Victorian mirror

My Victorian mirror was one day job in London in local glass workshop (held in Studio called "Art with glass"). I´m very proud of it and want to tell others how to get into this world.

How it goes? It´s just to give three to four days of your life and to get a great experience that you can remember rest of your life. If you want to do this, just contact me. I arrange trip and accommodation.

Pictures in Tate Modern art -museum

Wassily Kandinsky became a known for me during the time I spent in Germany. I used to visit in art exhibitions and the Kandinskys cooperation with the german artists (Blaue raitter) is well known. There is also some books available about this time he spent in Germany. The picture "Lake Starnberg" below.
This is a picture from the Germany, Starnberger See. I lived in this town for some years and also my first daughter was born here. It was nice to find a painting which is really representing the place which was ones very important to me.

Tate Modern Art -museum

The entrance of Tate was awesome. First I was very touched that the museum was using tree which is growing mainly in skandinavia, birch. That gave me right a feeling like being in home.

I also think that the birch is most beautiful three in the whole world and of course it comes from there where I am from. I think everybody has some close feelings for the things what they have had in their childhood. Just a short story about the age I was four year old and my grandparents were still aliwe. I just remember one sunny morning as I woke up and it was close the time we in Finland celebrate the midnighsunfestival. My grandparent had a made a little let´s say cottage (actually circle of birch trees) in our jard and they were sitting in the middle of it and putting together sauna birch whisks (that´s the one we used to use in Sauna to get the blood circulation better - and it works and gives a great smell to sauna). Soon I and my sister were sitting still our sleeping clother on and also trying to put together birch whisks. That´s one of the best memories from my childhood and a good reason love that three.

The main hall in Tate museum had a spectacular environmental art -piece. I´ve never seen that big "piece of art". I was stearing it for minute and trying to get the feeling out of it. It was actually giving me lots of toughts about the minimalisim. Funny that the very big peace of art make me think little thinks (from the point of archeological view). Because actually in the nature the smallest ant (or spider) has desciped as the biggest part compared to the beds and ever dinos. I think it is trying to tell us that the smallest ones are actually the most important ones. If something is failing from the natures circulation the whole thing is in dancer to fail. Funny thing is that the spider is carring some egg down the main body. Maybe it´s telling us that there is still hope (?).

Best parts of the London

London is amazing beautiful city. Already first at night (at 3 a.m. finnish time) by entering to city of London by Bus (Terravision) i saw the lights and beautiful old houses, just some highskrypers to give a feeling that we are actually in one of the metropols in the world.

As I sat in a bus, I wondered how the houses look like my old wooden doll house and they all are painted in different colours, some of them having nice glass works in their doors and windows.

As I and my friend Anita were on the bus stop in Victoria Station we met one girl (Michelle) from New Zealand. She was not having a place to stay and we offered her to overnight in our hotel room (Queens Hotel), which was actually far a way (7,2 miles/12 km) from the station. First we tried to find a bus, but there was no way to solve that problem. We didn´t know anything about the bus traffic and nor where they are leaving from. So we walked straight to the Victoria Station and took a London cap. That was a first time get that kind of drive and in a traffic where everything is opposite of my country.


Taxi drive was 28 pounds so in Euros around 35. Quit expensive, but luckily we were three to share it.

We didn´t sleep much during the following night. Actually only five hours. We got hour breakfast (white bread, jelly, some cearious, tea, coffee) and started to look around the hotel. We took left from the hotel door (subway direction) and saw the beautiful landscape. Green behind us and beautiful english houses and small, individual shops front of us

First we found a nice clothing shop, full of very feminin clothes. Shop was selling e.g. very famous brand "french connection". I love that cut and the way they get up the best parts of the womens body.

Next we got to the Glass art shop. We just started to talk with the person (Paul, owns a record shop, see: www.freewebs.com/hotrockvinyl) doing some work in there. He told me to come next day and attend to glass, where I can do a Victorian mirror. So why not.

Next day I entered to the glass at 10 a.m. Vincent the shop owner was already expecting me. (I think it was something like 5 past 10). I understood that the Vincent is a very exact person. He started to telling the rules of the houses first. I remember something that number one was to have the shoes which have the medal part in a front, number two was never to use bare hands to clean the tables and number three was not left the things e.g. bags, coats etc. anywhere else but the kitchen.

Cutting of the glass was my first job. I was sure that the Vincent was ready to laugh to see my cutting, but I think I did it excellently, because of my practise with tiffany glass works. So no laughs with me. Calculating was then the another thing. That´s very important as you do stained glass works. First there is three different types of leadbar: 12, 15 and 20 mm. It is always in shape of H. That means the inner part is 1,5 mm. I do not remember is it the always same also in bars of 15 and 20 mm.

Anyway first I made a drawing. There I had to pay attention to the lead used in outher part and the inner part. Red pen was used to mark the space what the inner part of the 12 mm lead bar needs. Actually it was exactly 1,5 mm thick.

The cutting was another thing. First I cut the wrong, because the thickness of cutter has to be also taken under consideration. That takes always 2 mm. So by using ruler I have to always take this amount of mm away by cutting.

It is not easy and only by doing it you understand how it goes.

There is also many other parts of the work. After cutting we used wooden panels to get the work straight and ready for the soldering. First I started to cut thicker lead bars and then the smallers ones. There is a special knife for the lead cutting.


Puzzeling (putting the parts together) was actually the best part of the job, because I knew, I get the mirror ready soon. I started on the right corner. First I put the thicker lead and then the red corner piece and then yellow and again red piece for the left corner and again lead bar (smaller one), mirror and the yellow pieces. etc.

As the Mirror was between the wooden pannels. I started to solder all the corners together. Then there was the two different types of handling. First black cream (I do not know what it is) to make sure the glass parts are not moving between the lead pieces and finally white snow (also not know material for me) over the work to finalize everything. I think my Mirror was the prettiest one in the whole shop. That also what I told to the Vincent, who was teaching me very patiently. Warm thanks for him!

That all took the whole friday. In the evening we planned to go to some art echibition and there was couple of place we wanted to visit. We knew that there is not much time so we desired to visit Tate modern art museum close to the waterloo station.

After my day with the Vincent I took the bus, which took 1,5 hour to get Waterloo. I was late as much as the bus drive took, because I tought that it will be only half an hour. Traffic jam might cause sometimes the situation like this. My friends waited me on the station close the burger kind.

First we went to a bar along the Thames and ordered bottle of shampagne. It tasted so good. We also met a girl (women) performing in bars. Something like "Mouling Rouse" -type of cabaree. Trying to get a refresing wievs of womens life. It was very touching as I was listening to them. The role of a woman is so wide and understood in many ways. That was a good start to Tate modern art -museum. We had a great mood and our heads were ready take artistic flow abide.