This rare Finnish crocodile made me smile. I knew he had not crawled up from the nearby lake. In Finland crocodiles can only be found in the world of art, or perhaps in a zoo. This big fellow was guarding the lawn sprinkled with water lilies at Leporanta Art Center, not far from my childhood home. And he was not alone. There was the familiar man with the horse, whom I first met several years ago.

And an impressive bronze bird, an eagle perhaps, who had settled in the yard more recently.

On the only rainy day during my visit ‘back home’, we decided to visit the annual art exhibition just before it would close for the fall. At Leporanta, paintings are shown in traditional log houses and old barns, but sculptures made of iron, copper, wood, glass and composite materials are exhibited all over the vibrantly green grounds. Here a friend, my niece and my sister are examining handmade glass decorations at one of the log  buildings.

I was smiling at the cute family swinging happily in front of the main house: mother, father and son. Family fun rarely seen.

Inside the exhibition buildings we found smaller sculptures and paintings by both professional artists and amateurs. Many different materials, styles and price tags. To my delight I found lots of bird motives. Like this painting on wood boards by artist Marianne Kantanen.

I thoroughly enjoyed a series of playful lithographs of birds – here two of them. And I also liked the painting of a fantasy bird on hammered copper. I thought it was unique and colorful.

There were numerous beautiful oils, acrylics and watercolors. In particular, my eye was caught by two delicate, moody paintings by artist Vappu Kiili.

I would have loved to buy a few paintings to take home, but since I always travel light with only one carry-on bag and my wallet was fairly light too, I had to settle for two hand-painted watercolor cards by artist Seija Laukkanen.

After a couple of hours we had seen it all, a great variety of beautiful works. This exhibition never disappoints. When we finally came out again the rain had stopped. On our way home we passed another lake, one of thousands in Finland, and I thought it was pretty serene. Almost like a painting.

Thank you for coming along. I hope you enjoyed the tour. My last post in this R & R series will bring us back into the nature around our lake ‘back home’.