Haltijaby *KelliRoos

Traditional Art / Drawings / Illustration / Storybook

Haltija - Finnish word meaning an elf-like creature who takes care of homes or other things in the world. They are in people's homes, the forest, and even hold great power, almost god-like.

Thank you

for helping me get information right in my research of Finnish things.

I wanted to shove as much Finland into this illustration as I could. XD The four elves on here are haltija, the one in the sky is a special one, with a special name... I cannot find it right now, help from my Finnish friends? (Edit: It's Ilmatar!)

I stared at images of illuminated letters for inspiration of motifs. I also looked at Finnish design work from the mid-century, and wanted a old feel with warmth, and bounce. The flowers floating in the frame, the design is from the Finnish coat of arms.

I spent WAY more time than I intended to on this piece. (I meant to take 4-6 hours, I spent 14-16 hours on it) But it's for a good cause. This piece was made for a local creative group for charity, which I'm very happy to report sold early.

*Realms-Master Apr 15, 2011 Hobbyist Writer

Yay, so good to see art from you again! Hope you've been well?

This is really nice, very pretty and well arranged. I like the boldness of the black lines of the H, really makes it stand out. What is the significance of the Finnish contents of the feature?

My fav is the little guy playing the flute ^_^

*KelliRoos Apr 16, 2011 Professional Traditional Artist

thanks! I'm doing much better these days. It took me a while, but art is not something I dread (which I did for a while)

Well, the Finnish theme was kinda by accident. For this project, I had to do something with a letter of the alphabet. I picked capital H for no particular reason. XD In thinking of ideas, I got out this book of mythical creatures of the world, and started flipping through the H section. I came across the term Haltija, and some visuals came to mind. I asked my Finnish friend for some other ideas and this came about.

*Realms-Master Apr 17, 2011 Hobbyist Writer

That's good to hear, I know the feeling and it's no fun.

Hah, don't you love how random things can turn into something really cool? I can just picture this picture in a book of the alphabet.