Capturing life as it is

October – summer is over

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Yes, the wonderful, surprising, uplifting, heart-filling, and ever-so-stimulating September is over. What a release, discovery, and coming together within myself. I guess some start writing a book about it, as yes, it is such a powerful and unexpected feeling. One should definitely experience this at least once in their life. Unfortunately, I do not have any guidance on how to get to that level. Also, is this a lasting state or a temporary one?

Anyway, I didn’t want to talk about that, but of October. The month when I realized that the summer is over! 🙂 So enjoy the bright colours and let your inner sun shine bright. Lift yourself up, listen to good music, eat good food or do not eat at all, just be better to people around you and do some crazy stuff. But keep others in your mind and be respectful. Always. Remember, the world is not you.

And the photo is an old one, which I found accidentally online. Not even sure anymore, from which source. But here it is. Perfect for this post!

June to be or not to be…

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or something like that. It is a mess, but please continue.

Yay! The first summer month is here! Yet the question remains, which summer it will be this time – the hot and dry or the cold and rainy one. While living in Estonia, it is always a gamble. I prefer something in between, as the hot sun or cold rainy days are not the best options to enjoy the summer.

The June photo is about a similar dilemma – which side of the coin will it be? You can look at the big picture or the small details – what will you choose? Most of the time, we have a choice, but with the weather, we don’t.

I guess it will be what it will be. We seem to talk too much about the weather anyway. Whatever we are given, I hope that I can see some bigger pictures and find myself lost in looking for the small details. After all, the smallest things matter the most, so keep looking!

A close-up of a colourful caterpillar symbolizes the unpredictability of summer weather.

February discoveries

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This winter has been extremely poor in snow. I am used to snow and cold temperatures and I do not mind it really, so I was excited to be back at home and enjoy the winter. So far I haven’t even gotten my skis out yet! So it left me with some extra time to discover what the dark February had to offer. I wandered around in the garden looking for something small to capture. It happened to be one happy evening when there was some snow coming down. I wasn’t aiming to capture the snowflakes, but the sharp ends of the tiny coniferous tree. I didn’t even think that the ends of the little needles have such strong ends. So there you go – again something new learned in this whole wide world!

June nature

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Finally, it is summer! Or at least the month, when summer really starts. I guess it is still summer when you know you are not taking a break from work, as there is so much to do! Hahaha, I know a body needs a break. What would be the best time to have it than not in summer? So excited about what this beautiful month has to offer.

I feel like I repeat myself, but summer is the time to notice things. Explore and experience. Share and love. But yet again, any day of our lives should be lived like this – to the fullest, being the most present and appreciated. I guess it is not the best time to write anything while listening to Justament’s Petseri Tsura ja Hiitola Ätt. Words choke in my head, throat and fingers. But this only works when you are an Estonian!

/…/

Pictured here is a June shot from my earlier insects session in Hiiumaa at Kadri’s grandparents’ place. I got quite a few great shots of the June bugs aka Figeater Beetles. But what makes this shot great is the even smaller insect sitting on the beetle’s left side. When you think something is small, even something smaller exists. Miracles of the Mother Nature!

Let there be sun, laughs, good food and great company. Take it easy in June!

May clean-up

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I know this is a bit confusing, as Earth Day is in the end of April, on 22nd of April to be exact. But for many Estonians the month of May, especially the beginning of it is the time to roll up your sleeves and do something for the community. It is time for the The Let’s Do It collective action day. I have participated in this action for few times. Basically all the time when I am at home in Estonia.

It started as a small event, which has grown into a huge event and very loved by Estonians. A few years ago it was even organized as a worldwide event. A new tradition is born. It is called World Clean-up Day. On 16th of September it is your chance to participate in it and make the world a cleaner place.

About the photo. This was taken actually in 2010 – 13 years ago! I put this group together and people bought their own friends. So what are you seeing here are the friends of me, Anette and Maria. I invited them and they invited their friends. We were cleaning cemetery and found lots of evergreen flowers. This group picture was born after Maira thanked all participants in this clean-up day and handed to everybody a bunch of flowers. How can we not take a photo after hard work and such nice gesture.

Have you ever participated in Let’s Do It or the World Clean-Up Day? If not, I strongly suggest to. As it so much fun and you will be doing so much good for the planet Earth!

April fresh

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Well, if March wasn’t a spring month, then April definitely has to be one! Right? Look at this photo. Everything is brand new, full of energy and about to burst green. So beautiful, like a painting, right Hahaa, I guess I am really waiting for spring. Or Earth Day. On 22nd of April lots is happening all around the world. Read more from the above link and add your event. I will organize a nature clean-up again and I hope that some people are coming around as well to take care of nature while picking up some garbage. Get your spring on the right way!

#saynotoplastic

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is time for the new year’s resolutions. Perhaps you can say no to plastic.

NO to plastic! Why? Simply because it is one of the most hardly recycling materials, we use it everywhere. If people contaminate the environment with plastic, they generate significant damage, especially to the sea and oceans.

Follow these easy tips to avoid plastic in your daily life. It’s easy to say no!

1. Bring your reusable bags for shopping

2. Avoid single-use plastic bottles

3. Avoid plastic kitchenware and utensils

4. Avoid plastic packaging

5. Avoid plastic toys and gift items

6. Avoid plastic food containers

7. Use reusable or recyclable products

8. Avoid plastic decoration

9. Educate yourself and others

10. Support plastic-free initiatives

+ whenever you can spread the message to those who are directly responsible for the creation of plastic packages etc.

Since 2017 I have been into creating installments/exhibitions where I am using already available materials. Instead of buying or making something completely new. I installed last night a public message of “say no to plastic”. It is visible from both sides. So that the people who are stuck in the traffic, can see the message as well.

No money was spent to create this installation: the paper was reused, stickers were saved from the dumpster as half of the zip-ties, and a kind woman from a freecycling community donated the rest.

Please keep our nature trails clean and make a habit of carrying a plastic bag (indeed!) in your pocket to pick up litter during your walks. Many people are already doing it all around the world!

For great plastic information, please visit www.implasticfree.com

#saynotoplastic

Pop-up exhibition “Gift card, anybody?” has been put out in the nature trails as a part of the #artabandonement movement

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Last week I presented for just 1.5 hours my pop-up show “Gift card, anybody?”. I was blessed with great weather and some visitors who took their time to see the small installments. I was really glad to see that there were more strangers, who after noticing the frames on the trees, came to see what they were about.

On Saturday I left all 10 pieces out in public for people to find as part of the art abandonment movement and do whatever they please. If you find one of the pieces, please take a look at the work and the accompanying text and share a photo of your experience. If you find one and want to take it home, please check the other side of the work and see if you would like to contribute some from your kindness.

The idea of this show and public exhibition is to draw attention to how deep plastic has melted into our lives. It surrounds us actually everywhere, every step of our life, ever since we wake up, go to the washroom, prepare our breakfast, travel to work, at the office and restaurant, public transportation etc. You may want to count all the plastic items you touch during one day and you will be surprised.

Okay, so what’s the big deal? The big deal is that plastic is here to stay forever. It is harmful to us and all wildlife, especially waterways and oceans. Yes, we can skip the plastic straws, but this is not the solution, as big companies will produce again and again more and more plastic, such as all the packaging, fishing nets, which all our oceans are full of, containers, etc…yeah, this list can go on forever. And yet here I am making the fuzz about gift cards. Just small pieces of plastic, right? But the amount of these created every year is mind-blowing. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association, nearly 17 billion plastic cards were produced in 2006. And 10 billion new gift cards are created every year. Now think of all the pens, all the combs, all the peanut butter jars, all coffee cups and lids, you can go on forever….

I used the gift cards that nobody wanted to buy to create these collages, as a way to attract people’s attention, stop and think about how much plastic there is and perhaps take steps to change the present. We as customers have a say, the more of us say something, the more changes will appear.

Just take a moment to think about it.

All materials used in this exhibition were salvaged, received for free, donated etc. Since 2017 I have been trying to create shows using already existing materials, meaning that I am not spending any money to buy new items. If to except for my recent exhibition which can be viewed on the outside windows of the Estonian House on 958 Broadview Ave until the 31st of October, which also marks the end of the Estonian House in Toronto, I have managed quite well.

Thank you to everybody who came along and made this a memorable evening.

Pop-up show “Gift card, anybody?”

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I will be presenting next week for a very short time, just 1.5 hours my pop-up show “Gift card, anybody?”. The show’s place doesn’t matter, as I will leave all 10 pieces out in public for people to find as part of the art abandonment movement and do whatever they please with them. If you find one of the pieces, then please kindly take a look at the work and the accompanying text and share a photo of your experience. If you find one and want to take it home, please check the other side of the work and see if you would like to contribute some from your kindness.

The idea of this show and public exhibition is to draw attention to how deep plastic has melted into our lives. It surrounds us actually everywhere, every step of our life, ever since we wake up, go to the washroom, prepare our breakfast, travel to work, at the office and restaurant, public transportation etc. You may want to count all the plastic items you touch during one day and you will be surprised.

Okay, so what’s the big deal? The big deal is that plastic is here to stay forever. It is harmful to us and all wildlife, especially waterways and oceans. Yes, we can skip the plastic straws, but this is not the solution, as big companies will produce again and again more and more plastic, such as all the packaging, fishing nets, which all our oceans are full of, containers, etc…yeah, this list can go on forever. And yet here I am making the fuzz about gift cards. Just small pieces of plastic, right? But the amount of these created every year is mind-blowing. According to the International Card Manufacturers Association, nearly 17 billion plastic cards were produced in 2006. And 10 billion new gift cards are created every year. Now think of all the pens, all the combs, all the peanut butter jars, all coffee cups and lids, you can go on forever….

I used the gift cards that nobody wanted to buy to create these collages, as a way to attract people’s attention, stop and think about how much plastic there is and perhaps take steps to change the present. We as customers have a say, the more of us say something, the more changes will appear.

Just take a moment to think about it.

All materials used in this exhibition are salvaged, received for free, donated etc. Since 2017 I have been trying to create using already existing materials, meaning that I am not spending any money to buy new items. If to except my recent exhibition which can be viewed on the outside windows of the Estonian House on 958 Broadview Ave until the 31st of October, which also marks the end of the Estonian House in Toronto, I have managed quite well.

All designs exhibited can be purchased.

Regards,

Kerly

_________________________

www.kerlyilves.com

Love yourself

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Photographers are known to be vain, right? You have heard about it? Good. But if you haven’t, please continue reading. I personally have no idea where this information is coming from, but I see some truth in it. Some. I used to be that photographer myself. I took photos of myself and posted them. A lot. But luckily I was young and silly, so this is far history for me.

Today I made an exception and posted this photo of myself, as it happens to be my birthday. The idea of this post is not to show how beautiful I am. Lol, I know that I am a beautiful person, but I do not need to post my face for that everywhere 🙂 BUT to inspire you to be more creative in whatever you do, in this case, photography.

Believe it or not, this photo is on one frame. No magic has been done here. After I took this photo, you could see all three of me on the screen. I will not reveal, as this really doesn’t matter, how the photo is done, as in this modern day, you can find everything online anyway. I took the extra mile at that time when I took the photo, so I can learn and explore more. And the only model I had by hand, was myself. So I had to break my long silence of posting my own face online for this post 😀

So, yes go ahead and be creative. And take a photo of yourself, if needed 😛 and love yourself!