tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13013392959468286132012-01-29T19:20:11.211-08:00emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-2602259809777453562009-09-07T13:01:00.001-07:002009-09-20T17:22:06.585-07:00

(menu + recipes at bottom) The Barn LISTEN TO MUSIC AS YOU READ... Meal Three was held in an old barn near MoKs and was structured as a formal dinner that referenced traditional “special occasion” customs. Everyone was asked to dress in white. Tables and chairs were fashioned out of tree stumps and fallen doors, and candles and handmade stringed instruments were installed directly into the

memnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-27192921297596524502009-08-18T17:26:00.001-07:002009-08-18T17:47:29.798-07:00

It was a dark and stormy night when the Hunter pulled up to the Mooste manor house. He approached our door in his black rubber boots, a plastic shopping bag in his hand, a suspicious looking leg hinting from the top, its hoof gracefully articulated en pointe. What ended up costing only about $15 for at least ten pounds of rich, succulent wild boar surprised us that evening after an arduous

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-18421830051507090862009-07-27T09:09:00.001-07:002009-07-27T09:09:37.530-07:00

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-50527879613787812812009-06-30T09:27:00.002-07:002009-08-06T16:19:55.697-07:00

Participants: Ülle, Helen, Hana, Pärja, Evelyn, John, Tero, KarolinaPART ONE: HAY WOMBDuration: Approximately 45 minutesUpon arriving, participants are asked to close their eyes and walk one-by-one through a tunnel. They open their eyes to find themselves in a room full of hay, lit by red and purple lights with red and blue fabric covering the windows. There are blankets and pillows scattered to

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-88933130355904016552009-06-30T09:27:00.001-07:002009-07-02T02:06:43.707-07:00

Participants (9): John, Tero, Karolina, Helen, Hana, Ülle, Ati, Uku, Mari With meal one we placed emphasis on the village of Mooste itself and its sites of production, history, and natural beauty. The food and drink offered at these sites reflected an aspect of their character or offered a kind of counterpoint to them. The six stations served as nodes for movement through the village, so that

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-88079965674409925432009-06-30T09:22:00.000-07:002009-06-30T12:39:16.044-07:00

Hey all, well as of Saturday July 27th we completed our 3rd and final meal for the MoKs residency. It went wonderfully and we'll be posting more and much info and images on each of the meals very soon. Meanwhile... we've been completely occupied by the project and day to day living (cooking, keeping the fire going, killing flies); and we've taken these final days "off" to enjoy Mooste, before

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-59365710566178542182009-06-24T02:55:00.001-07:002009-06-24T03:00:28.195-07:00

I've decided when I get a garden I'm going to have a "woman's" plot filled with plants like these. Thanks to Evelyn for this wisdom and for hunting with me. Named after the Virgin Mary's cloak because of its scalloped leaves. The name alchemilla ("little magical one") derives from the dew which collects on it - dew being formerly associated with magic. The dew was used as a beauty lotion by

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-38147024427704053482009-06-24T02:34:00.000-07:002009-06-24T05:33:04.819-07:00

We thought we'd stick it to the Estonians and celebrate our Mexican-American roots. Or just missing Juan, maybe. Cast: Matt. Emma. Sveta, MoKs board member from Russia who has been staying with us while she silkscreens her heart out. Sandy, our new co-resident from New York via Wisconsin who makes drawings and sculpture, has already swam across Mooste Lake and can clean the hell out of a kitchen.

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-20121382892726406692009-06-24T02:15:00.000-07:002009-06-24T05:36:03.212-07:00

There is a pig farm less than half a mile from where we lay our heads at night, which we had no idea about (although we had seen the building) for weeks. The pigs are silent. Also, apparently, odorless. We still have not been inside, although we have put in an inquiry of interest to do so, because this past week was slaughtertime for the Pig Man in preparation for the Jaanipaav, St. John's Day,

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-84157867583631558462009-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:002009-06-17T09:00:22.159-07:00

The Goldberg Variations, an extended collection of harpsichord pieces, were written by Johann Sebastian Bach, first published in 1741. These pieces came to be written via Count Hermann Karl von Keyserling (1696-1764), the Russian ambassador to Saxony, who was suffering from Insomnia. Count Keyserling's companion, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, was a harpsichordist working with Bach. The Goldberg

memnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-69353489740656604942009-06-17T05:05:00.000-07:002009-06-17T09:06:31.524-07:00

70 and counting, and that's just on the front of her legs... She takes them down like Godzilla

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-72296663123318014482009-06-17T03:06:00.000-07:002009-06-17T03:22:31.526-07:00

Maybe others know this well. But when we first heard and saw a deer barking in the apple orchard the other day, well for me it kind of blew my mind. He'd leapt right out not but a few yards from Emma. The Muntjac is commonly found in Estonia. Looking forward to commonly finding them.

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-86997437054232134182009-06-16T13:58:00.000-07:002009-06-16T14:10:17.221-07:00

Learning our way around. I made this map in part to better understand the kinds of production that go on here (unmarked as yet) and also for our first meal, involving stations around Mooste, this thursday. The MoKS residency is in a walled-in estate, an old farming complex. Within this gate there is also a small store, a hostel, a flax museum, and a few farming facilities. Here is my Mooste...

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-17021672535790542012009-06-15T14:40:00.000-07:002009-06-15T15:22:36.659-07:00

We are at the critical juncture-ish point in our residency. This week we have two of our meals, the "conceptual" ones. It feels like we need another week to do what we want, as it's been harder to make things happen than I anticipated with our lack of know-how here, but it will be nice when they're done to feel like we produced something, to have something tucked under our belt. Evelyn scored for

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-31283549159675375692009-06-14T23:10:00.000-07:002009-06-16T14:32:02.149-07:00

Besides the beautifully pastoral landscape, MoKs has the unique ability to offer its resident artists the many abandoned spaces around the village. Co-director of MoKs, John Grznich's practice and project, revenant, grew out of his using the microphone to "play" the sounds of many of these spaces. In any case many of these buildings are unused and dying a slow death; others have been redefined or

memnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-16100229793357537022009-06-14T23:04:00.001-07:002009-06-14T23:08:10.032-07:00

I'm not sure if it's their heritage of animal worship or what... but leafing through the English-Estonian Dictionary (1990) the other day with Tero, the term "puppy" was being used in ways strange to us all:

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-75703341148927571512009-06-12T12:54:00.000-07:002009-06-12T13:06:43.558-07:00

Strawberries everywhere. The Estonian ones were few and expensive, as it has been too cold most places still - none have ripened for my eyes in Mooste yet, for instance - so the affordable and abundant berries had been trucked in from Lithuania. Onion scapes, new pickles (not long in the marinating tub), still plenty of rhubarb. We bought fresh herbs (peppermint, parsley, dill), dried broad

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-47871634711589593542009-06-12T12:51:00.000-07:002009-06-12T14:03:03.860-07:00

I've noticed a feline theme running through this town. Statues in the fields...and drawings in the buildings... A MoKs friend has said that one of the head teachers in the village school is obsessed with cats. All the students draw cats. He said this was one among several examples of a curious matriarchy underlying the village (MoKs was founded and is run by a woman, Evelyn Müürsepp - though the

memnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-54360215781256336482009-06-12T00:17:00.001-07:002009-06-12T08:55:46.354-07:00

Speaking of food... The world is strange and interesting.

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-91579084859001864742009-06-11T13:11:00.000-07:002009-06-11T13:15:36.924-07:00

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-84480960608797105462009-06-11T13:07:00.000-07:002009-06-11T13:10:00.427-07:00

MEAL ONE: ENVIRONMENT (A JOURNEY)Thursday, June 18th, 1:00 pmGuided by a map, participants will nomadically explore the village of Mooste around the MoKS property. We will travel to different stations and natural sites that highlight the origin of food, its sensory components, how it is produced, represented and, at journey’s end, consumed in a naturally staged environment. MEAL TWO: BOUNDARIES (

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-71903580329694738942009-06-11T13:05:00.000-07:002009-06-11T13:07:32.407-07:00

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-21266696754854715872009-06-10T02:57:00.000-07:002009-06-10T03:12:29.321-07:00

"The majority of Estonian food is very simple, and for a long time, grain and bread were in first place, with potatoes being added later. Milk, salted fish, and pork have also been part of the daily menu.Traditional Estonian dishes are conspicuous for the simplicity of their preparation. The same food could vary somewhat from place to place. The food was given a unique pleasant taste by the

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-20368071811670462272009-06-09T13:29:00.000-07:002009-06-09T13:36:21.243-07:00

So I have been playing around with simple soda bread. We were out of bread the other night, the shop was closed, and we had ingredients to make it. Flour, kefir, salt, baking soda. Note: Baking soda in Estonia is inactive, one must squeeze a bit of lemon on it to make it bubble! I am trying to keep all my cooking projects within the Estonian echelon, so even though soda bread is connected to the

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-76739901194134365952009-06-09T12:10:00.000-07:002009-06-09T12:14:37.890-07:00

A pinch of this, a little of that…. Estonians don’t seem to use recipes. The men stay far from the kitchen. The women from the country, like Leene and Evelyn, seem to know every plant and animal, how to cook everything, and have a solution for anything – they don’t need recipes. Estonians have far less kitchen gadgets than we do, and while they don’t use vegetable peelers they do peel rhubarb. We

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-83582157380963865392009-06-09T11:47:00.000-07:002009-06-09T11:51:56.639-07:00

We journeyed last week to Lake Peipsi and to a bog so overrun with white flowers it was newly dubbed. The spongy ground was soundproof, and nimble fingers found the end of last year's cranberry crop hidden among the leaves. "Labrador tea, is a name commonly applied to two species: Ledum palustre (Northern Labrador Tea, also known as Rhododendron tomentosum) and Ledum groenlandicum (Bog Labrador

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-59684606772633627102009-06-09T11:25:00.000-07:002009-06-09T11:45:54.244-07:00

FORAGING I am adjusting to all the “nature” here. I romanticize the country life, but it’s hard for a (sub)urban girl to adjust. I would like to be more proficient in my skills in this department, so this is a nice opportunity. It’s been rainy and cold, more than usual for June, and I did not bring appropriate clothes, so it’s been a bit uncomfortable. There is no central heating, but we have

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-79724439564683452212009-06-08T15:16:00.000-07:002009-06-08T15:18:58.912-07:00

Estonians are very mysterious, and from what I have observed so far, their secrecy is largely connected to the obscurity of their language. One of only three Finno-Ugric tongues (the others being Finnish and Hungarian), it is a musical language needed to break the code of its people. English-speaking Estonians aside (which in the countryside are seemingly few), the people are suspicious of us,

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-55132865171896201382009-06-05T11:14:00.000-07:002009-06-06T10:57:44.720-07:00

So we have been here now 5 days or so participating in Mike Hentz's Kliima project (Kliima means "atmosphere, climate" in Estonian. A 5 day intensive "laboratory" workshop with 10 attendees (from Estonia, Poland, US, Berlin). Mike, having done this for a 48 hour period at Moks last year (and many other times throughout the world) developed various exercises and actions for this odd motley of

memnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-1409366029486303402009-06-01T12:09:00.000-07:002009-06-05T14:49:25.506-07:00

Tere means hello. It is the only Estonian word I seem to be able to master. Oh yes, and "kunst," which means art, appropriately. Everything else goes in one ear and out the other - I find conversation utterly impenetrable. Matt and I like to read signs out loud to each other in silly voices, all the double vowels and umlauts and words ending in "i" or "ii" make it sound like a song. We are here.

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-66943952165005461132009-06-01T12:08:00.001-07:002009-06-09T13:29:00.396-07:00

I have been meaning to write about this for quite some time. I was overwhelmed with what a wonderful, beautiful evening this was on so many levels, and without gushing your face off, a sincere thank you to all involved and all who attended. The menu (click to enlarge): (yes, estonians, it is missing the proper vowels! many thanks to g for the great design)

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-73068913709570351032009-05-13T13:56:00.001-07:002009-05-13T14:07:50.323-07:00

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-83208318931796376832009-04-20T12:56:00.000-07:002009-04-20T13:03:39.630-07:00

A week from today, on Monday April 27th at 8:30 pm at night, come to Navarre - 10 NE 28th off the corner of Burnside and 28th on the east side, and learn to eat like an Estonian. The menu is still up in the air, but I can guarantee it will be pescatarian friendly (and certainly agreeable to us carnivores), and please contact me if you have other dietary concerns but are interested in attending.

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-18719700523835755302009-04-02T21:48:00.000-07:002009-04-02T23:52:47.702-07:00

The word food derives from its verb-form in the Proto-Germanic fodon [OE, "foda"]. That food would be a verb is only perfect. Originally meaning "to tend, to keep pasture, to protect, to guard, to feed", this only emphasizes the vital relationship between the food we love and its' labored origins. Women singing & pounding rice (Philippines)The word drink hails originally form the Old English

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-90257129728882535942009-04-01T16:08:00.000-07:002009-04-01T16:19:59.381-07:00

Setting. Occasion. Food and Drink. Company. Food. Aesthetics. Ambiance. Service/Interactions. What else??? For Meal Two, we are interested in playing with these variables, examining our ideas of what produces a "meal." We are used to very specific visuals, order, social cues and progression of food in a meal - what happens when you alter these things?

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-50468389465001276472009-03-30T16:50:00.000-07:002009-03-30T17:05:41.745-07:00

Recent forays into Estonian cooking include ableskivers, meatballs and nettle soup. Ableskivers, a Danish pancake like a little round ball of fluffy deliciousness that Matt and I got hooked on via Broder and decided to make at home after finding a pan specifically designed for them (made in Norway) at William Temple House. Matt made this round, delicious! Mom and I made meatballs for the March

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-35405874985575192152009-03-29T19:03:00.001-07:002009-03-29T19:19:12.337-07:00

MEAL ONE: A JOURNEY (TITLE TO COME)The first of our three experiential meals will be a nomadic journey around the MoKs property (which used to be a farming estate) and/or around Mooste, the town we will be in. Participants will wander together, but perhaps at times in smaller groups or alone, to different stations and interactive tableaus that are arranged around wild plants, animals, and

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-46080942110612543982009-03-29T18:40:00.000-07:002009-03-29T19:03:01.953-07:00

Matt and I have been working lately to give our ideas some shape, some consolidation. The events/happenings we would like to take place, are:1) An Opening Potluck2) Harry Egipt Commerical Showings/Workshop/Filming of New Commercial3) Cooking Lessons4) Forest Installation/Music (see previous post)5) Our Studio Time and Usage6) Potential Guest Lectures and Collaborations (really exciting, p.s.

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-17960584656464715372009-03-27T14:44:00.000-07:002009-03-27T18:34:23.606-07:00

In medieval Baltic mythology Pikne is generally considered the God of thunder. According to the myths collected by Matthias Johann Eisen, Pikne is the brother of Kõu and the son of Uku. The evil underworld god Vanatühi stole his whistle or bagpipes. Without blowing it, the gods couldn't help the farmers who were praying for rain. Uku was angered and sent Pikne back to Earth, where he worked as a

memnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-17073148430487215212009-03-26T16:45:00.000-07:002009-03-26T17:01:56.092-07:00

“Estonian cuisine is indeed fusion cooking, in which German, Russian and Scandinavean influences merge nicely with the local Finno-Ugric base. Trendy, organic culture is quite an ordinary thing here, as it is the natural result of traditions that have become rooted over decades and centuries. To this list you can add the skillful use of mushrooms and a certain “je ne sais quoi’ that finally

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-80276562988780305432009-03-25T17:40:00.000-07:002009-03-25T17:44:46.067-07:00

Thanks to Gillie for finding this gem at Bonnie Slotnick's antiquarian cookbook store on W. 10th in NYC. Put out by the Estonian Women's Club of Los Angeles in 1976, this is the first Estonian cookbook published in the US and details every recipe both in English and Estonian! I can't wait to make something from here, Estonian Egg Coffee perhaps? (HA!) Plus, this was a steal, costing only $16 and

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-30884325181471812682009-02-25T15:14:00.000-08:002009-02-25T15:16:36.897-08:00

A Sooster exhibition, 1979. Sooster's Grave, Estonia.

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-56828078773211624682009-02-25T15:04:00.000-08:002009-02-25T15:13:48.664-08:00

Mara Brasmane, Cabbages, 1972Lemming Nagel, Seljanka, 1975-79(apparently this soup is to Estonia what the hamburger is to America - or at least circa 1975...)Kristjan Raud, Rye-Harvest, 1940 Boris Mikhalevkin, Waiting for the Store to Open, 1980Isaac Tunkel, Celebration at a “Virgin Soil” Farm, 1957Alexei Titarenko, from the series Dacha, 1981Farit Gubayev, Tarsatan, undatedAnatolii Kulakov,

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-47453637162461701602009-02-22T14:57:00.001-08:002009-02-22T14:57:44.839-08:00

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-40972954711197560682009-02-17T14:48:00.000-08:002009-02-17T15:50:49.869-08:00

The following photos are images that resonated with me from an issue of Aperture, issue #168, published in 1989 called Photostroika: New Soviet Photography. The photographers are from different parts of what are now former Soviet republics. The only one I know for sure is Estonian is Herkii-Erich Merila, who was born in Tallinn in 1964 and has a great website with an unusual yet pleasing (!)

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-16260856582048937672009-02-17T14:31:00.000-08:002009-02-17T14:47:05.109-08:00

The first few days we are in Estonia our space will be co-opted by Mike Hentz in the production of his piece KLIIMA, which had a 48-hour run of the space in October. Everyone was so satisfied with the "results," that they are doing a four or five day version at the beginning of June, and we agreed to release the space for this event - and to be a part of it. Basically, the performers stay in the

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-3582974223705678942009-02-13T17:10:00.001-08:002009-02-14T20:55:34.898-08:00

Looks like we missed a good exhibition at the Estonian Museum of Applied Art & Design

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-50314468698779600002009-02-05T13:30:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:58:03.552-08:00

Academia Non Grata is alternative art school in Pärnu, Estonia. Offering workshops, residencies and study programs, this emerging collective breeds performances and events which approach the individual as anonymous and the group as an intertwined voice. "The main point of the group is ethical - it is the image of primitivism, unpersonality and experimental creativity. The performances of the

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-77023284097528325972009-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:002009-02-05T11:54:01.068-08:00

Ulo Sooster was an Estonian painter and influential player in the nonconformist art movement during the Soviet Occupation. I am curious about the concept of "junipers." I thought this referred to the plant/bush, but the first image I have posted is called "Colored Junipers." Is it a lost-in-translation term? Or is the shape simply abstracted in the painting? "One of the most influential artists

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-53681038095393500902009-02-03T15:39:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:56:55.327-08:00

Amazing article here about Estonian mysticism. Thanks to Harvey via Dad. "The famed Witch's Well of Tuhala erupted last week for the first time in three years, attracting pilgrims from all over Estonia. Exhaling puffs of vapor in the slating light, the visitors dangled pendants to test energy fields and held arthritic fingers perfectly motionless over stones."

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-15866112430158948262008-12-22T15:59:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:58:30.136-08:00

Matt and I had our first foray into Estonian cooking this week. We were hosting the December gathering of HomeSchool, the affordable online art shop I run with Jess Hirsch and Jacqueline Mention, at my apartment, and we figured it was a good opportunity to get our feet wet (and they were, literally, thanks Arctic Blast '08!). We picked out a couple things from our Estonian Tastes and Traditions

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-79561050371960238232008-12-08T13:19:00.001-08:002009-02-14T20:58:03.552-08:00

This is the largest international contemporary performance and theatre festival taking place, in part, in Estonia. Definitely worth checking out: BALTOSCANDAL (2008 Performers)

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-5222452914059244482008-12-08T12:43:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:55:54.915-08:00

This website, by Blake Royer, has some good first-hand Estonian foodie tips, from an American (ignorant) perspective. Here is a look at the farmer's markets of Tartu, which we will be checking out:The Paupered Chef: Tartu Markets

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-91227663123425938662008-12-04T21:18:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:56:55.327-08:00

An interesting blog concerning Baltic perspectives in general and Estonian in particular. We both took notice of the following post on Estonian women:Those Hot-Blooded Estonian Women

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-21477527172003110622008-12-04T21:15:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:56:55.327-08:00

A website, curated by the Estonian Institute, aiming to undo the stereotypes of Estonian culture.

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-9516825698022043822008-12-04T17:23:00.000-08:002008-12-04T20:57:37.896-08:00

The Place, a flower-strewn meadow, humming with insects, fluttering with butterflies. Here we may glimpse the worlds of the lowly dwellers of the meadow. To do so, we must first blow, in fancy, a soap bubble around each creature to represent its own world, filled with the perceptions which it alone knows. When we ourselves then step into one of these bubbles, the familiar meadow is transformed [.

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-36206558598600146772008-11-29T07:55:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:58:30.136-08:00

Recently, with my friends Micah & Sabrina, I visited the "Estonian House" of the New Yorgi Eesti Maja organization (or the New York Estonian Education Society) in New York City.The Estonian HouseEstablished in East Mid-Town Manhattan on Dec 7th, 1929, they have been the center for Estonian cultural awareness and celebration in New York ever since. They host regular arts & cultural events,

memnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-13807522549934288952008-11-29T00:14:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:55:54.916-08:00

Here is a great Estonian food blog by a cool lady named Pille in Talin, Estonian's capital, who I not-so-secretly hope we can meet when we go. She does foraging in her local woods for wild mushrooms and blueberries, bakes traditional black bread to have as toast for breakfast and experiments in cuisine specific to her culture as well as more familiar Western recipes. Plus, she seems especially

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-72999029357784615172008-11-29T00:05:00.000-08:002009-02-14T20:55:54.916-08:00

So it turns out there are not a whole lot of English language cookbooks out there on Estonian cuisine, so we will be relying heavily on Internet sources and other research methods. However, we did find a wonderful cookbook called Estonian Tastes and Traditions, by Karin Annus Karner, that is wonderful and informative. And you can read a good portion of the book here: ESTONIAN TASTES & TRADITIONS

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1301339295946828613.post-74055624191259952302008-11-17T17:23:00.000-08:002008-11-17T18:27:57.954-08:00

We have received an arts residency in Mooste, Estonia at the MoKs Center for Art and Social Practice for June 2009. Intrigued by the work of glamour photographer Harry Egipt, who created dynamic and puzzling TV commercials for food items during the 1980s that glamorized and often eroticized Estonians’ most basic forms of sustenance, we proposed an interdisciplinary project, The Sex God of (Soviet

emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04641467475278896952noreply@blogger.com0