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Description
TODAY FINLAND TURNS 99 YEARS OLD! WOOHOOO!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FINLAND!

The country of saunas, moomin, heavy metal, lakes, salmiakki, winter and super awesome people
going strongly towards big numbers!

Now all of you who remember me drawing this LAST YEAR have a solid proof of what a slowpoke I am!
Remember this?
Finland Independence Day 2013
So this is a counterpart to that picture - and this was supposed to be finished last year! But it wasn't....
because ... I have no excuses ...

However, have my girls wearing traditional Finnish
national dresses (or folk costumes).

Now in Finland every region has its own specific design of national costume - and there are plenty!
From the costume you can tell where the person is from and even into which family she belongs to. Men and women each have their own. Unfortunately they are a bit of a dying tradition since the older generations who knew all the symbolism and tradition of the dresses have almost passed on and the younger ones weren't taught or didn't learn about the costumes. The Sami-costumes are the only ones commonly known, yet most often inaccurately portrayed.

However - I have picked some dresses that are significant in relation to my life and my roots.

Piper is wearing a national dress of Pirkanmaa - the province in southwestern Finland where I was born and grew up
and where I'm currently living in. So basically the very dress I should wear if I owned one. I've never seen one in use though
since the area has later on been divided into smaller towns that have stronger sense of fellowship than the whole region itself.
So should Kangasala have it's own dress - I'd definitely have one!

Raze is presenting a national dress of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland. That's where I studied for five years
and where I spend some most awesome years of my life! Lapland kinda left its mark on me so I wanted to feature this dress too.
Don't ask me how they made Raze wear a dress ... but at least she looks good in it!

Now Ame and Lumia are probably wearing the most important dresses to me.
My grandmother originated from northern Karelian (the area that was lost for Russia in the WWI that the Finns consider the very birthplace of our culture) and she actually had a national dress of her area! However she passed away years ago and I couldn't remember which one of these two dresses was the one she had - so I picked both. Lumia is wearing a border-Karelian dress and Ame has a dress from the Lake Ladoga (Laatokka) - area, from where my grandmother was from.

Now if there happens to be someone with better knowledge of these dresses - please forgive me of any possible inconsistencies or mistakes, I tried to do my research well but man there are sooo many of those dresses. And they are all soo prettyy....

Anyhow
HAPPY INDEPENCE DAY FINLAND!
TORILLA TAVATAAN! Now sing with me!

Oi Suomi, katso, Sinun päiväs koittaa,
yön uhka karkoitettu on jo pois,
ja aamun kiuru kirkkaudessa soittaa
kuin itse taivahan kansi sois.
Yön vallat aamun valkeus jo voittaa,
sun päiväs koittaa, oi synnyinmaa.

Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning,
the threat of night has now been driven away.
The skylark calls across the light of morning,
the blue of heaven lets it have its way,
and now the day the powers of night is scorning:
thy daylight dawns, O Finland of ours!
Jean Sibelius

Projectcommenters! This is an older piece and I know some of the issues with anatomy are there - so mainly I would like to have feedback on the design, the clothing and overall atmosphere and feel of this piece, rather than anatomical issues

Description
TODAY FINLAND TURNS 99 YEARS OLD! WOOHOOO!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FINLAND!

The country of saunas, moomin, heavy metal, lakes, salmiakki, winter and super awesome people
going strongly towards big numbers!

Now all of you who remember me drawing this LAST YEAR have a solid proof of what a slowpoke I am!
Remember this?
Finland Independence Day 2013
So this is a counterpart to that picture - and this was supposed to be finished last year! But it wasn't....
because ... I have no excuses ...

However, have my girls wearing traditional Finnish
national dresses (or folk costumes).

Now in Finland every region has its own specific design of national costume - and there are plenty!
From the costume you can tell where the person is from and even into which family she belongs to. Men and women each have their own. Unfortunately they are a bit of a dying tradition since the older generations who knew all the symbolism and tradition of the dresses have almost passed on and the younger ones weren't taught or didn't learn about the costumes. The Sami-costumes are the only ones commonly known, yet most often inaccurately portrayed.

However - I have picked some dresses that are significant in relation to my life and my roots.

Piper is wearing a national dress of Pirkanmaa - the province in southwestern Finland where I was born and grew up
and where I'm currently living in. So basically the very dress I should wear if I owned one. I've never seen one in use though
since the area has later on been divided into smaller towns that have stronger sense of fellowship than the whole region itself.
So should Kangasala have it's own dress - I'd definitely have one!

Raze is presenting a national dress of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland. That's where I studied for five years
and where I spend some most awesome years of my life! Lapland kinda left its mark on me so I wanted to feature this dress too.
Don't ask me how they made Raze wear a dress ... but at least she looks good in it!

Now Ame and Lumia are probably wearing the most important dresses to me.
My grandmother originated from northern Karelian (the area that was lost for Russia in the WWI that the Finns consider the very birthplace of our culture) and she actually had a national dress of her area! However she passed away years ago and I couldn't remember which one of these two dresses was the one she had - so I picked both. Lumia is wearing a border-Karelian dress and Ame has a dress from the Lake Ladoga (Laatokka) - area, from where my grandmother was from.

Now if there happens to be someone with better knowledge of these dresses - please forgive me of any possible inconsistencies or mistakes, I tried to do my research well but man there are sooo many of those dresses. And they are all soo prettyy....

Anyhow
HAPPY INDEPENCE DAY FINLAND!
TORILLA TAVATAAN! Now sing with me!

Oi Suomi, katso, Sinun päiväs koittaa,
yön uhka karkoitettu on jo pois,
ja aamun kiuru kirkkaudessa soittaa
kuin itse taivahan kansi sois.
Yön vallat aamun valkeus jo voittaa,
sun päiväs koittaa, oi synnyinmaa.

Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning,
the threat of night has now been driven away.
The skylark calls across the light of morning,
the blue of heaven lets it have its way,
and now the day the powers of night is scorning:
thy daylight dawns, O Finland of ours!
Jean Sibelius

Projectcommenters! This is an older piece and I know some of the issues with anatomy are there - so mainly I would like to have feedback on the design, the clothing and overall atmosphere and feel of this piece, rather than anatomical issues