Mid-October marks a major turning point in the year in Finnish Lapland. The birch trees have just shed their golden leaves, the ground is bare and brown, and everyone in the north is keeping a close eye on the sky, waiting for the first snowflakes. After six winters there, I can tell you that no two years are the same. Some years these few weeks fly by and the snow settles for good in early November. Other years, like last year, it's a long wait.
Lapland right now
Ruska, the brief burst of autumn colours, reaches its peak from the last week of September through to the first half of October. By now, most of the leaves in the north have already fallen. What follows is a quiet transitional period: no more colour, no snow yet, and nights that grow longer every day.
And the first snow? Up north, everyone is waiting for it. First come the sub-zero nights and the first ice on the ponds. Then, usually sometime in early November, the snow falls. It often melts away again within a few days. With the next cold snap, it returns, and at some point it simply stays on the ground.
Two seasons, two very different stories
In the ‘Lapland 8 Seasons’ collection, these are seasons six and seven. I have written at length about each of them, and they could hardly be more different from one another.
Ruska is the season I’ve painted out of longing. I haven’t yet experienced its peak, and I’ll explain why, along with the reason why the light lingers for so long in the north.
Read: Ruska, when Lapland changes colour
First Snow is the season I’ve experienced to the full: a white road on my way to work, the darkest nights of the year and the Northern Lights mirrored in a black river.
Read: First Snow, the season I’ve actually experienced
The transition on your wall
Both seasons feature two illustrations of their own in the collection. Hung side by side, they tell the whole story of the transition at a glance. ‘Golden Hour’ and ‘Indian Summer’ capture the warm, low light of Ruska. ‘Green Reflection’ and ‘First Snow’ bring to life the cold blue nights and the first white blanket that follows.
Combine one piece from each season and you’ll see autumn give way to winter, right there on the wall.
Discover the Lapland 8 Seasons collection
All four pieces are available as handmade art blocks, metal plates and acrylic glass prints.
View the Lapland 8 Seasons collection
Els