August 15, 2009
Tonight, the documentary "Kahvilla" aired for the fourth time on YLE TV1 in Finland. Our cousins over there were quite excited to see the documentary.
Our good friend, Erkki Määttänen, from Finland is a documentary filmmaker for the YLE Broadcasting Company. We have known Erkki for years and have loved his film work. When he said that he would like to do a documentary on us and our Coffee Art®, we were honored.
Erkki has visited us many times over the years on his travels while filming. The footage of us is a couple of years old. We were creating coffee paintings for another documentary he was making. He was filming Finnish American musicians and for each new segment, he wanted to lead with one of our paintings. It was a nice incorporation of our Coffee Art® into his film work.
Kahvilla
YLE TV1 klo 19:40
Duluthissa asuvat Angel Särkelä ja Andy Saur ovat nuoria taitelijoita, jotka tekevät taidettaan kahvilla.
Kesto: 10 minuuttia
When we saw Erkki at this summer's FinnFest, he gave us this dvd with a big smile on his face. He must have known that we would love it, and we do. He is a big fan of Gidget as well, and you will see her multiple times in this film.
Click on the film to the right to view.
August 11, 2009
This past winter, a group called Twin Ports Pathways organized a call for artist submissions for seven bike stands to be designed, constructed and installed around the city of Duluth, Minnesota. I submitted my design and I was fortunate to have my design selected. Because of my strong connection to my Scandinavian heritage, I designed a Viking ship bike stand. Near the location of this bike stand, my great-grandparents lived on the shores of Lake Superior. One hundred years later, Angel and I were married at the same place where my great-grandparents once lived. The Viking ship has a cultural significance in our community. Many of our ancestors, neighbors and friends have Nordic blood flowing through our veins. The Vikings sailed these amazing ships on journeys of exploration. It was the perfect transportation at the time. I would like to honor these explorers by creating this modern steel ship sculpture as a place for our modern transportation vehicles. I often think about my Nordic ancestors and their explorations, and incorporate these ideas into my art.
My design is a modern-day reflection of an ancient Viking ship. It is situated on the shores of Lake Superior, looking out to the vastness of the water. The dragon head points northeast towards Scandinavia. Up to eight bikes can be placed into the ribs of the ship, and the tail of the ship curls back down. This ship is constructed out of steel and is finished with a metallic silver powder coat.
Along with the bike stand, I also created a runestone. It reads “This bike rack was created in honor of Angel, Annika and Gidget.” An abstract form of my bike stand design is incorporated into the stone and it is placed directly under the head of the ship.
I look forward to my bike rack being put to good use and people can appreciate the form and function of this piece. It is my dream that Annika and her children will be able to place their bikes into the Viking ship bike stand. It is my passion and I hope people will feel the same way when they roll along, exploring like the ancient Vikings.
August 1, 2009
We have been quite busy in our lives for the past year, and for good reason. We have been enjoying life with our baby girl.It was a very special occasion for our family last week. It was our daughter Annika’s first birthday. We have been blessed with a beautiful and happy baby girl and we wanted to show her how much she means to us.. For her birthday gift, we thought about many things that we could have given her, but we knew we wanted to create something spectacular for her. Since we are both profoundly grounded in our Scandinavian roots, we decided to create a Viking Ship wagon. It was true collaboration, Angel did all the detail carving, painting, and the sewing of sail, pillows and blankets and Andy designed and constructed the wagon. In the weeks and days leading up to Annika’s birthday, we kept the wagon out of her site. Finally the big day arrived, and we did not know who was more excited. After she opened her other gifts and had cake, we took everyone outside to present her with her final gift. Annika catches a glimpse to what she sees rolling around the corner, points and she shrieks with delight!
She hops in the wagon with a smile from ear to ear.
After her party, we took Annika and her best friend, Gidget, for a long ride. Both can fit in comfortably with plenty of room to grow.
We begin our maiden voyage.
Annika loves as we gather momentum, picking up speed going down hills.
We travel along Lake Superior, breathing in the sweet air and listening to the waves. Annika loves the attention that she receives in her wagon. She watches for people and blows kisses to them.
When her eyes start to get tired from all the waving, she settles in for a little nap, dreaming of her next voyage.
We hope that Annika will enjoy her Viking Ship wagon. It was a labor of love and we hope that she gets many years of enjoyment from it.
