Taiteilija Hilda Kahran blogi

Täällä naputtelemassa apurahahakemuksia, tekemässä etätöitä ja kantelemassa takkoja vintille . Myös saunomista mahtuu ohjelmaan.

I was having a residency period at Skogshyddan_air in May 2023, here are some reflections over my stay.

The spring had arrived and the weather was going towards the sunnier side of reality. The spring always makes me wanna break out from my ordinary life - In that way I am a bit like a cow meeting the green, wild and kicking. I needed to come out of town and meet the spring halfway, so I decided to ask if there was space and time for me in the Skogshyddan_air residency.
I was lucky.

The train was replaced with a bus that didn't stop at my stop ( I thought for some magic reason it would stop without me needing to push the bottom). I was hitchhiking back for a km or two. The man who picked me up had a really high sounding air conditioner, so I didn't catch much of what he said. Finally, I came to Skogby. The little spot on the map I had zoomed in and out on google earth view for some days, was soon in my reach.

After some more map reading I finally could spot the picturesque old house from 1929. It was in the middle of a garden, and there I spotted my host - Susanna Kankare.

The house was very welcoming, there used to be 8 apartments in the house, for workers of the Fiskars mill. While doing some gardening work I imagined the workers' kids playing in the garden, digging for ringworms and playing hide and seek. The floor in the house was old, and full of memories from the past inhabitants, maybe someone had left a mark for me to find?

While putting up a fire in the fireplace in the evening I was reading books and trying to work on my short story collection, influenced by the spirit of the house. I tried to imagine the old workers meeting up in someone's apartment, discussing and planning a possible strike, or how to develop the workers rights.

I usually draw, but this time I didn't make any new drawings. Instead I took time to help Suanna out with the house, painting and organizing, and digging in the garden. I felt the house needed my attention, and I was curious about its long history.

The week went fast and the small sauna out in the yard served as the perfect relaxation to every working day.

With best wishes

Hilda Kahra, artist