The Whooper Swan is the national bird of Finland and is deeply honoured by the Finns. The stencil depicts two swans in physical relationship - one sitting in the grass and one standing over it in protection. The stencil incorporated stories about Finland and the experiences hazel had while there. In sacred partnership, the swans are filled with Finnish mythology and folklore, including Tuonela, the land of the dead, Linnurata, the milky way, lightning, the epic Kalevala, the magic of bees and their honey, a mother’s love, two Canadians and an American rowing a boat, the tree of life, the place of the birds, and a house snake!

The sitting swan depicts the tree of life and Lintukoto (place of the birds), which is considered paradise, a warm place between earth and sky, where the birds went to winter. They traveled there along the Linnurata, the Milky Way (the path of the birds) found in the neck of the sitting swan. Lightning and rain/tears make up the head.

Within the standing swan is part of the story of Lemminkäinen, the handsome and sometimes ostentatious hero/shaman from the Kalevala, who travels to the land of the dead) to capture and kill the swan that swims in the river of the dead.

This image was made while hazel was at the Arteles Artist Residency in Finland. Finland is known for amazing graphic design, both simple and complex. Everything is designed just so, from roofs to dishware to saunas to shower curtains.

“I borrowed the composition for this stencil from one of the shower curtains at Arteles. I couldn’t resist. At the same time, I had been thinking about partnership and was in the mood for a partner so decided I needed to start making images with two animals rather then one.”

Bees are considered most powerful in Finland and their honey is a potent healing elixir. At the end of the epic, with bee’s honey and the power of his mother’s love, Lemminkäinen was brought back to life. You will find the bee at the top of the swan’s leg.

In this same swan, there are two swans swimming, captured from a moment rowing in silence with friends on a small lake.

There are a number of versions of this story - here is one of them…

KALEVALA TEXT - Lemminkäinen story
Lemminkäinen wanted to marry the fairest daughter of Louhi, the oldest woman/ medicine woman, who did not want unworthy men to marry her daughters so she would send the men on impossible missions which often ended in their deaths.

Lemminkäinen went on the adventure Louhi set out for him, to go and find, and kill, the swan which swims in the river of the dead in the land of Tuonela, but when he heard the swan's beautiful song, he realized he could not kill it. However, it was too late. The gods had seen him there and knowing his original intention, had him killed and chopped into five pieces and thrown into the river of death.

His mother, not having seen him for days, started asking around but no one would tell her where her son had gone. Eventually, the gods took pity on her and told her he was in the land of dead. She travelled there and did everything she could to bring him back to life on her own, to no avail. Once again, she beseeched the gods for their help. And again, they took pity on her and sent a bee to help her. With the bee’s honey, Lemminkäinen was restored to life as a whole person. He went back to Louhi and .... and the story continues.