I am very happy to announce that I have been nominated for the Arts and Crafts Design Award. It is an international, internet based award and is open to all artists, craftspeople and designers. I am especially happy to be in it a,s my old lecturer of mine has been nominated for the award too. Below is a link to my page on the award site and my old lecturer's website.

The town of Rovaniemi is on the edge of the arctic circle and just inside Lapland. It was here that I visited and caught a glimpse of the nature of Lapland. To see the really harsh arctic landscape you need to travel much further north where the trees no longer grow, I unfortunately I did not have time to travel this far. Should you ever visit Rovaniemi a trip to the Arktikum is well worth the time, as it not only explains Lapland, but all the native people, flaura, fauna and unique aspects of the entire arctic circle.

The landscape of southern Lapland is overall flat with small hills of bare rock and the valleys filled with trees. The hills were once the beaches of the sea that used to cover this entire country and so have undulations in their pebbled surface, left by the retreating waters. The forest floor is covered with berries and moss that are shaded by the birch, spruce and pine that make the forest itself.

Even in late May it is obvious why the arctic circle has its nickname of 'Land of the Midnight Sun' and though I was in an ideal spot to witness the unique quality of light that this phenomenon gives, it was misty and cloudy and so I could see very little. The landscape was still fascinating though and the history of the area is evident with its pebble beaches, sand banks and rocky outcrops all telling the story of the glacier, former sea and rise of the land.

As a last stop in my Finland trip it was well worth it even though it has left me with more questions than answers and a distinct wish to come back and see Finland in greater detail and spend some more time understanding this unique and wonderful country. Thank you to The Åland Archipelago Guest Artist Residence for giving me this opportunity and thank you to all those that helped me while I was here. It would not have been the same without you and I hope to see you all again sometime soon.