In Finnish #shamanism and old faith "birth words" (🇫🇮 syntysanat) were believed to be a way to control things. Many of our old spells state that "I know how you were born." ✨
The birth words of deer describe how the mythological mother of all deer, Juonetar, created the first deer out of different types of wood. She crafted its back out of birch, and bent its legs out of willow stems. 🦌
She may have used a bit of apple tree, too, to create this mischievous little roe deer. I wonder if I could spell her to leave my mom's apple tree stems in peace... 😉
Fun fact: Before modern fridges, people in Finland preserved milk by dropping frogs in it! 🐸
Believe it or not, according to modern science the method actually works. In 2012, researchers from Russia, Finland and Sweden studied our most common frog species, Rana Temporaria (🇫🇮 ruskosammakko), and found out that it carries almost 100 medicinal substances, some of them performing as well as modern antibiotics in fighting off off Salmonella and Staphylococcus.
Pretty cool, right? Although I'm still pretty happy with my fridge, and letting this little buddy jump around free... 😄
A Finnish #fairytale from the 1800s tells of a thousand-year-old #elf, who lives deep inside a mountain and guards a golden treasure. One day a beetle pays him a visit. "How is life above ground", asks the elf. "Thank you for asking, Sir, health and peace among the small ones", tells the beetle. "And how about the big ones", asks the elf. The beetle shakes his head. "The big ones are planning to take down this mountain. They already distroyed my home, and now they are approaching you with horrible guns: shovels and mattocks." ⛏️ Terrified by these news, all the younger elves decide to flee deeper underground, but the old elf is too stubborn to leave his treasure. When a shovel then breaks through his roof, he dies under falling dirt. Many have since searched for his treasure, but no one has found it yet... ✨
I went looking for mushrooms, but instead I found this sunbathing little dor beetle (🇫🇮 metsäsittiäinen), and it reminded me of this fairytale. Happy Sunday! 😊
"Attitude", 2019 (Wild mushrooms on various backgrounds.) 🍄
I first started making art with mushrooms after returning from my first @burningman, the wildest art gathering in the world. Now I am lucky to be surrounded by a group of beautiful souls, who call themselves burners. Their love and support has really helped me believe in my art and push it forward. This piece was inspired by one of them, a person who is known in those circles for his trademark saying "love love love." ❤️ I dedicate this one to the Burning Man community, and everyone who believes in art. Burn bright! 🔥
Happy Midsummer, the longest day of the year!! 💕 To help you get in tune with the magic of tonight, I wrote a few short stories about the Finnish mythology:
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🍄 L for Lintukoto, a mythical place
🍄 O for Osmotar, the Goddess of Beer
🍄 V for Virvatulet, will-o'-the-wisps
🍄 E for Etiäinen, something that will happen
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You can read the stories under each individual picture. Oh, and these are all detail shots of a bigger artwork I will post later, so stay tuned! 😊
And enjoy this magical Midsummer night!! ✨
