MusingsOfHulda

Karelian woman making kalittoja, a traditional Karelian pasty

"Osterdalskongen" - "The King of Osterdal" Andreas Bloch (1860-1917) Norwegian painter. The bear-like man in the picture is Knut Strand, the main character in Jacob Breda Bull's novel Osterdalskongen, which describes the life of Jacob Eriksen Haarset (1818-1903), a very wealthy forest owner, timber merchant, farmer, and mayor of Rendalen.

Queen of the North by Mimi Saar

I made a jouhikko, an archaic Finnish/Karelian string instrument. It's carved out of a half of a stump of an ash tree, with some parts made out of birch or pine, or even oak. The strings are horse hair. While working with the horse hair strings, I felt something I cannot but call genetic memory: "I've done this before" - except I absolutely have not! What's even more peculiar, I recall having quite the similar feeling a couple of years back while playing jouhikko - for the first time. Have my ancestors been jouhikko (or other string instrument) players or builders; or have I been here before... Wonderful to wonder this things while my jouhikko not-so-gently weeps 🤩

Amazing craftsmanship! 👏🏻

The She-bear by Alexandra Dvornikova

In Ukraine, the cult of goddess Berehinia dates from Neolithic age. Berehinia is a primordial goddess venerated throughout Slavic lands. Often associated with flowers, she was frequently described holding a flower in each hand and a flower-crowned head.

Karelian woman playing Jouhikko

Karelian embroidery. 🪡

A stabbur was used by people in Nordic countries as a storage building for clothes, cheeses, grains, and food stuff prepared in the summer for a long winter. Scandinavian immigrants also built these structures where they settled in the New World. This one has been converted into a tourist center and is located in Westby, Wisconsin.

The Seer Acrylic on Canvas 30x40cm 🎨 Inspired by a headdress found in Germany from around 7,000 – 6500 BCE. https://www.emmalucyshaw.com/product-page/the-seer

Hannunvaakuna/ käpälikkö. A decorative symbol of protection used in Northern Europe, most notably in Finland. Embroidery by me.

𝕭𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖉 𝕮𝖗𝖞𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖑 𝕲𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘, 𝕾𝖎𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖗 & 𝕻𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖘 First piece of the year and it’s for the wonderful Musings Of Hulda Her customized version of my Visby-lens inspired pieces 🪡⚡️

How blessed I am to have such incredibly gifted friends. Thank you so much sister. 🤍

Algiz by Lydia Magonova

Summer Solstice by Diana Renzhina