Marja-Leena Rathje is a Finnish-Canadian artist-printmaker and photographer who resides near the sea and mountains of Vancouver, BC. On her blog, she writes about her work and interests including a fascination with weathered rocks, prehistoric art and the archaeology of past, present and future.

This is the dictionary that was used by my parents and family when we immigrated to Canada in the early 50s: an immigrant’s tool, an almost-bible, a book of days.

Marja-Leena Rathje is a Finnish-Canadian artist-printmaker and photographer who lives and works in Vancouver, BC. She has exhibited internationally and locally. She writes about her many interests including a fascination with archaeology, rocks and learning about her Finnish roots at her eponymous blog.

Click on image to view a larger version.

Veils Suite: The Crowd I (1989)
first of a series of seven
monotype (oil-based inks)
57 x 76 cm. (22″ x 30″)

Marja-Leena Rathje (website) is a Finnish-Canadian artist specializing in printmaking and photography. She is crazy about weathered rocks, prehistoric art and the archaeology of past, present and future. She lives and works near the sea and the mountains of Vancouver and has exhibited widely, both internationally and in her local region.

Click on image to view a larger version.

Veils Suite: The Crowd (1990)
drypoint
59 x 90.5 cm (23″ x 36″)

Marja-Leena Rathje (website) is a Finnish-Canadian artist specializing in printmaking and photography. She is crazy about weathered rocks, prehistoric art and the archaeology of past, present and future. She lives and works near the sea and the mountains of Vancouver and has exhibited widely, both internationally and in her local region.

Click on image to view a larger version.

archival inkjet and collagraph on paper
76.2 x 50.6 cm. (20″ x 30″)

Ancient writings on stone may be silent but still send powerful messages spanning great passages of time.

To see the rest of the Silent Messengers series, please visit Marja-Leena’s online gallery.

Download the podcast.

Marja-Leena Rathje (blog, gallery) is a Finnish-Canadian artist specializing in printmaking and photography. She is crazy about weathered rocks, prehistoric art and the archaeology of past, present and future. She lives and works near the sea and the mountains of Vancouver and has exhibited widely, both internationally and in her local region.

Click on image to view a larger version.

ARKEO #4
archival inkjet and collagraph on paper
81 x 61 cm. (32″ x 24″)

For more information on this print, please see Marja-Leena’s blog post about it, and visit her gallery to see the rest of the series.

Download the podcast.

Marja-Leena Rathje is a Finnish-Canadian artist specializing in printmaking and photography. She is crazy about weathered rocks, prehistoric art and the archaeology of past, present and future. She lives and works near the sea and the mountains of Vancouver and has exhibited widely, both internationally and in her local region.

by Marja-Leena Rathje

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

by Marja-Leena Rathje

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

by Marja-Leena Rathje

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Yesterday I had the urge for some creative play so I gathered several small objects – a piece of ammonite, a dried piece of root or lichen, curled bark, shells, dried flowers, and dried pomegranates. I placed an object on my scanner and covered it with either a black or cream cloth, selected a high resolution and magnification and scanned away. The results were very exciting, with good depth of field and great detail. The ones with dark cloth remind me of old Dutch paintings.

Above is one with a piece of root or lichen, a bit smaller than the palm of my hand, that I’d picked off a beach long ago. Isn’t it amazing? Of course you can’t see it here very well in this low resolution and small size, but when I looked at it full screen size, guess what I discovered there: a tiny dead but fully intact insect with its wings spread out. I’ve cut out that portion and blown it up some more. Can you see it in the image below?

I had fun and felt a surge of creative energy – and even learned some new scanning tricks. Sometime I may post some more of these scans. I may never use these images in my art work, but you never know. The mind processes these experiences and images over a long time and they may appear much later, perhaps incorporated in a new way in new work. What was that saying by Picasso about being open to everything one sees and feels and that may become a painting… or something like that?

by Marja-Leena Rathje