Life can be very strange and oddly serendipitous. Yesterday, on October 15, was the anniversary of my father's passing. This time of the year is always sad for me and this year it has also been very anxiety provoking, mainly due to the current world situations and the challenges we are facing personally as well as nationally. I have a hard time not taking in things that are beyond my control and am trying to learn how to have a healthier attitude toward that which I cannot change or control. This is an ongoing process and some days are easier than others.
So, on this annual day of deep sorrow for me for the sudden loss of my father in a car accident fifty-three years ago, Rent Romus published an announcement about the coming CD, Itkuja Suite, invocations on lament, which he is creating in collaboration with Heikki Koskinen and a number of musicians and vocalists. Rent Romus describes this collection as a deep exploration of the healing music of Nordic lament and life affirming elements of jazz. He states that the instrumental recording is complete and the vocal tracks are on track to be completed by the end of October 2022. The expected official release of Itkuja Suite is in April 2023 by Edgetone Records, the independent artist label run by Rent Romus. You can find out how you can offer your support and so much more about this project by clicking on this link: https://igg.me/at/itkuja.
The reason I find this announcement on October 15 of the coming release so amazing in timing is because Rent Romus and Heikki Koskinen bought limited rights to use my art, Something Out of Nothing aka The Magician on the cover of the CD and some promotional products aka perks. The sale of the rights happened recently but I had no idea when I would receive info about the coming release. Based on my own lamentations in regard to my personal loss decades ago, the timing is amazing. There are also other serendipities in regard to this CD and my family history. Turns out that both of my parents' families had to flee from Eastern Karelia during the war with Russia, who invaded these areas that used to belong to Finland. So, they were forced to move by war. And I myself am an immigrant, who chose to move from Finland to United States.
I have had the pleasure to hear the compositions on Itkuja Suite CD prior to their publications. The pieces are beautiful and moving and I invite you to take a look at this project by clicking on the link provided earlier in this blog.
Here is a picture of the drawing that Rent Romus and Heikki Koskinen chose for this CD:
Other than this, I have been very busy drawing with ink and sometimes also pencil on paper. So much wants to come through me and I am letting this happen to the best of my ability. You can view more of my drawings at FAA/Pixels, where I have been and will be posting them in due time: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/helena-tiainen.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Also, I always appreciate your feedback, so, if you feel compelled to share about this post, I invite you to do so. I also invite you to share about the coming CD, Itkuja Suites and I thank you for taking the time to read my blog!