When it comes to such elusive schools, the Icelandic way is to throw every available technology at it and see what sticks.
Skagafjörður
In truth, a lot does!
Fishing for Souls
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Tag Archives: Skagafjordur
Hofstadakirkja in the Springtime
So, you’re in the North of Iceland and you get that old feeling …
… this is sacred space!
Well, it’s time to go to church. Here.
Here:
Here:
But, wait. It’s not that simple. Look at those drifts! You’ll throw a hoof. And then what? Drifts for you all March long, or forever. Brrr.
Best be careful. Scout things out.
OK, even the fences are drifts. Makes sense, right? They’re driftwood. Those Russians, eh! Well even the road is a drift.
But it looks easier than the ditch!
Take the road.
You have time for the welcoming committee, right?
The pregnant welcoming committee.
You do feel welcome, right?
Very welcome?
Good. Don’t forget to say hi to your fellow worshippers. We don’t just worship in space here, but also in time.
Really, they’re the same thing.
Plus drifts.
And old turf house ruins.
You do, um, feel welcome, right?
Ah, the basement and community hall are drifted in. Best go upstairs.
Don’t worry, you can get in through the graveyard. This is Iceland. The dead aren’t dead, and you’ll join them soon enough. Might as well get on a first name basis now.
They have flowers, so that’s nice.
Hey, it was cold, so I wasn’t feeling all that vertical myself! Well, it sure looks nice in there. Let’s go in!
Watch your step! Ah, here we go.
And we are in!
Lovely altar.
The plastic is to keep off intruders from the dark place. The horses send them as a joke.
Ha ha ha.
Pulpit’s very nice, too.
Also Mary Queen of Heaven and her Son.
Not your typical Lutheran pair? Well, this is Iceland.
The house rules you already know, right?
And the reason the mountains sent you here? Even a bit of foundation shifting to get the nice new basement underneath for the whole community to gather hasn’t shaken him off the wall.
A bit of nationalism to sit on, ha ha ha.
Or a bit of glory from the continent.
Art. Painted on a bit of driftwood by the looks of it.
Old friends.
Feasts.
It’s all about the feasting.
Well, and prayer.
And hope. This is Iceland. Be practical, and have a backup plan.
God is always listening.
And there is always music from Heaven.
Up we go to the choir loft!
Here.
Things have a different perspective from these dizzy heights.
Somehow, you are less alone.
More intimate.
More reverent.
More beautiful.
More at home.
I mean
Yeah.
Back you go!
To the world.
Remember to come back next time you’re in the North.
It lifts a soul up.
It does.
So remember…
…life isn’t a full stop. And it isn’t the road to Akureyri.
It’s who you meet.
And where you’re going.
Together.
Off Road Travel in Iceland
Thinking of a road trip? A great idea. The only thing about roads is that they don’t go where you want to go. They have their own minds. Don’t be fooled!
Sometimes they go where you want, but you can only walk. A path would be better.
Hofstaðir Kirkja
Sometimes, no road will get you where you want to go.
Sometimes where you want to go is not on this earth.
Sometimes even walking is out of the question.
Let’s face it, you need a better body. For that, Iceland has a solution.
The grass hump wading horses of Hofstaðir!
They know the way. Look at them avoiding that road! That’s the way.
The Sea is A Living Thing
Meeting Life Itself, Skagafjörður
All the rest? The trees, the horses, the humans, the cod, the arctic terns, the chickens? They are all carrying a replica of life within them, but the sea is life itself. Instead of saying “life”, we could just say “sea”. And the land? Ah, now, now that is a story of humans and other people. I’ll tell it tomorrow. Here’s a hint to haunt your dreams while the night falls and the sun rises again …
Elf Stone, Goðafoss
The Architecture of Souls
If you look at mountains on a human scale, they have presence.
Volcanic Glass, Skjaldsvik, Iceland
If you look at mountains on the scale of a mountain, they have presence.
Mountain in Late Afternoon, Skagafjörður, Iceland
If you look at mountains from a cultural point of view (in this case, Nordic mythology), they have presence…
Spring Sunset, Skagafjörður
In this case, story unfolds in time, as the earth turns from the sun, which is just below the ridgeline. Here is the same mountain a couple minutes later …
Spring Sunset, Skagafjörður
And a half hour later, when the sun is behind the shoulder of the Arctic Ocean?
Spring Sunset, Skagafjörður
The story continues through the northern lights at night, and on into the next day. Light is writing on stone and ice. If the mountains are viewed through Christian eyes, perhaps this is the spot for the centre of Christian life in Iceland.
Holar in the Distance
The Heart of Christian Iceland, Skagafjörður
If you’re thinking of print making or writing, you might as well think big. When your technology is the earth itself, it’s easy to think of the architecture of souls.
Salt Lithography
Here’s another variation on lithography from Iceland. This is one that the sea writes upon the snow, with the land (in this case ground volcanic basalt). I found these transitory prints written in a heavy spring snowfall as the tide was coming in at Sauðarkrokur in the Skaga Fjord.
I see the beginnings of a language here, and here …
Contemporary artists search for the lack of signification, yet this is the universe …
It’s just that it’s not a humanist meaning. Look at how the snow erupts in volcanoes when pressured from the sides! Stunning.
Next: A Language of Light and Shadow from Hofstaðir
A Farm in Iceland 