NordenBladet – The past weeks have gone by quickly. I have been painting, done some gardening, written articles for NordenBladet as well as OHMYGOSSIP entertainment sites and have advanced the ElishevaShoshana.com website and art blog, with Ivanka Shoshana we have been to the pottery hobby club and have visited Tartu, and also we have made a decision to have dental braces placed to Estella (this will be a lengthy process). But now in more detail about this all..
In April I completed a painting titled “A Year of Love“. The painting depicts the flower Hydrangea (hortensia). About the painting and the story of its creation you can browse pictures in my art blog post HERE. Retrospectively I have added blog posts also about my previous paintings. In November 2020 three paintings were finalized: “His Highness Mouse the First” – the eleventh painting from the mice series (see HERE), “Cattail, which is not in the picture” (HERE), and “Flower Bouquet” (HERE). In February I completed the twelveth painting from the mice series (see HERE) and further in March another two paintings from the mice series, this time with sequence numbers 13 and 14 (HERE and HERE). The book is not progressing so well at this moment.. I have planned that I complete the children’s book “His Highness Mouse the First” by this spring, so that it could then be launched this summer in Estonian National Museum (ERM), where my exhibition “Our Home Witch Kitchen” will be held. However, the probability that I will have this book ready by the same time is little. I have been working on the first two chapters. Regarding illustrations for the book, currently 14 paintings are there, but this will not suffice.
Concerning the upcoming exhibition I have already proper panic emerging. The nervous tension is mountain high. More and more often I ask myself if I am functioning on the level of trust that has been entrusted to me, whether I might be letting down the people and the visitors. To be compiling an exhibition as an everyday person, next to grand artists in Estonia in the mightiest and largest of exhibition buildings is enormous responsibility. Why, because I am an amateur and self-made artist and potter, and similarly my younger daughter Ivanka Shoshana whose works will also be displayed withing the same exhibition, has the same inabundant painting and pottery experience as me. Also, the exhibition hall that has been granted for the planned exhibition, is huge – 130m2! Furnishing such an enormous area with artworks is not a minor task even for the professional artist that has been stockpiling the large amounts of creative works in their studios during several years. Nevertheless, you must begin somewhere. I really like modelling items from clay, ceramics is my passion and my hobby as also are painting and gathering herbs. Indeed I cannot jump over my own shadow, but in this exhibition I do wish to present to the viewers a piece of my home activities, fragments from our common art hobby. By the way, everyone that feels like they desire or deserve to hold an INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITION, then ERM will also this year hold the contest for granting the dream exhibition. Have a closer look at “Own exhibition 2022” competition introductory info HERE.
Estella Elisheva continues studying remotely from home, yet Ivanka Shoshana has been in her classrooms. Schools for pupils with special needs are open. This is positive, since I feel more and more that Ivanka needs to have friends. This is why going to school is good for her. She is an autistic person and now already 12 years old (will be 13 in May). The neighbouring children are already little misses and have important “teenage stuff” to do. 😀 I would be so glad if Ivanka had a few friends also outside the classroom that could visit us so that the children can play together with Ivanka. Even if they don’t play together at all times it would be so good if Ivanka could call someone her friend. At the moment her “best friend” is the book “Lotte from Gadgetville” authored by Andrus Kivirähk, with all the great characters from the book. Ivanka keeps repeating that Lotte, Bruno and Albert are her friends, and at least a couple of times every day she comes to me and declares: Reading will make you wise!
We also prepare for the exhibition together with Ivanka. Under her artistic hand, the large dish set – brown ceramic dishes (plates, cake plates, soup bowls, mugs, small bowls) have come to life, also several colourful small bowls, and right now we are working on a joint project – a dish set with lilacs, in green and blue. I myself like both dish sets very much. Yesterday and today we already tried them out during our meals. 🙂
(blog continues after photo gallery)
????? As has been said in my recent blog (Helena-Reet: about April and the first springtime activities in the garden + BIG GALLERY!) the time has come for various gardening activities. The garden looks desolate (partly because there are yet no leaves on the trees and bushes), mostly because the garden has for years been sort of neglected. The fence is old and needs to be replaced, the trees and the spruce hedge needs trimming (or maybe I will let it grow out), the flower beds need attention, the greenhouse needs to be changed, the auxiliary buildings need to be repaired, the terrace floor boards need to be replaced, etc. etc. The list of works to be done is lengthy, so that it is difficult to even figure out where to begin. As of now we have been dealing with the easier and more inexpensive problems – we replaced the fabric in the trampoline (it was broken for many years), it is also necessary to buy the safeguard frame so that it is less dangerous for the children to jump there. Raking the leaves has now been completed around the garden. Several dangerous decayed trees have been cut down, along with lots of buckthorn bushes and other dried branches and bushes. Many flowerbeds have been tidied up and many beds are done halfway. We have also built two garden boxes that are now waiting to be filled with soil for plants. I plan to grow dill, onion, chives, parsley, thyme, green salad and peppermint there. Also the old wooden compost bin needs to be replaced. Ah indeed, and then I also planted wild garlic that I got from my mother’s garden. I am hoping it will start growing with a roar and that it will prosper, since there is nothing better than homemade wild garlic pesto!
To sum it up, I add a few pictures from a nice delicious and easy-to-prepare oven roast. As time goes by, I am spending more and more time in the kitchen (ca 2-3 hours every day) and I am trying out and cooking and baking several salty and sweet dishes. This time I made stew. Place in a deep oven plate chopped meat, ice salad or cabbage, onion, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet pepper and various herbs (I added at least ten different spices beginning from garlic and ending with several nice spice mix options), then pour the ingredients over with water (the ingredients must almost be covered with water) and then let ripen at ca 150 degrees Celsius for about 1.5-2 hours.
❤ This is all for today! Hugs, and until the next blog post!
Do read also my previous blog posts (all posts are available in four languages – Estonian, Finnish, Swedish and English!)
Photography: NordenBladet (Helena-Reet Ennet)