WONDERLAND

Tonight! At our studio starting 18hrs - Dr.Sketchy's Helsinki presents: Wonderland! Come and draw and enjoy the nice setting, music and atmosphere.

Photo by Neil Kendall.

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BUNNIES OFF DUTY

The Helsinki Burlesque Xmas Xtravaganza event I performed at all weekend long was truly fantastic but really sucked the juice out of me as well. Here's a Lynchian moment from when the party was over last night, with some go-go bunnies off-duty chilling.

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HALLOWEEN FUN, TODAY!

What to do today?
Let me help you with that:

Come to Sture 21 for a set of Dr. Sketchy's and then in the evening join the best, most sparkling and craziest Halloweenn party in town, when we throw our RubiesKlubit: MÖRKÖKLUBI Halloween burlesque show.
Booooh!

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HAIRCUTS, SUNSHINE AND MILKSHAKE

Heya internet!
Long time no see.

 Yesterday both dag & dad went to the barber shop to get their hairs cut for vacation mode.

 This little fella is turning five in four days and he's wearing a lion shirt that I sew him the other day.

Afterwards we went out in the sunhine to zip milkshakes from Kitty's Milkshake Bar (the best).

And hanged out by the orbs in Hietalahti.

And now it's off to Spain with the whole family, boys and girlfriends and bags and what not. Sangria and sunshine here I come!

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LAST OF APRIL, FIRST OF MAY

Iiro Nurminen 1960, Helsingin Kaupunginmuseo

Vappu.  Valborg. Vappen. The most likely biggest of the Finnish festivities!  Party-wise, I guess. If the city empties at Midsummer Vappu is the opposite - the city is full of thousands and thousands of celebrating people. We've had mead and funnel cakes and donuts for a the past days and I'm getting rather stuffed by now.

Vappen is a festivity for quirky hats and faux noses and costumes and serpentines and confetti (and just making a mess our of everything in general). Kindergartens and schools most often have a masquerade they day before Vappu. Last year Dag was a ninja, this year he went as his latest obsession: a knight!

Costumes that I wore when I was little included princess (quelle surprise), medieval lady and cowgirl.

I've spent most of my Vappu-day, as in the day after; 1st of May, out on town celebrating since early morning, and even those years I was on shift in the harbour I tried to sneak in a visit to to the park before work. Lots of fun memories ever since my early childhood years. The tradition of Valborg, which itself goes way back in time has been celebrated in today's form, with partying on the streets, balloons and picnics and such, since the 1800's. On first of May labour's day and marches meet academic festivities and a sea of white graduation caps.

First of may on the Observatory Hill of Kaivopuisto.
Arvo Kajante 1959. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

 Kari Hakli 1972. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Picnic in Kaisaniemi.

Ivan Timiriasew 1920. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

 Ivan Timiriasew 1912. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Student gathering in Kaisaniemi.

Unknown photographer, 1870. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo. 

Communist march. Simo Rista SER 1970. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Labourers' march. Unknown photographer, 1919. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo. 

 Juha Jernvall 1950, Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

Above are photos from celebrations in Helsinki from past days; the Helsinki City museum has released a site -helsinkikuvia.fi- where you can browse and download their collection of 40,000 photographies of Helsinki from then and now, with a free-to-use-if credited license. A lot of interesting and nostalgic pics! So I checked out Vappu-celebrations from past times; turns out they had as shitty weather as we do back in 1899 as well for example. And 1957 and 1929. Phew.

Drawing by A.Federley of their first of May in 1899. Helsingin kaupunginmuseo.

But when you've blogged for a decade (!!) you get quite the archive of your own life during those years as well.
This year, as I was working in the day and as Eddi is away on work in Shiraz I am just staying at home in bed with a glass of, in fact, Shiraz as well (going for that old traditional, but with newly found internet fame, mode of kalsarikännit. Well not really, but close enough. Not drunk but no pants.) I browsed some of my own Vappus from the last years -

2010 we were out with Eddi and some friends on town. (And it was cold. Not like now, but I was freezing in my dress.Weather is such a factor here.). Just remembered that the Vappu before we had been on a day-date after having been on a break and I biked to work in the sunshine wondering weather it would turn into something or not.

2011 we got engaged in the pale May night on our way home after a long odyssey of park picnics and suburbian bars. It was warm and I wore a 50's dress and my big pink petticoat that I managed to spill beer on and Eddi picked me a yellow dandelion and gave me a ring. (We had actually booked our wedding in Vegas by then already but it was still a sweet move.)

2012 I was super pregnant amd we went to a Vappu brunch after the park.

2013 Eddi was in Bolivia and I was home on the countryside with Dag minding my flowers and drinking beer. Kind of like now, heh.
And I got carried away at my son's first chance for a Vappu balloon and got him two. Dag has a dinosaur balloon this year as well btw (< THE INTERNET HAS TO KNOW!)

But I also brought Dag to his first First of May park experience then!
I remember he started screaming so hard in the bus (that was packed) on our way downtown I had to get off and wait for another one. Not very surprisingly we went for brunch after the park.
(Most restaurants organise late brunches on May 1st. )

Last year we stayed out on the countryside and had some friends over for bbq and fixed up my old car. And yes it was so much warmer than now. And no, that's not a real butt.

Glada Vappen!

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SPACE OUT WITH US / DR. SKETCHY'S HELSINKI 23.4

It's time for the next Dr.Sketchy's Helsinki! This time we create you a little mini cosmos over at our studio, where the drawing takes place.

Dr.Sketchy's is an "anti-art school", a so called 'cabaret drawing'- event, where attendants can draw and paint croquis with a little different setting than the one you might be used to from art school. Usually with a specific theme, styled and set up according to that, and with great music.

Photos by Asko Rantanen, whose alter ego Johnny Moth also will serve as our model.
The space shuttle will be navigated by Tinker Bell and yours truly.

So, Sunday 23rd from 4pm onwards. Bring pencils papers and cash and see you at Shangri-La!

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LET THERE BE LIGHTS. AND COLOURS!

My friend and artist Aiju Salminen turned her whole building into a light installation yesterday! The big house is in the corner of two of the busiest streets in Helsinki  (I used to live just opposite, when I was still living downtown btw) so it got a lot of attention. The habitants were all in on the thing and put up coloured silk papers in their window to brigthen up the November darkness. The idea is not original, but has not been done in Helsinki before.

Picture from Värivalotalo on Facebook.

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HALLOWEEN AT KAUHUKLUBI

Happy Halloween! (Because, even  though it's past midnight here by now there's still some Halloween left somewhere in the world).

Last year I spent my Halloween (with a skeleton) at a pilates trainers camp, but this year I got to celebrate it big time at the horror-themed RubiesKlubit burlesque club I produce with Tinx. It's great when you get to host an event with a spooky voice all night long.

Here are a couple of shots from the show, all shot by Bernhard. Miettinen.

I did my 50ft woman thing, inspired by the, ehrm,  epic masterpiece from 1958.

Pepper Sparkles.

Vera de Vil.

Tinker in monster mode.

Bent van der Bleu.

One of the winners of our costume competition and my skeleton hand handing over his price.

We run RubiesKlubit about every six to eight weeks at Mascot in Helsinki's Kallio district, always with a different theme. The concept has worked really well and it has developed into a great club night with a super audience each time. The next RubiesKlubit will be on January 13, but before that we'll throw our yearly Christmas show Under the Mistle Tease on Decdember 17!

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RED WINE, PENCILS AND HOURS OF GOOD MUSIC / DR.SKETCHY WENT SWINGING SIXTIES

Last Saturday we hosted the latest Dr.Sketchy Anti-Art School night at our studio, this time with a 1960's theme.

Tinker Bell and I are the hosts for Dr.Sketchy's Helsinki nights.
Picture by Aiju.


We wanted to give the night some extra psychedelic vibes so we fixed a projection with some 1969 Joshua Light show that started looping in the background when the evening turned darker, letting the music turn from sixties pop to psychedelia.







Tinker Bell drawing behind the curtains.


Dr.Sketchy has been on a hiatus in Helsinki, the first one after the break being the Marie Antoinette themed night last June. We plan to keep another evening during autumn still, so follow the Facebook page for updates, or check our studio's page. You will obviously here about any future nights here as well.

A couple of drawings from the evening by Janne Korsumäki.

And a few by Kerttu Jaatinen. (We used our red-and-white striped screen in the beginning of the night and I was happy to see it being used in the sketches as well).

After the night was over we still had the projections , some red wine and The Doors (of which the two later definitely bringing memories from my year studying painting back in 2001...) which called for some regular after work chill. Or grooving, which ever way you see it.

You can see an instagram video of one of the longer drawing sessions here, and at our studio's instagram account @studioshangrila (which you should of course follow in any case!)

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