April 27, 2006
Today is my 29th birthday, and I woke to the scent of blueberry pancakes and sausage. When I entered the kitchen, Angel was cooking breakfast and Pia & Pauli were waiting anxiously for me and they all burst in to 'Happy Birthday!' but they sung it in Finnish! What a fun surprise to start off my day!

The rest of the day went well and after work my parents arrived for dinner. It was a good time. Soon, Angel's parents arrived as well. For my birthday, everyone went in together and bought me a Trek mountain bike. It is just fantastic! I have never had a brand new bike of my own, all the bikes I have had were hand-me-downs. It rides great and I look forward to many bike trips with Angel.

After dinner and cake, it was the sad part of the evening. After spending a couple of weeks with our Finnish guests, it was time for them to move on to their next destination. We had grown really close with them over this time. It was fun to see what kind of similarities we shared, even though they lived a half a world away. We knew that it would be tough, but we will be seeing them again soon. This summer we are traveling to Finland and Scandinavia for a family reunion and to vacation. We will see them soon enough.

April 3-27, 2006
For the majority of April, our Finnish cousins, Pia & Pauli, spent quite a bit of time with us. They were on an amazing around-the-world holiday, and we were the last destination on their itinerary. They left Finland to India, then Thailand, off to Australia for three months, then to New Zealand for a month and now, a month in the United States. Their total holiday will be seven and a half months. What a vacation!

This was Pia's second visit to the US; her first visit was twenty years ago. This was Pauli's first visit here. We met them at the airport, and we designed Finnish flag signs to greet them.

They spent a week with relatives in the Twin Cities. But before we left, we spent the day with them at the Mall of America. They were a little overwhelmed with the sheer size of the Mall, and we only made it through an eighth of it. But it was fun for them to see something of this magnitude.

The next weekend they arrived at our house and we showed them around our area. We took them up the North Shore to where I grew up and did some hiking. They really enjoyed it and it reminded them of home. It is no wonder why so many immigrants from the Nordic countries settled in our area.

Pauli is an excellent musician. He is a lead vocal in a band, and also in a drum circle group. At Beaner's Central, every Wednesday night, there is an open mic night. We thought it would be fun to have Angel and Pauli play in a fifteen minute set. Pauli loves classic rock 'n roll and they practiced two Elvis songs, and two CCR songs.

They sounded just great and we had a recording made of their set. Click here to listen to the mp3's:

Have you ever seen the rain?
Blue Suede Shoes
Midnight Special
Hound Dog

Later in their stay, Angel's family had arranged a little family reunion to meet the Finnish cousins and for Pia to be reacquainted with the relatives she met so long ago. It was a great day and Pia & Pauli loved seeing everyone and their hospitality.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pia and Pauli have always wanted to try s'mores, and we were more than happy to show them how to make them. Pauli likes to call them 'Marshmallows - American Style.' It was quite easy to make them and they caught on real fast. They were eager to show this new tasty treat to their friends and family back home. Yummy!

 

 

 

 

 

One family member who really got attached to Pia and Pauli was none other than our than our little Gidget. While Angel and I were at work, Gidget had company to visit with all day, so she got a double dose of attention. We think that Pia & Pauli equally enjoyed the companionship. We also think they had gained some of that loyalty by giving her some special treats - ahem - cheeseburgers!

 

 

 

 

The circus was in town and Pauli had never been to the circus in his forty-three years. So, we had to go, and we were glad that we did! It was so much fun to see all the acts, eat cotton candy and see all the animals. Pia & Pauli told us that they had the chance to ride an elephant when they were in Thailand. They told us that it was a lot of fun. Here at the circus, they were offering elephant rides, and we couldn't pass this up. It was really amazing to see an elephant this close up. We loved looking at the skin, and running our hands through his surprisingly coarse and bristly hair. We sat right on his front shoulders, and when he moved, we could just feel the massive body sway and rumble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 6, 2006
This article in Lake Superior Magazine features a really nice article about us and our Coffee Art®. Here's the start of the article:

Artists Angel Sarkela-Saur and Andrew Saur recently painted, George Costanza, the neurotic character from their favorite TV show, “Seinfeld,” holding up a mug of coffee and probably conversing about the Bubble Boy, the Close-talker or the infamous Soup Nazi. Or he might just be discussing these two creative Duluth residents, whose nickname fits nicely on that list: the Coffee Artists ...pioneers of a
new art medium, painting with coffee.

Click here to read the entire article.

April 3, 2006
As you can see from the ® in the top banner and after a year in the process, Angel and I have officially been granted the trademark of 'Coffee Art.' We are very excited and we are looking forward to painting and creating Coffee Art® for a long time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2, 2006
This is a fun little article that we came across:

A most fascinating and incredibly talented couple is Angel Sarkela Saur and her husband, Andrew Saur. They are masters in the unique form of coffee art. Well now, if you are scratching your head and wondering to yourself just what in the world is coffee art, many images may be conjured in your mind. Just as creative as the brainstorming process of what coffee art entails- picturesque statues of David sculpted in coffee beans, to full-scale visualizations of Jackson Pollack slugging around gallons of java on stark white canvas, is the reality of Angel and Andrew Saurs' coffee art masterpieces.

The Saurs have chosen coffee as their medium of choice for creating watercolor paintings. This coffee art has produced hues and tones ranging from the subtlest cream to the deepest ebony.

What better combination can one think of, then coffee and art. For years, it was the artistic minded, creatively pondering beatniks that clustered in coffee houses. And now, nearly half a century later, the coffee houses are still brewing new forms of artists.

With art shows displayed in various coffee houses, the Saurs exhibit over 100 coffee art paintings ranging from wildlife, nature, and people.

They are known as the "Coffee Artists" and have had their work requested by many who want to honor a loved one or a beloved pet. Many of their artwork features such requested portraits. Angela painted a beautiful portrait in the honor of her grandmother's passing. The work, all completed in coffee, is incredibly realistic and truly remarkable.

They have been featured in newspapers, coffee houses, and no doubt this is only a beginning taste of the future publicity they will drink in. When one views this incredibly art form it is hard to deny the exquisite beauty of this coffee art.


April 1, 2006
We were visited by our good friend and Finnish documentary filmmaker, Erkki Määttänen. He was in town on a follow-up on us and other Finnish Americans he was filming. He had shown us some rough cuts of his work on this latest documentary and were quite impressed. We didn't get a chance to see what he had filmed of us, but that is just fine. We can not wait until it is finished and released later this year. Erkki is creating a story about Finnish Americans and about interesting aspects of their lives. For our segment of his documentary, he has about a dozen or so characters that he has been filming, and he chose a still frame from his video. From that still frame, we are creating coffee paintings. The paintings will be an integral part of the documentary. During the interview of each Finnish American, the coffee painting of that character will be shown, and then be transitioned into the video. It will be a new way of our artwork to be shared, and is a great opportunity to be involved in creating this documentary. It is slated to air on YLE Finland television and the other Nordic countries sometime next year.