It’s sunny today, and I’m yet to head out, but soon I will go do something outside in order to gather up the rays. Or maybe I’ll go to the mall.
It’s the final weekend of lots of sales here in Finland, and I need a new bathing suit. Tomorrow morning we’re heading for a summer cabin, where we’re going to measure some saunas so that we can make scale models of them in wood, and bake gingerbread so that we can make scale models of famous buildings out of it. We’re going to be working hard, I tell you. So, add to my shopping list a scrubby brush, and maybe a pair of pants that’s another size up.
We’re actually going to be working with a professional model maker and photographer, and the gingerbread models are for a new book of his in which we will be credited. I’m quite excited because I’ve always wanted to make overly complex gingerbread houses, ever since I first saw O.H.I.O.’s gingerbread displays. Also, because when we get back to Helsinki, we’ll be using the posh model shop to create high-quality wooden models of these saunas, so I’ll get some actual instruction in model making and be able to make some high-quality models for next term’s project when I get back to Eugene.
This past week we toured around Jyväskylä and environs, taking in some of Aalto’s earliest works (including a small church and the Worker’s Club) as well as some of his master works, like the Säynätsalo Town Hall and the Expermental House. We stopped in Tampere along the way and saw a hideous library and a lovely church, done by the same husband and wife team. Needless to say, the sketching regimen was somewhat intense, and my camera slowly drained out of batteries and got overstuffed with photos. Of course, the first thing that we did upon returning to Helsinki was to visit the Viikki wooden church and the experimental housing and teacher training college that were also in Viikki, in order to take photos and sketch a lot more. And after that, we went to the Rock Church (yes, it’s carved into the bedrock of Helsinki) for a little more sketch and shoot. Today, no more of that.
Actually, today I’ve been planning the trip at the end of the term and writing emails. Got a email from Ellen, my room mate at Duke the summer after 8th grade, which was really exciting. Replying to her sent me off on a little trail, and I emailed 5 Chicagoans in all.
So, I’m off, and what the hell, maybe I will head to the elementary school in Leppavara to sketch and shoot, since it is so nice outside after all.