Samhain~Halloween Customs and Practices III What about those horrible Witches everywhere and the annoying Trick or Treaters? This is the time of year that the Scots believed that the Cailleach, the Hag, arises from stone to walk the Earth. She actually had a blue-gray or almost black face. She is an important supernatural being in […]
Samhain~Halloween Customs and Practices — ravenhawks’ magazine Magick for Mind Body and Soul
The Wagadu Chronicles is an African-inspired role playing game (RPG) steeped in the folklore, magick, history, and indigenous traditions of the continent – creating “an authentic experience for underserved and underrepresented players”. The Afrofantasy massively multiplayer online game (MMOPRG), which is entirely focused on roleplaying, combines the mythologies of Africa with the fantasy storytelling tradition […]
The Wagadu Chronicles: Afrofantasy video and offline role playing game changing the face and accessibility of gaming — Life & Soul Magazine
Kew Gardens has secured a new world record for the “largest collection of living plants at a single-site botanic garden”. From the longest and biggest to the smelliest and smallest, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew’s record-breaking plant collections have long been renowned for being amongst the most valuable and varied in the plant kingdom. […]
Kew Gardens sets new world record for largest plant collection at nearly 17,000 — Life & Soul Magazine
Optimism filled the air at Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design 2021 as iconic brands looked to a post-pandemic future After many months of pandemic-related restrictions, the streets of Copenhagen were unusually vibrant and filled with optimism during 3 Days of Design, the Danish capital’s annual design festival, which took place Sept. 16 to 18 this…Read…
Comfortable Classics and Sustainability at Danish Design Show — Wyndesong’s Place
Maison & Objet has returned to Paris with the first in-person edition of the decor, design, and lifestyle fair since the start of the pandemic. The eagerly awaited event gave us a chance to discover the products and trends coming out of manufacturers’ new collections. Our editorial team was on-site to bring you the latest…Read…
Maison & Objet 2021: Trending Colors for the Coming Year — Wyndesong’s Place
As we move into fall, our homes and gardens can offer something different than they did in summer. A pot of brightly colored flowers on your porch can help lift your mood and brighten your street. Setting up a badminton net or hanging a swing gives kids a place to burn off some energy after…Read…
8 Ideas to Give Your Yard a Boost for Fall — Wyndesong’s Place
In some regions of Japan, this time of year marks the peak of the annual rice harvest season. Traditionally, Japanese farmers have reused leftover rice straw (“wara” in Japanese), a byproduct of the harvest, to feed livestock and better the soil. Artisans have used it for making tatami mats and other household objects. But over time, technology has replaced these traditions with the utilization of industrial materials, leaving farmers with enormous amounts of dry rice straw for which they have no use.
In the coastal region of Niigata Prefecture, a major rice-growing area, the Wara Art Festival brings a creative solution to this problem: enchanting, oversized sculptures of animals and mythical creatures made exclusively of rice straw. The straw sculptures are designed by students from Tokyo’s Musashino Art University and installed in collaboration with local residents in Niigata. After a year of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival is now back for its 13th edition, welcoming visitors at the local Uwasekigata Park through October 31.
Founded in 2007, the Wara Art Festival is organized jointly by Niigata City’s local tourism council and the Musashino Art University. It is the brainchild of Shingo Miyajima, a professor at the Department of Science and Design at Musashino, who in 2006 was asked by Niigata’s farming community to think of a solution to the problem of unused rice straw. The professor came up with a creative idea: monumental animal sculptures supported by wooden frames. Since then, the festival has become a major tourist attraction in the region.
Rising from the fields, the mammoth artworks can climb to the height of 30 feet. The exhibition features menacing, sharp-toothed beasts and dragons alongside endearing apes and elephants. This year’s displays also include a representation of an Amabie, a beaked mermaid or merman from Japanese mythology.
Ideal for a family trip, the festival’s Facebook page shows visitors of all ages posing for pictures inside the open jaws of a crocodile or in the lap of a giant gorilla. The festival has only one request from visitors to ensure the safety of the displays: Please don’t fly drones in the park!
Visual artist Hannu Huhtamo has been creating art with the dark night as his “canvas’ and light as his “brush”.
Using a technique known as light painting, the Finnish artist makes his works with a photographic technique based on long exposure times that vary from a few seconds to hours. While the cameras shutter is open, the artist is able to draw in the air by moving different kinds of light sources in front of the camera.
Light painting typically requires a dark environment and it’s usually made at night. Hannu Huhtamo has created numerous light paintings of symmetrical light flowers, fauna, and luminous sculptures which he draws into various locations along the elements of the current environment and ambient lighting.
The artist’s light paintings have lit up spaces including forests, abandoned places reclaimed by nature in the city outskirts, and even the Namibia Desert.
Hannu Huhtamo says: “The symmetry in nature has always fascinated me more than anything else and I started developing floral shapes in order to create light sculptures that look organic.
“My light flowers and luminous beings represent hope and a bit of order in the middle of the chaos. I tend to be a bit restless soul and rush from things to another quite fast. That way I might seek balanced things, like symmetry, through my art. It’s more than just creating images, it’s a form of meditation.”
The Helsinki based artist has been light painting since 2008 but it was back in the 1990’s when he shot his first light painting image. Whilst at a gig, Hannu Huhtamo wanted to draw out a pentagram with a lighter so he opened the shutter of his camera and created his first light painting image.
Images: Hannu Huhtamo
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyle including sustainable and green living.
Late summer is a good time to look beyond trees to create an autumn landscape that draws the eye and stirs the soul Late summer is the perfect time to take stock and watch your landscape, as some plants will already begin turning or thinning out. 11 more words
4 Elements of a Stunning Fall Garden — Wyndesong’s Place
“With almost no time to decide, they [your loved ones] gave the entire country an incalculable gift. They saved the capitol from attack. They saved God knows how many lives. They saved the terrorists from claiming the symbolic victory of smashing the center of American government. And they did it as citizens. They allowed us to survive as a country that could fight terror and still maintain liberty and still welcome people from all over the world from every religion and race and culture as long as they shared our values, because ordinary people given no time at all to decide did the right thing.” ~ William J. Clinton
Prep your home for cooler weather with these tasks to do in an hour, over a weekend, and during the month From the first days, which probably still feel like summer, to the last, when you may notice that first chill in the air, September is a time of transition. Get your home ready for…Read…
To-Dos: Your September Home Checklist — Wyndesong’s Place
Magic Parque Ecologique, an environmental education centre in Togo, is teaching school children how waste can be used to make something new including pencil holders and construction materials.
The exhibition park aims to create and showcase art objects from recycled and salvaged objects. It also provides training and recreation for the community in Togo’s capital city, Lomé
For Lamid Ibrahim, the initiator of the ecological park, these objects considered useless have a second life. “They can be recycled, valued as works of art or be used for other purposes.”
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyle including sustainable and green living
nishadesigns.com 