Parikkala Sculpture Park

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr 

Just 3 hours east of Helsinki, tucked next to the Russian border, lies the town of Parikkala.

Creative Commons image
1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

While relatively isolated, the tiny town receives more than its share of visitors, drawn to incredible sculptures created by Veijo Rönkkönen.

Officially known as the Parikkala Sculpture Park, the Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden is one of Finland's most important examples of contemporary folk art.

"Rönkkönen is more than an installation or a sculpture park; it’s a community, and although some of the artwork is disturbing, the forest is unquestionably quite magical, an amalgamation of many different worlds coming together all in one place." (The Culture Trip)

Creative Commons image 1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

What causes the sometimes 'creepy' reaction is the facial expressions of the concrete statues. Some even have human teeth. The uniqueness of each statue is also what makes the whole collection so special.

"Veijo Rönkkönen was only 16 years old when he started working on his park. Veijo had recently got a job as a press worker in a paper mill in his hometown Parikkala, a job he held for 41 years. With his first pay check, he purchased ten apple tree seedlings and a bag of concrete to create a garden around his family home. For the next fifty years, until his death in 2010, he dedicated all his spare time and money planting flowers and trees and creating hundreds of caricature-like sculptures, mostly of full scale human figures." (Amusing Planet)

Creative Commons image
1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

A recluse who enjoyed his own company and practiced yoga, Veijo continued to live in the family home, adding to his works.

"Veijo Rönkkönen's yard, and the path leading to it, are filled with over 450 statues, 200 of which are self portraits of the artist in Yoga positions he has mastered. The statues have loudspeakers hidden inside them, and the sound effects add to the eeriness of this place." (Oddity Central)

Creative Commons image 1030333033@N08 on Flickr 

While Rönkkönen was happy to share his sculptures, leaving his park open to the public, he never wanted to meet his admirers. Instead, visitors left impressions and notes to him in a guestbook.

Veijo Rönkkönen was recognized with the Finlandia prize in 2007, but sent his brother to collect the prize on his behalf.

Following his death in 2010, Rönkkönen's family sold the site, hoping it would be preserved. The ITE Association is partnering with the new owner, an art lover named Reino Uusitalo, to repair the sculptures and provide guided tours.

Curious?

Satisfy your curiosity with this view of the park entrance (on Google Street View).

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr

If you go, why not stay a few days? There is plenty to see and do, including ample birdwatching, Ateljee-Koti Seppo Saukkonen (250 works by the artist), Honkakylä Merchant’s Museum, Museum of Horse-Drawn Vehicles & Agricultural Implements, Parikkala Dairy Museum and the Papinniemi Archaeological Site. (Visit Parikkala)

Resources
Parikkala Sculpture Park - Official Website
THE RÖNKKÖNEN SCULPTURE PARK - Go Finland
The strange Park of Veijo Rönkkönen - Big in Finland
Veijo Rönkkönen Sculpture Garden - Atlas Obscura
The Sculpture Park of Veijo Rönkkönen Is the Weirdest Place in Finland - Oddity Central
Veijo Rönkkönen’s Sculpture Park - Amusing Planet
Recluse Dies, Leaves Behind Hundreds of Secret Sculptures in Finland - The Culture Trip
The Parikkala Sculpture Park Reviews - Trip Advisor (rating 4.5/5)
How to get from Helsinki to Parikkala - Rome2Rio
Cottages and Vacation Rentals nearby - Go Finland
Parikkala Sights and Attractions - Visit Parikkala

Creative Commons image mikeancient on Flickr

Undercats

Not the same as an underdog... this guy in Lithuania, Andrius Burba, takes pics of cats from below. The results are rather cool. Worth a paws to take a look:
Under-Cats: I Photograph Cats From Underneath

Found on Flickr: city squares

creativecommons by station_nord on Flickr

I stumbled across the photo above while on Flickr looking for something else, and it just took my breath away. There is just something about it. The photographer hasn't identified the location which just adds to the mystery.

Tip: for the full effect, right click the image to open it in a new window, so you can see it enlarged.

This inspired me to search for other interesting city images. Here is some of what I found (and I will come back and add more to this post):



creativecommons image by pennuja on Flickr



Found on Flickr: Rogue Chairs

I made the most interesting discovery tonight on Flickr... it's a group called "League of the Empty Chair (interestingly Out Of Place)", and it's just that, odd, random rogue chairs found here and there. Here are a few of my favourites found so far (click any image to go to its source):



















The ones I like best are those that are unstaged, and somehow surprising. But I did enjoy this:


... and last, but certainly not least....

Found on Flickr: shadows, skateboards and sheer guts

A few compelling photos I've stumbled across in Flickr recently.

These are all from Miles Gehm on Flickr.





















Source: click on each photo for the source

For more on how I find and share photos on my blog, click here.

Found on Flickr: cats, mannequins and odd signs

When I am researching travel topics for the blogs I write, use the Creative Commons image search tool. Through both Wikimedia Commons and Flickr, there is an easy way to share images with all the source and licensing info intact (it's there if you click on any photo in this post). So thought I might just start sharing some of the photos I come across today...

These are not from my travels, just stuff that either made me laugh or smile today... These are all from Dennis from Atlanta, on Flickr.









Lots of fun... but I must finish with one more cat...

Cool Moon

This is the lunar eclipse as my camera saw it:

But with my naked eye, it was pretty cool. My mom and I bundled ourselves up in fleece and blankets (she wore her hat!) and sat out on the deck watching last night's lunar eclipse. We warmed ourselves with mugs of hot chocolate and were out there quite awhile, til the clouds closed in. I kept saying "cool" mom was kidding me that the moon was cool in more ways than one (brrrr!!!, lol).

Only happens every 400 years or so that there is a lunar eclipse on the solstice, so it was a good thing those clouds had taken a break when they did, there was no rain, and I had set an alarm so I didn't forget. I was awake doodling when the alarm went about 11pm here, oh! And up we got.

After we were back inside, warming ourselves with more hot chocolate, I went onto Twitter to look at some pics. Mom was really intrigued to see pics from other places in the world, such as the one from someone in Argentina, as their pic had the lower right corner lit up (rather than the upper right hand corner).

Here is the best pic I saw on Twitter last night, by Jay Rodriguez (click to enlarge it):

Sidney moments

Just a few pics and reflections and random moments from life here in Sidney.
This is what happens to a Red Bull can if you put it back into the fridge half-full with clear plastic wrap over the top. Thought it was so cool. My sis took this and the next pic.

Me as Red Bull Misty Done Girl in the backyard in the days before the plumbing saga began. Ah, the quiet before the storm....

Backyard moon.

Two birds. One economic action plan project here. Your tax dollars at work. Mine too.

This is what they are up to: an upgrade to Lochside Drive. It's one of my fav spots, where one can just park the car and sit and watch the water. Or get out and walk. It is rough and unfinished dirt now for the parking, and a sidewalk. They are apparently paving the parking, and putting in a new retaining wall, upgrading the walkway. It is good, I suppose, but it's rather a bother that it's not so enjoyable while they work on it.

A recent outside breakfast at my fav breakfast spot, Beacon and Eggs.

One of the local residents.

The local movie house, Star Cinema. I haven't been to a movie there yet myself, but it's apparently a great little theatre. Looking forward to going there in the fall.

This gives you a sense of the pace around here. My sister calls it a sleepy little town. I think that describes it well.

LOVED this sign, found on a telephone pole on a walk into town. I think it says a lot about the community here.

A few other random reflections:

• Fall here is beautiful... when the sun shines
• It can cool off quickly here, our house is just steps from the ocean - there is a nice ocean breeze
• When it rains here, it sure can RAIN!!! We are thinking it would be a good idea to get the roof on the sunroom fixed before winter....
• Our mailman wears one red sock and one blue sock

I don't have much more brilliance today. It is time to doodle....