ANTI-Festival was a huge success and I really enjoyed the festival, all the artists, works, visitors, the seminar – all of it. Working with Gregg has been really great and I’m so happy we are doing it and enjoying it. And our artists and visitors were having a great time. We make a good team with Maija. ANTI made it to the national news and yellow press – you can read more about it on ANTI’s website.
Somehow I managed to write my grant applications and a new column on the midst of all. But I don’t think I have recovered from the fact that I won’t have an artist grant from the Arts Council of Finland next year.
Now I’m into working with my solo with Maija Hirvanen and Pekka Mäkinen and I’m really looking forward into the darkening autumn and spending time in a studio, alone.
I saw my doctor on Monday and he said that the time of miracles is not over. My back is so much better that with a new exercise programme I should be fully back to normal physical work in two weeks. But to ashtanga he said no no no until 2008…
I’ll see.
Category Archives: Life
Huh
Last couple of days have been emotionally tough and busy with upcoming ANTI Festival. With ANTI is always exciting when finally the work you’ve been doing for a year is coming into life and things are happening. Of course there’s always stress with some works and this year we have an exciting week coming up as we are waiting for 100 000 one cent coins to arrive from Belgium. We sure hope they’ll be here in time!
Emotionally it’s been tough as I, like many many other artists in Finland, am waiting to hear the decisions of the Arts Council of Finland for artists grants for 2008. And it looks like I haven’t got one which turns my stomach upside down. I really don’t know what to do, how to survive and how to keep working. And of course it effects, or ruins, my mood for the rest of the year as well. Well, it’s always like this but it’s a dog’s life.
Then next week, in the midst of ANTI Festival I have to make two project funding applications for my work and another two or three for ANTI. Plus complete the Culture 2007 project applications and activities…
But last night a slept long.
Johanna
The things to do
…list is getting too long to even look at. ANTI Festival’s coming up next week, all kinds of office work related to EU-projects, funding for 2008 and immediate issues with the group work are bubbling in my mind. I’m currently expecting to hear about one grant application and I realize it worries me a lot and eats my energy. It’s not something I would want to think about but cannot help it.
I always find it peculiar to be working on a new work or project and at the same time having to plan future works in a very detailed way. I don’t mind the planning and preparing of the new stuff but it makes the current projects feel somehow old and out of date. That is a funny feeling. When you actually are doing something that you awkwardly feel like you already have done.
Mirva dancing.
Forest food
Pekka came home with chanterelles and fish. Won’t be hungry tomorrow.
Johanna
Laundry bliss
Do you know what it feels like to be able to wash clothes after not being able to do it when you need to for two and half months? It’s bliss. And this is not a survival story from a trip to the jungle, this is in the middle of the daily life, in a family of four.
The first load is drying, next one rolling in the machine. I’ve always enjoyed the rhythm of a washing machine. It’s a sound often connected to my yoga practice. It makes me feel safe and at home. It’s nice, in the nicest meaning.
Johanna
Friday, at last
Tiring week behind me. Finished the first rehearsal period with mixed feelings; in many ways I’m very happy with the work we did but at the same time today I felt a kind of hesitation in the rehearsal which made me feel strange. Well, it’s all familiar but still left me thinking about it.
I was setting up my office and went through some papers in my archive. I found a piece of paper with John Cage’s rules and hints and Rule8 really suits my mood:
“Do not try to create and analyze at the same time. They are different processes.â€
When I got home I felt really tired. Our plumber was working with Pekka setting up the washing machine and for a moment I felt really happy that things are actually moving on. They didn’t finish the job as some parts were missing (as usual) but I have hope that tomorrow I’ll be able to wash clothes and sheets. A kind of handy possibility in a family of two children…
The new website is up now, thanks to Mladen! At the moment the site is available only in English but we are working on the Finnish version as well. Some information of my works is not up yet but I’m working on it. But if you have any questions in the mean time, don’t hesitate to ask me or Maija, my producer.
And let me know what you think about it!
Johanna
A day in Helsinki
Shoes by Vagabond, Gunilla Pontén skirt, H&M top, underwear by Marks&Spencer.
Me Naiset with my yoga teacher’s ex interviewed. Some sleep in between.
Make up in the toilet of the InterCity train.
Went straight to the press conference.
Checked out some Larsen + Cole & Son wallpaper and Minna Parikka and Vivienne Westwood shoes.
Bought a pair of El Naturalista shoes. Love them.
Spotted Michael Monroe and Lilli Earl.
I love pink and hate intriguers
The first pink flower on our backyard.
My daughter noticed this one the other morning and dashed to see what it was like! Just a beauty, a miracle in the midst of the chaos.
…ordered some mineral make-up that arrived today…
kind of therapeutic in the middle of all the difficulties, questions, tasks, pain, work…
Had a conversation about the regional dance centre here and one person who thinks maybe a bit too highly of herself in relation to the dance centre. Who censors conversation, looks at art and dance with a quite narrow mind, who so strongly believes in her own view that cannot accept, acknowledge, respect, value or even listen to other views. Who thinks she’s always right. Who thinks she knows everything. I don’t really care about other people’s castles in the air but when they’re built in the costs of a larger community who this person thinks she has a right speak for without understanding, acknowledging, accepting or valuing the rest of the community, the differing opinions, then I just think it’s ignorant and quite stupid.
Johanna
Restrictions
It’s funny to observe one’s behaviour and thoughts when something is restricted. At the moment I’m not allowed to sit and it’s been interesting to realize when, how and in which situations my mind wants me to sit and how this simple restriction actually changes my patterns of thought and action. And how much it has eased my back pain! Well, of course I’ve also been resting as ordered by my doctor and taking some medicines but still. I actually find it much better to work by my laptop standing rather than sitting in a bad posture by the desk. The kitchen worktop is on a perfect height for me (90cm) when standing. And as my ‘office’ is not yet finished anyway, this suits me very well.
I got a pile of magazines from Maija yesterday and it’s been such a luxury to lie in bed and read. I love magazines. I have to be really careful not become such a magazine junkie again as this addiction is showing it’s nature again… Yes, I still order a couple (only a few!) design magazines but last spring I quit ordering most of them. I’m very proud of this and in general I prefer recycling them so anyone who wants to recycle their magazines with me is most welcome! I talked on the phone with my son the other day and I told him I was lying in bed recovering from my back injury. He then said: “Let me guess, you have a pile of magazines next to the bed!â€
In the process of facing the truth of our financial situation, I made an Excel of all our living costs from January 2007 onwards. In this bigger picture, my magazine addiction is not that worrying, really. And the daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat is included in the Excel! But the statistics might look a little better as I quit most of the magazine orders last spring but still, it never was that bad. It’s just my partner who doesn’t have this addiction and who therefore cannot understand the bliss of it either.
Now that we’ve moved out of the centre, I have to face the costs of travelling to work and school. Well, of course this was known beforehand but still, it’s over all quite expensive here in Kuopio. As far as I know, Kuopion Liikenne, which runs the busses of the city, is the most expensive in the whole country. Public transport is definitely not cheap here but more so I hate that on our street most families have more than two cars. For me it’s either my bike or the bus.
The last couple of days have been really hot and since we still don’t have curtains, it’s been unbearably hot in the house, upstairs especially. Impossible to do any hard work in the house! Fortunately, we now have a shower, which helps the life in general, a lot. But there’s a lot of work remaining undone.
I have been working on my next productions a lot and worrying about the future of the ANTI-Festival. Some serious actions need to be done.
Johanna
…back
My back was finally scanned this week and it turned out that my back pain is actually caused by something other than my imagination. But I have to deal with it now and that means some changes in the schedules. But it’s going to be okay.
I’ve called my dancers and notified them about the new schedules. I think we’ll be able to do the piece very well with the delayed schedule. This doesn’t effect my solo work at all but I have a few things to work out like the Stavanger-project with Anne-Marte.
The evenings are turning colder and darker; although it was very warm during the day, today I wondered where did I pack the candles. I think I know.
Johanna