VÄIKE MAJA MARTA TÄNAVAL...

Ühe vana puumaja restaureerimise lugu.
www.martaguesthouse.weebly.com
Restoration of an old 1901 built wooden house.




05 May 2013

HIDE AND WRAP YOURSELF IN THE SONG

I have had so little to say during the last times.. But this is good so and I will open to post here only if I feel so. A song is playing through my days now, I share it here. 
Marta (The House) waits you to be a guest here, a friend, to accompany even for a short time a beautiful-miraculous journey for thouse, who can hear and see it..

ps. Tulips are slowly-slowly coming!!




 
She lifts her skirt up to her knees,
walks through the garden rows with her bare feet, laughing.
I never learned to count my blessings,
I choose instead to dwell in my disasters.
I walk on down the hill,
through grass, grown tall and brown
and still its hard somehow to let go of my pain.
On past the busted back of that old and rusted Cadillac
that sinks into this field, collecting rain.
Will I always feel this way?
So empty, so estranged.

And of these cut-throat busted sunsets,
these cold and damp white mornings
I have grown weary.
If through my cracked and dusted dime-store lips
I spoke these words out loud would no one hear me?
Lay your blouse across the chair,
let fall the flowers from from your hair
and kiss me with that country mouth, so plain.
Outside, the rain is tapping on the leaves,
to me it sounds like they're applauding us the the quiet love we made.
Will I always feel this way?
So empty, so estranged.

Well I looked my demons in the eyes,
laid bare my chest, said "Do your best, destroy me.
You see, I've been to hell and back so many times,
I must admit you kind of bore me."
There's a lot of things that can kill a man,
there's a lot of ways to die,
listen, some already did that walked beside me.
There's a lot of things I don't understand,
why so many people lie.
Its the hurt I hide that fuels the fire inside me.
Will I always feel this way?
So empty, so estranged.

21 January 2013

MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION

 All is possible, when you look at these pictures! 
Old chimney: restored, renewed. 
Old stove for wood - not very straight-standing, but much more cute so! 
A little bit paint, old materials happily re-used + a little "elbow-oil" as my brother-in-law in Italy sais... And voila!!! 
Welcome to stay here!!


Who could have believed, that this can be repaired again!


Bathroom is being built with re-used materials. These can later be easily re-used again, if we for some reason need to use the space some other way! Wallpaper makes this so pretty (look down for "AFTER PICS")!

In this shape was the "hot wall" (so do we say in estonian), slightly looking to the left :) Old paint was removed, original stoves oiled with lineseed oil.

Materials from the neighbour house (they used to be floor once)! Now we make cupboards from them: for the kitchenette and bathroom.


For sound isolation.




Time to rest. And enjoy the results of the work.







02 November 2012

SEA IN AUTUMNCLOTHES


I found a beautiful english translation from one estonian poetess Kristiina Ehin, whose "Luigeluulinn" I really liked. The poems are so colourful in estonian language and full of a kind of rhythm, which is hard to explain, when you do not know the language.. But: here the translator has succeeded to find the way to share it in other language..

Cows come from the sea...

 Kristiina Ehin

Cows come from the sea
on this morning at the beginning of time
blue-green cows
udders full of salty sea milk
and the Sea Mother drives them ashore
with a switch of sea-grass


Sea Maidens come keep the cows
and keep yourselves
from lecherous herders by night
In autumn may a hundred blue-green cows
be back here in the bay between mottled stones
May their horns glisten in the mist
and may your eyes sparkle
But keep your hearts clear and cool
like the morning dew


You will never get used to the life of human women
it puts fetters on the heart
dreams are never fulfilled
and feelings only give rise to grief
People are beautiful but cruel
They keep to their kin like insects
they gather the gold of dreams by night
squander it all away in the morning


To become someone’s own means being
dangerously close to a human star


But your eyes are like the sea of the world
stars drown in it


Sea Maidens come keep the cows
But keep your hearts clear and cool
like the morning dew




Photo: Mai-Liis

The translator sais:
An exile, transplanted into a foreign society, strives at all costs to retain his or her identity. A translated poem is, in a sense, also an exile, transplanted into the alien environment of a foreign language. One of the translator’s many tasks is to be sensitive and welcoming, helping the poem retain its identity and adapt to its new environment without making compromises. To this end my bilingual upbringing as the child of Estonian refugees has been an enormous benefit, giving me a native speaker’s understanding of the cultural and linguistic nuances of both Estonian and English. 
I have been translating Kristiina Ehin’s poetry, prose and drama for nearly five years and have translated nearly all of her published work along with much of her as yet unpublished work as well. Working so intensively with the work of the poet I admire most in any language, I have gained a deep understanding of her work and an increasingly clear insight into the complexity of the translation process. It goes far beyond linguistic competence and is in itself an act of creativity.
At the heart of this process is the author’s voice with its own particular music, its idiosyncracies and nuances. When I translate Kristiina’s work, I hear her voice reading what I have written. The music of her voice dictates the music of my translation. Her imagery is sometimes very specifically Estonian, but I trust in the reader’s wish to experience what is Estonian in Kristiina’s work, and I don’t look for British equivalents. My translations strive to be Kristiina’s poems, not my interpretations of them.
The most important factor for me in transplanting Kristiina’s poems into the soil of the English language continues to be a deep inner need to see them thrive there in their own right as they do at home in the Estonian language.


Listen: Estonian band "Evert and the two dragons": "Good Man Down" was voted "Hit of the year 2011" in Estonia by Radio 2 listeners. Awards at the Estonian Music Awards gala 2012: "band of the year", "album of the year" and "song of the year" awards.

22 October 2012

LINSEEDOILPAINT.... LINAÕLIVÄRV

Väike maja Marta tänaval...: KORIDORI LAE VÄRVIMINE: LINAÕLIVÄRV

Taas on päevakorral linaõlivärvi valmistamine ning sisetingimustes sellega puitlae värvimine.
Vaatasin enda eelmisel aastal kirjapandud retsepte ning tekkisid kohe küsimused: 
kas titaanvalge on sama asi, mis titaandioksiid jms jne.. :) Vastan kiirelt: JAH, see on üks ja seesama aine. Samuti: tsinkoksiid = tsinkvalge (erinevad nimetused kirjanduses ajavad algajat segadusse).

Aitan nüüd teisi ja ennast terminoloogiaga:

Titaanvalge 650, titaandioksiid, on peenekoeline, anorgaaniline valge pulbriline pigment mis on mõeldud kasutamiseks betoonis, mördis, tasanduskihtides ja vuugisegude valgendamisel.
Titaanvalge 650 on ilmastiku -ja valgusekindel. Tähelepanu vääriv on , et valget betooni saab valmistada siiski ainult valget tsementti ja täite-ning sideainet kasutades.(allikas: http://ee.semtu.com/?4;2;7500;7500.html)

Tsinkoksiid on pehme pulber, mille tera meenutab tugeval suurendamisel laialisirutatud jalgadega ämblikku. Nende “jalgadega” klammerdubki tsinkoksiid puuderdamisel naha külge. Tsinki kasutatakse ka raua kaitsmiseks kiire roostetamise ja hävimise eest. Tsinkoksiid leiab lisaks puudris kasutamisele veel rakendust valge värvi valmistamisel. (Kasutatud allikas: http://www.miksike.ee/docs/lisa/8klass/4teema/loodus/tsink.html)


Tsinkvalge = Tsinkoksiid (ZnO), kasutusel 1834. aastast. Hallitusevastase toimega, kiirendab vähesel määral värvi kuivamist. Väiksema katvusega kui teised valged pigmendid. Ärritab hingamisteid ja nahka, suurtes kogustes mürgine. (Allikas: www.majatohter.ee)


Linaõlivärvi valmistamine on õnnestumise korral väike kokkuhoid, kuna liitri hind on (looduslike ehitusviiside leviku tõttu ilmselt) juba ligi 20eur liiter..


Suhtume värvi kokkusegamisse loominguliselt ning loodan, et värv jääb hästi kattev ning ei muutu väga kollakaks (kuigi see on mõnes mõttes loomulik selle värvi puhul).


Seekord kasutasime "Rootsi" retsepti, mille jagasime sobivateks kogusteks:
1066 g värnitsat (e. keedetud linaõlivärvi)
2167 g  titaanvalget (e. titaandioksiidi)
667 g tsinkvalget (e. tsinkoksiidi)
sikatiivi 3-4%



19 October 2012

PLANTING THE TULIPS, DAFFODILS & HYACINTHS


Design Impression

Today was a special day! I planted the first time in my life (exept some single attempts, which doesn`t count) tulips, daffodils and hyacinths for Marta`s garden. Already now there is the feeling of waiting in the air! Waiting for spring, for May, when I hope to see my little ones coming out to offer a splendid view, when entering from the gate..

Over 60 flowers have been planted today, to wait patiently during wintertime in the ground.

Hyacints: "Splendid cornelia". Colour is "lilac-violet", this is my direct translation.. But the colour should be as splendid as the name!
"Gypsy princess". Bright yellow is the colour of them..
Daffodils: "Texas". With double-blossoms, which are yellow, with orange additional segments.. :)

Tulips (from the left to the right from the housedoor). In spring I add the photo, then it is good to recognise them all:
"Renown unique" (double late) - Red tulips, which on the photo seem like peonies!! Waiting for great impatience for them!
"Design Impression" (Darwin-hybrid). Very beatiful rosy-rosy colour, with huge blossom.
"Red Princess" (double, early) - dark-dark red (like Love) :)
"Double Price" (double, early) - rosy-lilac with double blossoms.
"Double Focus" (double, late) - yellow filled with red... 

Sounds so great, me and Marta are waiting for you all. Have a great wintertime!



05 September 2012

Attics – spaces where dreams are stored

Attics – spaces where dreams are stored

Attics are places resonant with memory.
To hear the echoing whispers, the rumblings, the hushed footsteps of all who left their mark on such places,
we have only to listen and tune in.

The mystery of attics –
the undisturbed ones miraculously left intact like time capsules - provides “treasure for the imagination“,
a magical, evocative encounter with the past.





Josh Groban "Higher window"

The appletree full of blossoms is truly old.. This summer still it carried so many apples - I think it was so happy to show, how beautiful a small garden can be, thanks to apples and blossoms and an old appletree!!

01 June 2012

KEVAD! KEVAD!! KEVAD!!! SPRING IN THE ATTIC...

Flowers and old paint hand in hand. New paint sample also...
Näha maja tulevase värvi näidised - proovilapikesed majal ning uks!
Sirelid õitsevad. Just lõpetasid õunapuud ning aed on valget vahtu täis! 
On imekaunis aeg!
Martake on õnnelik, mina samuti. Liigume tasapisi edasi. 
Täpsemalt mõne aja möödudes..

Kaks romantilist pööningukambrit said värskelt valmis! Kunstnikele, unistajaile kõige sobivamad!
Allpool samm-sammult valmimise tee:

Palkide puhtaks lihvimine pööningukesel.

Pööningukamber "before".

Pööningupõranda lihvimine, õlitamine apelsiniõliga.
Pööningukamber enne kordategemise algust: BEFORE of "before"!

VOILA!!! :)


For artists, dreamers, actors...




Pööningukambrike "Attic Chambre" sai valmis!!! Imeline tunne!! 
Aitäh Air, Jev, Alo!

14 March 2012

OLLA VÄHESEGA / DOING AND LIVING "WITH LITTLE"

Sirvisin oma lugejate lemmikblogisid ning leidsin ajakohase-armsa mõttetera, mida kindlasti soov jagada! Olen viimasel ajal palju mõelnud sellele, mida hoidev eluviis, säilitamine, konserveerimine (nii majad kui marjad!) sügavamas mõttes tähendab. Kui paljut võib ja saab selle kaudu tunnetada, kogeda, mida tahaks ka teistega jagada. On kosutav näha, et on järjest rohkem inimesi, kes näevad värve või värvitust sarnasel moel (ma ei öelnud, et päris ühtmoodi (!), kuid vähemalt jagavad teatud elustiili raskesti kirjeldatavat tunnetust).
Samas on raske taluda ja mõista mõtteviisi, mis ikkagi veel laialt levinud - toon ühe näite, mida kogesin alles nädal tagasi. Käisin hea sõbraga ühes maakohas ja kogesin suhtumist, mis tänaseni valusalt meeles: kohalikud elanikud olid võtnud plaaniks nädalavahetusel ühe täies ilus seisva puumaja mahapõletamise ette võtta!! (??!?)
Rõõmsalt teatasid nad meile, et tuletõrje olevat ka kohale kutsutud ning see ei olevat sugugi esimene kord!
Sellel majal ei olevat omanikku ning keegi ei soovivatki sinna elama asuda. Järelikult: mida muud siis teha!? Kutsusid meid maja vaatama, et ehk tahame sealt veel midagi endale võtta, sest me ju oleme sellised imelikud, kes teiste majade "kasutuid" juppe kasutusse võtavad...

Suures kurbuses nägime enese ees maja, mis ei olnud isegi mitte eriti lagunenud olekus, et teda tõesti hävitama peaks! Ja kas mitte ei juhtu tihti (liiga tihti!) seesama inimeste endiga...
Päästsime majakesest ukse kohal rippuva lambikese... Kui palju võiks ta rääkida.
Tõesti - see tunne on pikaks ajaks meeles..

Nii mõneski mõttes räägib jagatav mõte samas keeles! "Väärikas vaesumine"...

http://iluseesti.blogspot.com/2011/11/november.html 


Mõned inimesed leiavad, et selline maja (kunagi kellegi isa või vanaisa kätetöö) on tarvis maha põletada! Maal, kus ruumi küll ja küll. See sissekanne olgu maja mälestuseks ... 

An old house 2 days before some people`s decision: to burn it down! Because in their words "nobody wants to live here".. Have they really asked somebody? Have they asked a person from the same village, who lives in a 6-storey house with no privacy? I don`t think so... But it was their decision and we could just leave the place with a lamp in hand, which the same people took down for us.. The only memory from the house now.. And one day somebody built it with best thoughts...

The lamp is now in Marta and remembers me about the house, who stood there so helpless, waiting for the destiny. Such people live in our land: next to us every day. And they think, they did a good thing, when burning the house down, which in their minds was not worth to be...


THE STORY IN ENGLISH: "Dignified impoverishment"

I was browsing some favorite blogs of my readers and came across a lovely article, which I want to share with you! I've thought lately a lot what conserving - preserving lifestyle in deeper sense mean. So much can be felt, experienced, realized through this and there is the need to share some of it with others. It`s refreshing to see, that more and more people see colors or "colorlessness" in a similar way (I did not say that quite the same way (!), but they do share a common lifestyle).

However, it is difficult to understand the mindset, which is still widespread: just an example I experienced a week ago. I went with a good friend of mine to the countryside (one small village in Estonia) and I was confronted with attitude, which until now haunts me: group of locals told us about their "weekend-plan" to burn down a wooden house! (??!?)
They informed us
happily, that the fire brigade has also been "invited" and we understood from their conversation, that it is by no means the first time!
They told, there is no owner and no one wants to live there anyway - therefore: what else can you do?! They invited us to have a look at the house: maybe we want to take something from there, because we are a bit odd ones, who take used material and re-use it somewhere else...


In great sorrow, we saw in front of us a house, which was`nt even in VERY dilapidated state! And does`nt it often happen (too often!) to people themselves (abandoned, when not "needed" anymore)?

We saved from the house one lamp, which was unhappily hanging above the doorway.. How much could and wants he to talk. We hang it to Marta House, shall it spread the Light and let us always remember..
This feeling remains for a long time.


In many ways, the article I told about, speaks the same language!

(I translate it soon for English-speakers as well)!
http://iluseesti.blogspot.com/2011/11/november.html

04 March 2012

FILOSOFEERIMINE RESTAUREERIMISEST / RESTORATION PHILOSOPHY

Üks mõnusamaid tegevusi on mõtisklemine, filosofeerimine, unistamine...
Restaureerimise ja vanade majadega sobib see tegevus ideaalselt kokku! Üks mõnusamaid tunde Kunstiakadeemias oligi koosviibimine Juhan Maiste`ga, kelle filosoofilised mõtte,- ja jalutuskäigud olid lihtsalt võrratud ja viisid ka enese sootuks teistele radadele, kui tavapäraselt..

Leidsin ühe artikli, mis annab aimu!
Juhan Maiste: "Armastan neid irooniavabasid hetki, mil elu absurdi asemel kohtume selle tegeliku sisu – sünni ja surma lõputu ja rituaalse kordusega. ... Kõik on ajutine. Mis järele jääb, on mõte. " 

Head lugemist ja uusi radu mõtetele! 


Staircase - waiting to be restored, discovered, admired... Thoughts can also rise the steps!


One of the most enjoyable activities is to philosophize, reflect.. The real Discussion, daydreaming ...

All this suits so well with restoration of old houses! One of the most enjoyable lectures at Art University was the one of Ph.Dr.Juhan Maiste, whose philosophical "walks" were just wonderful -  they took myself also completely to other roads of thoughts as usual ..

This article gives a glimpse of it!

Juhan Maiste: "I love these moments, free of irony, when instead of the absurdity of life we meet its actual content - the endless and ritual repetition of birth and death. ...
Everything is temporary. What remains is the idea."

Enjoy reading and let it bring you on new tracks!
(Maybe somebody helps you to translate the estonian version, if you are really interested) :)
http://www.sirp.ee/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=726:restaureerimiskool-kellele-ja-miks&catid=9:sotsiaalia&Itemid=13&issue=3210

27 February 2012

MAJA VÄRV: ÕNNE TÄNAVA NÄITED / FACADE COLOUR EXAMPLES

Õnne tänaval on paar armast maja, mis mööda sõites kohe silma hakkavad. Värvitoon on valitud mahe ja malbe, samas jätab puhta mulje ning suurendab pisikest maja.
Kaldun arvama, et ka Marta tuleb kollakat tooni (värvipassis valisime arhitekt Henno Adrikorn`iga linaõlivärvi 302x Tikkurila "Vanhan ajan värit" kaardil).
Praegu võtsime arhitekt Viljar Orub projekti tiba heledama tooni samast värvist: 303x.

Millised aga võiksid olla detailid sinna juurde (luugid, veelauad, vihmaveetorud)?

Fotod jalutuskäigust Õnne tänaval! 

Kommentaariks: pildistamisel huvitas mind hetkel vaid värvide valik. Kollase maja juures meeldib lisaks see, et aknad on kenasti fassaadiga sobival tasapinnal ja ei ole soojustamise tõttu sissepoole tõstetud, mis maja välimusse kohe oma jälje jätab..









Armas varikatus!




08 February 2012

OLD WOODEN HOUSES IN TALLINN

Maja uus elu, mis siiski püüab säilitada võimalikult palju vana..


Gösta Gierow raamatust "Puumajad Tallinnas":
"Ükskord ligines mulle habetunud, mustas ülikonnas meesterahvas ja uuris mu joonistust. Ta oli jutukas ning mõistes, et ma millestki aru ei saa, läks ta inglise keelele üle. "Need puitmajad siin", ütles ta,"iseloomustavad üht rohkem kui saja-aastast epohhi Tallinna ajaloos. Oluline osa meie minevikust, kuid sellest vaadatakse mööda, ei pöörata tähelepanu! Teie kes te olete kunstnik, näete, kui rütmiliselt vahelduvad fassaadidel vertikaalne ja horisontaalne laudis, kui palju on dekoratiivseid detaile, te uurite aknaid ja uksi. Suurepärane! Varsti on kõik see kadunud, kõik! Teate, sõjad on hävitanud palju Tallinna vanu ilusaid puitmaju ja need mis alles on - neid ei hooldata ning nad lagunevad. Ja siis lõpuks tulevad need", osutas ta ekskavaatorile ja mõnele kraanale, "ja võluvad välja klaasist ja terasest pilvelõhkujad ning kivist ja betoonist eramajad. Ja eks tulekahjud võta ka oma jao! See sissekukkunud katusega maja näiteks, sellest on alles ainult söestunud kuliss. Kuid vaadake seda lähemalt! Sealt leiab suurepäraseid lehekujulise saelõikedekoori detaile ja märke muust oskuslikust puutööst". Ja siis katkestas ta end äkitselt. "Vabandage, mister! Ma segasin teie tööd. Aga ma lihtsalt rõõmustasin, et te tunnete huvi nende vanade majade vastu. Ma enam ei sega, pidin kirikusse teenistusele minema. Hüvasti ja kõike head teie tegemistes!" 

/G.Gierow, Puumajad Tallinnas; Atlantis, Stockholm 2005; lk.9/



From the book of Gösta Gierow "Wooden houses of Tallinn":
On one occasion an unshaven man in a dark uniform came up and inspected my drawing. He was well spoken and when he understood that I did not understand anything he changed over to English. "The wooden houses you see around here", he said, "visualize an epoch in the history of Tallinn, we are talking of over one hundred years. An important part of our past, but overlooked and forgotten! You as an artist notice the rhythmical variation of standing and lying panels in the facade, you notice decorative details, you study doorways and windows. Excellent! Soon all this will be gone, everything! You know, the wars have destroyed many of the beautiful wooden houses of Tallinn and the ones that are left, well, lack of upkeep will make them deteriorate and then those will come," he pointed at a couple of excavators and building cranes," and will conjure up skyscrapers in glass and steel and  private villas in stone and concrete. And the fires, they will do their part! The house over there with the roof fallen in, for example, there is almost only a black wall as background left. But look closer at it! You will find charred remnants of exquisite wood-work and other carpentry details". Then he suddenly interrupted himself. "Please excuse me Mister! I have interrupted you in your work. But I got so happy when I saw your interest in these old houses. Now I leave you, I was on my way to mass. Goodbuy and good luck with your endeavor!"

/G.Gierow "Puumajad Tallinnas"; Atlantis, Stockholm 2005; Page.9/