Bears on my mind

Bears view of me on the dock

Another day, another euro spent. the weather is turning in to a constant drizzle and i find it affects my work. Also the HESA inprint deadline is up and i am trying to curate the newest issue Creation Stories - Luomiskertomuksia. Not as easy as you would think, but i do try my hardest to make it as good as i can. To be honest i should not complain, i really do love doing it, though my procrastination and tumultuous twitter updating would make you think otherwise.

The BIG PROJECT - Kyllä Tunnen Syntymäsi is rolling along nicely with some definates for involvement rolling in. Tomorrow i'm off to Northern Karelia to see the change in seasons and do some preliminary shots of places and visual reaserch for the documentary. Money is tight, but it always is. Luckily, my brilliant boyfriend Thierry is very capable and can make brilliant food with very little money. Thank goodness for the French.

I am currently reading a book called Näkökulmia Karjalaiseen Perinteeseen (Views of Karelian culture) by Pekka Hakamies. Brilliant stuff and surprisingly exciting for a theory book. My plan is to visit a few of the places he mentions (small villages and towns) that have in the past had a large flow of "Russian" Karelians during the war. My mothers side of the family came from some of the islands on Laatokka so it will be intriguing to see how these place differ from the towns that my fathers side of the family came from, near Eno where i've spent more time.

I've started to make some small storyboards for the documentary about its contenuity. I feel reluctant to make it final until i have done more research and seen, interviewed, heard etc more. There has to be some room for pure inspiration in the moment, who knows what kind of wonderful things i can discover.

One thing i am keenly trying to find out is if there is a chance of filming a traditional karhun peijäiset - ritual burial of the bear. I have found some sies that refer to the practice still being done in some parts of the country during hunting season. Last year i actually saw a bear cub in the wild, a scar time but truly awe inspiring, i never actually saw the mama bear, but i heard her. I was so busy sitting still and pondering my best survival strategy that i only realised after how incredibly lucky i was to have seen one of these amazing creatures in the wild.

In other news i am anxiously awaiting news on if i am getting the funding i applied for from the arts council of Finland. Next week i will be sending out other applications to places like the karjalaisen kulttuurin edistämissäätiö - The organisation for Karelian Kulture.