Hello lovelies, I´ve again joined an art challenge organized by my dear, talented, friend Tina and a bunch of other creative geniuses. These collaborations/challenges are always so much fun. They push ones creativity, force one to walk out of one´s comfort zone and in the process you always discover something new. AND you get to know lots of creative peeps a lot better! It´s friendly and supportive. Just the way I like it :).

This time the challenge is about Iceland – there are no other requirements or rules. We were supposed to get inspired by Iceland in general and create something/anything around that theme. What we created, was totally up to us. There are some things that immediately come to mind, when thinking about Iceland: volcanic island, ice, water, northern lights, rocks, fays/elfs, ponys and Björk (love her music!) just to mention a few.

For me, growing up in Finland, it felt comfortable to think about my childhood, the things I grew up with and combine those things with Iceland in my art piece. So I went for an approach towards nature. Ancient Finns believed in all kinds of sprites, feys and elfs, so there are some similarities there to Iceland and I used those as a starting point. In Iceland they even have an elf school (see here).

So I created a forest fay/elf. I tried to use as much natural materials as possible. There is felt, wood, stone and wool on my artwork. Some pieces are eco dyed (felt/lace). I tried to combine as many family „roots“ into this piece too – the wool I used is from Finland, the stone is from Greece, the wood piece if from Austria (and the eco dyed felt is a present from Tina – which just perfectly fits into this challenge, being organized by her). These countries above pretty much sum up our family roots. The fay is something that is typical for Iceland. And the word love: thru love all these different places or roots are combined together in our family.

I feel really strongly connected with my piece, it is way more than just a piece of artwork you put on display. It has a story, a special meaning to me. It has inspired me to make more – I want to make a series of these, representing other things important to me.

In the beginning, when I signed in for this challenge, I was a little bit unsure what to make. Iceland as a theme felt challenging. And I had never been there! It´s hard to be inspired by something you have never been to, I thought. So what to make? BUT then when all these bits and pieces fell into place, it was pure pleasure creating this piece. It is one of my faves ever. You know, sometimes you make something that is more than an artwork. It develops a spirit of it´s own. That is how I feel about this piece.

I would like to thank Tina for always challenging us, pushing our boundaries and getting us involved with projects that help us develop. That is at least how I feel about this challenge. Thank you so much Tina, I loved this one!!! Happy to do another one, whenever you feel like it <3!

Let´s stay creative,
xxx, Sanna

Here is a link to all the participants artworks – please do visit them and leave some love. We all love to read your comments!

SUPPLIES BY:
Canvas Corp – Canvas
Tattered Angels – Gilmmer Mist, Simply Sheer, Chalkboard Ink
Tattered Angels – High Impact Paint
Liquitex – Gesso
Fabric adhesive – Beacon Adhesives
Ranger – Glossy Accents
The Crafter´s Workshop – stencils
Other:
Wool, lace, felt, yarn, stone, embellishments