Trip to Trakai: Castle on the Lake

The last country on our trip itinerary (after Russia, Estonia, and Latvia), was Lithuania.  We briefly stopped in its capital, Vilnius, and then headed to Trakai.

Originally built in early 15-th century (ruined and rebuilt many times), this castle is like a time machine.

Trip to Riga: Art Nouveau

Riga is the capital of Latvia.  Very beautiful city, with its own Old Town.  I have to admit though, that Riga's Old Town was not that impressive right after seeing Tallinn.  What was really impressive for me, is Riga's own version of Art Nouveau architecture.

Again, for a polymer clay artist, a walk in Riga's neighborhood built in early 20-th century is a great source of inspiration.

I'll just show here a few (out of many) pictures I took there.  For more, do a google search for Riga Art Nouveau Architecture.

Tallinn Trip: Fairy Tales and Openwork Sculptures

Tallinn, Estonia, view from the Upper Town

 After visiting St.Petersburg, we went to Tallinn (Estonia).

This must be the least crowded capital city in Europe!  We were there in the middle of August, right at the peak of the tourist season, and there was a very bearable number of people even in the Old Town.

Speaking of Tallinn's old town - it is just magical.  No wonder, during the Soviet Union time most of the fairy tale movies were made there.

Tallinn, Estonia, outside of the old city walls

Tallinn, Estonia, cafe

Tallinn, Estonia, view from one of the towers in the Lower Town

 We spent less than two days in this enchanted place.  When we came home, it turned out I took most pictures from our trip in Tallinn.

Now, to the openwork sculptures mentioned in the title.  We went for a stroll just outside the city walls and came across some kind of exhibition of modern sculptures.  Too bad all signs were in estonian, so I have no idea what these things are and who made them.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to recognize one of the shapes I've been obsessed with for almost a year now.

Tallinn, Estonia, openwork sculptures outside the Old Town walls

Don't they look like some of my polymer clay Openwork Pendants?!

St.Petersburg Trip: Mosaics in St.Isaac's Cathedral

I just came back from a short trip to Russia and a few Baltic Cost countries.  The trip was wonderful, the weather was great, and brought back lots of precious memories and beautiful pictures.  I do not want to overwhelm my readers with too many pictures, but some of them I just have to share.

Here are a few pictures I took inside St.Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg (Russia).  The cathedral itself is absolutely magnificent both from the outside and inside.  Here is a link to a wikipedia article about this cathedral: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Isaac's_Cathedral

There are a few pictures of the cathedral in this article, and many more can be found on-line.

What I want to share here are the pictures taken by a polymer clay artist.  You know, polymer clay is an obsession, and a polymer clay artist simply cannot help but notice things that relate to polymer clay in one way or another.  In my case, I was stunned by the mosaics in this cathedral. 

Built in early 19-th century, St.Isaac's was originally decorated by many masterful paintings by the famous Russian painters of that time.  In a few short years that paintings started to deteriorate due to the harsh weather in St. Petersburg.   A decision was made to replace each painting with an identical mosaic.  To say that this work is very tedious and painstaking is a huge understatement.  The mosaics that were completed are so detailed, they can be easily mistaken for oil paintings even from a few feet away (and especially when they are up at the cathedral ceiling).  Luckily, there were a couple of these mosaics on display at the floor level, so I was able to take these pictures.

 

My Valentine's Day Gift: Anhinga

This is becoming a lovely tradition: for Valentine's day, my husband and I give each other a trip to some nice place.  This year it was Southern Florida and it was a few days before February 14, because I needed to be back in time for my class on February 12. 

We spent some time on the beach in Fort Lauderdale and then camped in Everglades National Park.  I will have to write about Fort Lauderdale later.  Now I just want to show a few pictures I took on Anhinga Trail in Everglades.

Apparently, anhinga is a this amazing fish-hunting bird.  When it is done with chasing fish, it sits on the low branches of the trees by the water.  At first, it looks like a wet black bottle-cleaning brush (it's feathers are not water-proof).

To dry its feathers, the bird spreads its wings like a pterodactyl.  In a few minutes light-grey spots start appearing on its shoulders:

After about 10-15 minutes of drying in the sun, the bird turns into this beauty:

Isn't it amazing?  If I did not took all three pictures by myself, I would not believe that this is actually the same bird!

Work in Progress

Here is my next project: polymer clay Fantasy Flower Brooches. 

I am showing only one here, but I am planning to have at least three variations of each the petals and the flower centers for my next tutorial.