Landed
An Icelandic Language Lesson
Laugarvatn, hver, apamensskubragur, Natturulaekningafelags, Nupsstadarskógar, lygirimur, malfræði, æfingar, Hvitarvatn, skaldagemlur, gjola, hrassviðri, hnukapeyr, Eyvindartunga, hvasst, padsujoar, hlytt, hlyr, hnjukur, höfði, hraun, farviðri, andvari, heidskir, Bardarlaug, Snæfellsjökull, læknir, logfræthingur, kjuklingur, hunangsflugan, þingvallavatn......... I could go on. Yes, overwhelmed with odd combinations of letters from an English speaker perspective, letter combinations like: "hv", "hn", "gj", "tn", "hl", "hnj", "gja", "jao", "hr"
Found a way to start connecting to the Icelandic language by looking and writing their place names. I was advised before I left that their place names often give clues to the landscape of the place. For example, "vatn" of Laugarvatn means "lake" and Laugarvatn is located on a lake. "Vik" of Reykjavik means "bay" on which it is situated. "Foss" of Selfoss means waterfall and "jökull" of Skálafellsjökull means glacier. A start, anyway.
While I looked and recorded more Icelandic place names, Liz had another approach! Check out this utube site: Learning Icelandic Pronunciation
Walking my GPS and Marking Territory
I have arrived. Iceland feels like New Zealand, another island with volcanoes, changeable weather, expansive landscape and skies. I am living in a small resort town called Laugarvatn, which means "bathing lake". No soaking experiences yet but plan to visit a hot springs soon! I have settled into an apartment in town, sharing facilities with Elizabeth Sher, an artist from Berkeley, Ca. We have a view of the lake and Mt. Hekla, an active volcano with its last eruption in Feb of 2000. Apparently there have been signs that it is close to a new eruption. My studio is located at the Eyvindartunga farm, about a mile away. We walk there daily. Yesterday, I began my tracking project. Before I left Ca, I purchased a Garmin GPSmap 62, thinking that this might be a way to incorporate walking into my artistic practice. Yesterday, I tracked my first walk, documenting a tour around Laugarvatn, between the town and Eyvindartunga farm and then around the farm. I plan to continue tracking my walks, collecting their shapes for my artwork. Must wait to see how they will be used? And I still have some figuring out to do. Thought we were residing in the southwest part of Iceland but gps is locating me in the northeast. Notice the pink dot on map. Where am I?
Off to Iceland
I leave on June 19th for the Gullkistan artist residency in Iceland. Lots to do as I collect supplies, make piles and muse on possibilities for work while there. The residency is located in Laugarvatn, a small school village 90 km east of Reykjavik. It is an agricultural area, close to some of the most popular tourist sites of Iceland and close to the highlands. The village of Laugarvatn has 250 inhabitants, one childrens' school, kindergarten, high school, and the department of athletic pedagogics of the University of Iceland. I've been told that there is one outdoor swimming pool and a good sports facilities inside and outside. There is a grocery shop, Lindin restaurant and summer hotels in the schools. The closest town is Selfoss, 45 km south of Laugarvatn. Around Laugarvatn, there are farms and many summerhouses.
Check in periodically, as I will use this blog to record my experiences there.
