"TULLEN MENNEN (Coming and Going)" by artist Ulla Anobile

Paper mache, acrylics, burlap, embroidery floss, 15 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Via Ulla: In my family's native Karelia, many myths existed about birds (and sometimes butterflies) as ancestral souls. Many rituals were linked to birds, their treatment and feeding. On certain days, ancestral souls were invited back to a feast. A window was left open a crack, and from it was hung an embroidered cloth ('käspaikka') as a sort of map to show them the way home. This piece commemorates that tradition. At the top is a bird called 'Karjalan käki' ('Karelian cuckoo', sometimes also called 'Karelian chicken'). Stylized forms of this bird appear in embroidered folk textiles and jewelry.