned with making that project just laid me down. I have too much projects right now and I just don't want to take anything to learn right now, even if it would be a really small thing.

I also have sent press images for the Detritus exhibition in Walsh Gallery in South Orange, New Jersey USA where Uninvited Words was invited. I'm so glad about it! I've had such a quiet winter and not much energy with my artsy projects but this has boosted me a bit. I've made lots of plans for my exhibition next January. I'll start working with it fully in autumn but maybe I'll make some thingies before that.

Jamie T - Salvador

2007-02-22T18:20:00.000+03:00

Savi M www.savi-m.fi [Feb 21 2007]

Savi M web site was finally published yesterday! Minna and Merja brought me a beautiful heart jewellery (and also sinfully good chocolade cakes to be enjoyed with coffee...) which I wore at City Theatre last night (...with my woollen grey knitted shirt. Not a classic high culture outfit but there was about -20 degrees outside, not a place for silky satin creature dresses). We went to the concert of Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra, a part of Periféria Music Festival whose site I made last week. A most refreshing moment during this week.

For the last few days I've worked with kite illustrations which - right now - is quite fun. I've amused myself by also making some explicit splatter images... for a very closed audience only, not for exhibition use. Hopefully I'll get the illustrations finished tomorrow...

Prototypes - Who's Gonna Sing

2007-02-15T17:39:00.000+03:00

Only A True Capitalist sends Happy Valentine's Day cards with a bill - and that's just what I did yesterday... Which was a truly terrible horrible day by the way. Not the day itself though - Timppa made the very bestest food ever and it was a happy-happy day in general (...just read about Winnie-the-poohian language, fascinating - reminds me some way of Buffyanisms...) And not the projects themselves either but the time I had to make them - or should I say the lack of time. I stayed up until 6am (after sleeping about four hours the night before).

Well, I also got some big projects done, f.rx. Taito Shop site is viewed today, only minor modifications left; Savi-M product layouts made and all the images ready; Alvar Aalto press files about the exhibition in Barbican Centre (London) uploaded...

I've been so drop dead tired today that it just got to me: this morning I heard the news that I have received a three month grant for artistic work. I'm actually quite stunned. Maybe I'll realize the whole thing tomorrow.

+ It would seem to me that everyone has woken up this week... updates: Gallery Becker + Alvar Aalto Foundation + The Craft Museum of Finland + Värjärikilta + Kirsi Neuvonen's website + The Arts Council of Central Finland

Lou Martyr - Hand_Grenade

2007-02-14T12:08:00.000+03:00

Aikamme Musiikinjuhla Periferia (The Music Festival of Our Time) [Feb 13 2007]

Yesterday I spent the whole day with this computer making hecticly the Periferia music festival site at www.aikammemusiikinjuhla.fi. The festival will open in Saturday, so it was about time the site opened... The layout is based partly on the graphic design of the print material designed by Aino Pajari.

A few days ago I also agreed to give a speech about trees and bushes as a material for dyer next Summer at the Dyers quilt summer event. I'm very excited and started already collecting material. The event will be held in Rymättylä - in where I've never visited before (I think). About a month ago I was asked to give a lecture in September in one event in Helsinki but I haven't heard about the organizer since. I should propably check the situation.

Lamph - Waking Nightmare

2007-02-11T12:08:00.000+03:00

INNOfoorumi blog layout [Feb 01 2007]

Last night I hit the total void in my head with the kite exhibition graphics. I made some suggestions though and ended up doing something very conventional but in some way it works... You'll see when the exhibition will open. The problem with those graphics is that I was asked to make graphics for information tables with very conventional and tight subjects (like knots and the physics of kite flying). At the same time they should not disturb the other exhibition architecture. So the graphics should be very clear - and become easily boring. But they are on their way.

I had a meeting with Antti yesterday about Periferia music festival website and today I got the images + print material on which I should base the site design. (The note that came with cd was actually written to the other site of NOTE PAPER... ¬_¬ Composers...)

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On

2007-02-07T21:29:00.000+03:00

Väri 07 [Feb 06 2007] (Logo not mine...)

I have been two whole days inside and today of all days I chose to go out... When it's -30° freezing outside. But actually, it wasn't that cold. I was dressed so warm and thick that when I tried to turn around it reminded me about the sweet childhood times when you just had to stand still outside because of the thick winter overalls that prevented to bend at all. Only worry I had was when I bought two more copic pens. I was sure that when I would reach home they would be frozen and broken. But no worries - they are working...

And where did I go? I had a meeting with Mikko about the images for the kite exhibition at the Craft Museum of Finland. (We went to eat in this new small place (can't remember the name) with salads, burritos, fajitas etc. The food was good but the service wasn't very flattering. Mental note: take away food the next time.) I also got me a dvd for Taito Magazine Centennial net exhibition that should be ready in about two months. It's already spring time then!

A new request of making a web site. This seems to be quite small and easy project so I said yes. We haven't yet talked the thing through so it's not 100% sure yet but propably next week.

Killers - Read My Mind

2007-02-05T13:25:00.000+03:00

The day started with desperation: trying to connect to the server to update Alvar Aalto Foundation
and The Craft Museum of Finland. They both gave me "not responding" - gave me already yesterday. Luckily I reached Kari who fixed the connection and I was able to update the strange and uncomfortable error I had put accidently in one of these websites (not revealing what and in which site...)

Last days have been updating, updating + updating. Placing Papiina's new products on their website took a while and then there has been some very ordinary updates of new dates etc.

Most of the projects I thought I should have finished in December are still nowhere near to be completed... Many of them, like Taito Shop site, is so near the finishing line that I don't have any problems with them.

I have some layout problems though. I still have to make better layouts for dancers and also SARV wasn't satisfied with my first layout set so I should make some improvements there too. And there are some new designs I've promised to make, such as for a craft artist Satu Montanari and Taito magazine 100 years web exhibition. Hopefully I'll find the long lost flow soon :)

+ UPDATES Alvar Aalto Foundation, The Craft Museum of Finland, Gallery Becker and Papiina

Request Cud - Living In The Past

2007-01-26T16:32:00.000+03:00

Feeling quite weak after not eating yesterday (because I had to go to x-ray today). I couldn't get much sleep either. I practically can't watch the screen so it's not the most promising working day today.

I was asked to give a lecture on colours in one event in September. Not sure thing yet, but I'm quite excited.

Actually I'm a bit over-excited right now just about everything. What will the doctor say about my x-ray images, am I able to finish my late projects in time next week, what will Mikko say about my first sketches for kite exhibition, will I get one project I truly truly wish to make... And most of all: will we go visit Iceland next autumn - to see lighthouses there. Jeez. The latter one is the biggest one of all: I've wanted to visit Iceland as long as I remember. We'll know about the situation for sure on the last day of January but still there is almost eight months pure anxioty left - these trips can always be cancelled...

Got to go to get some rest.

New Young Pony Club - Bomb

2007-01-25T14:22:00.000+03:00

Where I did put my train tickets from Tampere SARV mission a few weeks ago? I know they are *somewhere* safe, but where that safe is, no one knows. I should send them and get my money. I made the SARV layout proposals yesterday but I wasn't quite satisfied with them.

And speaking of layouts: I had another look to the layouts I made for dancers. I'm so not satidfied with them either. HOW BORING CAN THEY BE? Where was my mind? Luckily, they have to solve some fundamental issues before proceeding with the project which gives me some time to improve my work. I started making some changes and updates already.

--- Oh /&(/¤(/¤###! Today I receided **three** emails complaining that the information they sent to me was not seen on the net site. These were separate messages about different projects but the reason was the same: the information is correct and updated on the net but the viewers hadn't emptied their browser cache. It was quite hard to write them back friendly... I don't mind helping people with this cache thing but things can be said in so many different ways. Expecially one of the messages was so andry and blaming me about not doing my job. It would have made me sad if it hadn't made me mad.

Foo Fighters - Breakout

2007-01-23T14:44:00.000+03:00

Väristyksiä colour exhibition has started touring around Finland. Right now it has been opened at Children's Culture Center Villa Arttu at Hyvinkää (Kankurinkatu 4-6). The exhibition is open each day 12-16 until April 15, 2006. The exhibition itself is a compact version of the exhibition that was shown at The Craft Museum of Finland last summer.

Some feedback from Savi-M. They like the front page but the product images should be displayed in some other way. They also don't like the off-white background because it's too boring, instead they suggested f.ex. tiled texture background of their logo or light blue background. I'm willing to continue with the latter one of the options...

SARV layouts are due today and I have a total crisis right now. Where are all the ideas?

U2 - Until The End of The World

2007-01-22T20:05:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I finished the demo site for Savi-M. It's so long long long time ago I last used the invisible gif tricks but now I had to. There must be a better solution for making the imagemap effect but somehow my brain just refused to get it. I had to place the fantasy image of the opening site as the background image; I tried to make div layer hot spots upon it but I failed. So, I was tired to fight with the problem and made an easy solution: transparent gif. Only, the good old 1x1 didn't work, I had to make the exact size. Oh, old times... nostalgia.

Today I've been making paper works for Live Herring and Spirited Herring. Not really enjoying nut somebody's gotta do it...

Alvar Aalto Foundation + The Craft Museum of Finland + The Arts Council of Central Finland

Goose - Low Mode

2007-01-19T18:21:00.000+03:00

Nerd / Desktop image (close up) - this and other weird desk top wallpapers are downloadable at www.esnips.com/web/desktopimages

Savi-M liked my fantasy layout so much that they are going to use the image in their invitation to craft fair... The site is on its way.

I won't be making Alvar Aalto Design Seminar site this year! I just couldn't make any time to visit Helsinki in January (due to my tight schedule and to my back aches which prevent me from pretty much getting anywhere) and suggested that the organizers would find another maker. This was more of relief than lost this time as I have projects nearly too much right now. Although it's always a great experience to work with a well known and awarded graphic artist (in this case Aimo Katajamäki), in a way it's also a bit difficult as I see me more as a graphic artist myself than a coder. But still I'm kind of sad even though I know that this is far most the best solution - I've made the Design Seminar sites from the beginning.

Elina from Opuskirjat informed me that the drawing book cover is about to be printed soon. They asked me in which format my name should be printed in copyright page but my input in the design of the coverpage is so minimal that it would feel strange to see my name on the cover. I made the concept of "a collage cover" with red outlines but there's so big difference in my suggestion and the final cover that I really don't think I should be credited for it.

I'm so not in the working mode right now. I'm going to skip the rest of the day...

Green on Red - Reverend Luther

2007-01-17T14:56:00.000+03:00

Jan 15 07 / Web page of photographer Maija Holma [www.kolumbus.fi/naulasaari]

The mail man just loves to bring me bills. Grrr.

Projects are all late, I know, I know. Wish I didn't.

Today has been the day of "could you put this online today asap thank you" -messages - accompanied with a attachments that could employ about ten people for one week. It's makes me so frustrated sometimes when, after years of collaboration, the same wondering of "this is just a small project" comes up. I wouldn't like to explain for the millionth time how and why it takes so much time.

But I've also received a lot work offers too this week. It always makes you feel good, but at this time (c:ter still at the repair shop) it also makes me a bit unsure. I love the ideas of these projects that I've been offered and I really would like to accept them. I'll have to answer them something.

Yesterday I visited Säynätsalo Town Hall (by Alvar Aalto) for the first time. We had a meeting about Säynätsalo new pages. I've already made a basic layout and it's accepted. Now it's only question about content and some slight modifications.

Layouts for dancers came out wild and strange, layouts for SARV are on their way. Papiina just contacted about a major update in following weeks, Taito Shop site is under construction as well as Savi-M with which both I am going to continue working today. After having a small break. Right now.

Out of songs

2007-01-14T18:05:00.000+03:00

At last Wednesday I was at SARV (The Finnish Critics Association) meeting at Tampere and when I came back my computer refused to work. The same problem that I had one month ago. Unbelievable! I took it to the c:ter doctor on Thursday but I've heard nothing yet. I'm late with all the project as if it wasn't broken because it took me so long time to install everything as it was.... I'm a bit devostated.

And this has nothing to do with my frustation: I've totally broke my printer too. I actually hit it with my chair (accidentally... really!) and the feed stand broke a bit. I have to invited some kind of patent to hold up my papers as I print.

Any way, I have my Little Silver II (laptop) here and she helps me through the difficult times :) I've made some updates and such but most of all: Maija's site is almost finished. It still has some small adjustments and some images missing but rightnow it feels really good. It let's me remove one of the post-its hanging on my wall (and leaves only about 30 most essential projects...)

Nada Surf - Popular

2007-01-09T00:42:00.000+03:00

Today I've tried to get rid of all my small projects that seem never ending. Those small things that won't take more than quater hour to do but which somehow end up hanging for half a year. F.ex. it has been over two months since I gave a course in JAO and it was today I finally could drag myself to give them grades for their projects. Not a good teacher. Little ol' me. A bit shamed.

I received some images from dancers for their website. I'll try to finish the layouts before Wednesday - which gives me... a whole day. Geez.

It's not the projects themselves but the time table that makes my heart beat a little faster sometimes. I've try to left some empty space in my calendar and I try to think rationally but somehow it always keeps coming back as endless hurrying. ASAP is one of the words I use the most. Which is terrifying.

+ updates: Gallery Becker, The Craft Museum of Finland, Alvar Aalto Foundation & The Arts Council of Central Finland

Art Brut - Nag Nag Nag Nag

2007-01-07T20:59:00.000+03:00

Savi-M people really liked my fantasy front page design! I made some adjustments for basic layout due to their wishes and I'm hoping to start coding the project next week. This is one of the projects I had planned to finish before x-mas so I truly wish that I could get it online asap.

I'm a bit anxious about the book cover project for Opus publications. I just can't handle the thing. Today I sent my last version which is done upon their suggestion (which was a version of my suggestion etc) - let's see what they like about that one.

I received lot of material from Mikko from Craftmuseum for the kite exhibition illustration project. It got me totally freezed for a moment. It's always like that when you start something new. Well, not something new, but something with bigger scale than never before and a bit tight schedule. I print the material out and I will start illustration sketches while wathing the Idols tonight... Something light minded for light minded. I'm not too worried though. Yesterday I drew a lot (sketches for the dragon kite) and really liked the outcome even though I still have small problems with aligning the elements in effective and dynamic positions.

Inno Foorumi project reminded me the day before yesterday about the blog I should set up for them. There's also a blog for Väri07 project on which I started working today.
+ updates: The Arts Council of Central Finland, Riiminka, Gallery Becker, Alvar Aalto Foundation & The Craft Museum of Finland

Automatic - Raoul

2007-01-05T14:46:00.000+03:00

Last night I made a sort of fantasy collage based front page layout for Savi-M. I just opened the layout again and I still like - but it's kind of radical and some what unconvential layout for a ceramic artist. I just hope the client likes it too - that it isn't too much over the limits. Excited...

I've also made some illustration bases for the dragon kite. I have to get them finished even though there are tons of unfinished (paying) work waiting.

A Hawk and A Hacksaw - In The River

2007-01-04T20:04:00.000+03:00

[Taidemajakka.fi released Oct 29]

Managing the little stuff off my virtual desk - like writing the 'read me' files and all for the Taidemajakka project which was published over two months ago...

Yesterday evening I got yet another one request for offer from one craft artist / dyer. I sent her my offer and it seems that we'll start to make a new site soon. Nice!

I got my Illustrator fixed! Now it works! SO fascinating how the poor line arts can be converted to sassy looking vector art... Played with some photoshop actions also.

I've spent the whole day by making layouts for Savi-M, coding Maija's webpage and making some small adjustments here and there. Some new appointments in my calendar (which somehow always opens to show me the first week of June... ) Missing summer here.

Tuxedomoon – The Ghost Sonata

2007-01-03T14:43:00.000+03:00

Jieee - a new year, new thoughts. Well, not exactly. I've continued to work with projects I started last year.

Yesterday I pre-coded the Väri07 site. Still some test using (even though it's really small page) and setting up a blog with the same outlook.
Today I sent some layouts of Säynätsalo (the link leads to their current site, not mine). We'll have a meeting soon about how to proceed...

+ Some updates to Alvar Aalto Foundation and The Craft Museum of Finland.
---

I've actually not been feeling very well. Cold and wet weather got me in the beginning of December and since then I've been a bit... My back has ached the whole time and sometimes it's hard to walk. I try to avoid to go out to the cold and windy weather - so actually there is nothing else in my life at the moment than work and tv. No wild benji jumping experiences this time.

But... getting better. I just can't wait when I'll have some time to open my Grease luxury DVD package and start the sing-along/dance-along session. ¬_¬

Mastodon - Sleeping Giant

2006-12-23T22:55:00.000+03:00

Jyväskylä City Theatre

After a total crash of my c:ter I've finally managed to get it some what together again. I also purchased a laptop as my secondary c:ter - when the next catastrophe hits at least I'm able to do something with it. Except: I couldn't install my Creative Suite even though I should have enough RAM. Luckily I also have Photoshop CS as a separate purchase and could install that one. Dreamweaver and flash are also already installed and I've tested that the web connections work and all. So... Hopefully I can stop myself from working during the xmas holidays - little bit of workholicing here.

I've had my hands full of jobs. During the last few weeks I've made layouts for Väri07 (colour competition for architects and such) and some layouts for Savi-M (ceramic artist). I've had a meeting with dancers about their website, meetings with Sirkka at the Theatre of Jyväskylä about the content of their site (the site was actually published Dec18; though not quite as I had been planned - there's still some layout fixing to do), a meeting in Jyväskylä Art Museum about their future site and a meeting with Maija and all stuff for her web site is soon collected.
I've also designed a xmas image to screen in the window of The Jyväskylä Art Museum (I'll make that one to the ecard also) and some christmas cards to some museums and some firms.

And here's mine: for those who aren't yet feeling the magic of xmas (...*hmph*...) (change it to the xmas mode by moving your mouse upon image) coloria.net/xmas/06 / and to those who already are in christmas mode http://www.coloria.net/xmas/06