J.R.R. Tolkien – Page 2

Theatrical Adaptation of LotR in Tampere

September 27, 2024September 15, 2024Eppu1 Comment

Our fall is forming up to include a bit more J.R.R. Tolkien than usual: besides seeing The Art of John Howe in Tampere, we have tickets to see a theatrical adaptation of Taru sormusten herrasta (The Lord of the Rings)—also in Tampere.

There is a short but handsome trailer:

Taru Sormusten herrasta – Tampereen Teatteri & Tampere-talo by TampereenTeatteriTT on YouTube

(Note: There’s no captioning, and it’s only in Finnish, but mostly the trailer is non-verbal. In the beginning, the text reads Experience the world’s best-known adventure. At the end, while raising his staff Gandal says You cannot pass!)

Tampere Theatre, Tampere Hall, and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, have worked for four years to create the adaptation. I haven’t heard the reason why the play runs only about two months (Aug 22 to Sept 21, 2024 and Dec 18, 2024 to Jan 11, 2025); you’d think a slightly longer run might be warranted for such a large production. I do know it’s staged at Tampere Hall instead of Tampere Theatre’s own, beautiful historical building because the latter is under renovations. I also know that the production team had to make their own Finnish translation from scratch and that no songs were allowed due to limitations posed by The Tolkien Estate.

The sets and props look fantastic, as does the lighting and video projections. I’m not sure I agree with the Elven costuming, though; their profiles look a little too much like the female Hobbit / villager Hobbit profiles. Otherwise the wardrobe looks fabulous. You can’t tell about the soundscape on the basis of the trailer alone, but I have high hopes. I hope the Hall also works for the adaptation as a performance space.

We can’t wait to see it!

Out There highlights intriguing art, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.

The Art of John Howe in Tampere

September 13, 2024August 18, 2024Eppu2 Comments

Last month we saw an exhibit of fantasy art by John Howe in Tampere-talo, Tampere, Finland. Titled The Art of John Howe: Journeys through the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, the exhibit is the first time that Howe’s work has been comprehensively displayed in Finland.

Over 250 original works were presented, from pencil drafts to finished color paintings and sculpture, along with sketchbooks and even some metal armor belonging to Howe. Some images were also enlarged into murals or banners, and a number of video screens scattered around the exhibit looped captioned interviews.

Apart from various illustrations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, on display were for example works on mythical topics or sagas, like Beowulf and Arthurian legends. Also various architectural or creature studies were included.

The exhibit space was partitioned into irregular areas. Walls framed your route in interesting ways, and the murals created striking views. In one corner there was even a video with flying dragons projected up on the wall high above the framed artworks so that the dragons were visible from a distance. The art pieces had enough room, and no area was too small—clearly accessibility was planned in.

There was no predetermined loop, merely a path suggested by the layout, which made it easy to pick your preferred viewing order and to avoid the occasional crowd. It was also easy to double back without first having to finish the whole route.

Color and lighting were used in a fascinating way. Most spot lights were warm orangey-brown or in the blue-purple range. Otherwise the hall was surprisingly dark, but not unsafely so. It was very interesting from a mood point of view.

Visitors were encouraged to take photos. Unfortunately, the ceiling lights reflected on the glass, which made photographing individual framed artworks difficult.

It was great seeing the complexity, detail, and vividness of Howe’s art in person, not to mention the variety of his work. We were absolutely delighted to be able to visit!

Images by Eppu Jensen

In Making Stuff we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.

Someone Liked Our Rohan Recipes

July 8, 2024June 30, 2024Erik2 Comments

Well, how about that!

We just discovered that our recipes for the Riders of Rohan were referenced in a piece of Middle Earth fanfiction over on Archive of Our Own. The story is called “she had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours” by shOokspeared, and it’s a lovely little slice-of-life tale following Éowyn on a visit to the Shire in the days of peace after the War of the Ring. In a letter home to her husband Faramir, Éowyn mentions enjoying the familiar tastes of braised beef and saffron and cream pancakes for lunch with her Hobbit friends one day.

We’re astonished and delighted to see that our work is still interesting and useful to others!

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One (or More) Rings to Rule Them All

May 20, 2024March 17, 2024Erik1 Comment

For an artifact as iconic as the One Ring from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, it’s not surprising that people have come up with some creative versions of their own. Here are a few interesting ones that could be yours if you want!

If you want a classic ring that you can wear on your finger or as a pendant, TimJewelerCo makes them, both in gold and in silver. As a bonus feature, the Elvish writing on the band glows in the dark!

Glow in the Dark Elvish Ring Necklace by TimJewelerCo via Etsy

For a different take on what you can do with a ring, 3DMadeGifts makes a scaled-up version as a shallow planter. Now your potted succulents can enjoy the power of everlasting evil.

Gold Ring of Power One Ring Succulent Planter by 3dMadeGifts via Etsy

Or roll for initiative with this ring-themed dice set from DracaenaDraco. One die to roll them all!

Lord of the Rings Dice Set by DracaenaDraco via Etsy

All these products are available on Etsy, if you want to get a good head start on holiday shopping.

In Making Stuff, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.

A New Translation to Honor the 50th Anniversary of Tolkien’s Passing

August 30, 2023June 1, 2025Eppu1 Comment

J.R.R. Tolkien died on September 02, 1973, exactly 50 years ago this Saturday. Also 50 years ago this year saw the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring in a Finnish translation. In celebration, a new, improved Finnish translation of the whole trilogy will be published this September.

Often a translation, especially of a fictional work, seems less good—less satisfying, skillful, expressive, vivid, what have you—as the original.

In my experience, however, there is one exception—and perhaps you guess the connection? The Finnish translation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Issuu Screencap WSOY TSH tarkistettu suom lukunayte kansi

The prose for Taru sormusten herrasta is by Kersti Juva and Eila Pennanen; the poems were translated by Panu Pekkanen. It was Juva’s first job as translator. In fact, Juva did most of the work while Pennanen supervised the first two books, and Juva got solo credit for the prose in The Return of the King.

The translation is wondrous. Somehow in the Finnish version, the Hobbits seem more homey, the Dwarves more earthy, and Elves more ethereal than in the original. The desolate areas feel more despondent, and darkness deeper. I’d also say that Pekkanen’s poetry translations wipe the floor with Professor Tolkien’s—having first read the Finnish, I was, frankly, disappointed in the English-language poems in the LotR.

I’m sure some of my appreciation of Taru sormusten herrasta comes down to nostalgia and sense of wonder—I first read the trilogy when I was in my early teens, an impressionable age if there ever was one. Some of it, I’m also sure, comes down to reading my native language.

These days, however, after decade+ of higher ed in and on the language plus daily use with a fellow language nerd, my English is quite as good as my Finnish. I can and do recognize the skill in Tolkien’s writing, plus many of the references and nuances, including some of the Old English. (Though not being a mainstream literature person, I’m sure I also miss other connections—my degree in English is primarily in the language, not lit.)

I’ve been reading in foreign-for-me languages for about 35 years now. Most of my non-native-language reading has been in English, either as original or translations. Some has been in Swedish, German, or Estonian, all translations of works I’ve previously read in the original language. While I can’t boast university education in the field of translating, I’d call myself an educated hobbyist. And as such, I can see the quality of Juva’s work. Erik and I have even read the first 400 pages or so of Fellowship out loud to each other, first a sentence in English and followed by the same passage in Finnish. You really do see Juva and Pekkanen’s skill in the text.

This new, improved version of Taru sormusten herrasta is also by Kersti Juva. In interviews she’s said the focus of the new version is to polish the language and to weed out the uncertainties a newly-minted translator (herself) wasn’t yet able to see her way past.

Sounds ever so good to me! In fact, I already have a preorder in. 🙂 Also, the celebratory edition looks to be a gorgeous, gorgeous book, with the famous LotR illustrations by Tolkien himself.

Image: screencap from a sample of the newly revised Finnish translation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy by WSOY via Issuu. LotR and TSH side by side by Eppu Jensen.

On, of, and about languages.

Tolkien Reading for Tolkien Reading Day

March 20, 2023November 5, 2022Erik

Saturday of this week, March 25th, is Tolkien Reading Day, and what better way to celebrate than with Tolkien himself reading one of his favorite passages from The Lord of the Rings?

Before The Lord of the Rings had a publisher, Tolkien was visiting a friend who had a tape recorder and encouraged him to record himself reading a selection from his work. Tolkien chose to read one of the most powerful moments from the novel, the charge of the Rohirrim against the Orcs of Mordor at Minas Tirith. Here that recording plays over the same scene from Peter Jackson’s movie version of The Return of the King, for extra powerful effect.

Tolkien narrates the Ride of the Rohirrim by Sîdh Aníron on YouTube

This moment is one of my favorite pieces from both the novel and the film. What a rare treat to hear it in Tolkien’s own voice!

Story Time is all about story-telling and how stories work, and what makes us love our favorites.

DIY of Eowyn’s Camp Dress

October 5, 2022October 2, 2022Eppu

What a fantastic DIY cosplay of Eowyn’s camp dress from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies this is:

Cation Designs Cindy Eowyns Camp Dress Cosplay

Made and worn by Cindy at Cation Designs, photo by @captured.by.shirelle. You can read more about the construction process at Cindy’s blog.

One of the really creative solutions she came up with is to inexpensively bone the corselet with zip ties. Much easier to get than corset bones! Another trick Cindy uses is to buy solid-color cotton sateen sheets in good condition from the thrift store to use as costuming material. (I’d add thrift store curtains, but in those there’s much more variability of both quality of material and fiber content, so they might require more time to go through to find anything worthwhile. Then again, if you do find good panels, often there’s quite a bit of fabric.)

Cindy also made the flag herself from a pillowcase using acrylic paint and gold pens. It’s as staggeringly handsome as the costume. Here’s a closeup:

The spear is made from foam, duct tape, and a wooden dowel, and looks as fantastic as the rest of the outfit. Kudos all round!

Images: Eowyn cosplay at rocky landscape by @captured.by.shirelle via Cation Designs. Rohan banner by Cindy at Cation Designs.

How It Happens is an occasional feature looking at the inner workings of various creative efforts.

Mashup of Themes from Avengers and The Lord of the Rings

November 3, 2021October 24, 2021Eppu

Perfection can be improved on occasion. Bearing witness is this inventive mashup of various themes from The Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers by Alan Silvestri:

The Lord of The Rings X Avengers EPIC ORCHESTRAL MASHUP by Samuel Kim Music on YouTube

The mashup was arranged and orchestrated by Samuel Kim. I don’t have enough formal musical education to tell you why it works—both movie scores certainly are epic enough—I just know it does. 🙂 Kudos!

An occasional feature on music and sound-related notions.

Custom Bookcases with Carvings for a LotR Collection

September 30, 2020September 6, 2020Eppu2 Comments

Now this is a treasure, preciouss! A Finland-based company built these amazing custom bookcases for a collection of figurines and other materials from the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Many (if not all?) of the bookcases also have carved crowns. Here’s the Rohan one:

There are also metal shields that function as handles:

Puustikki talk about their project a bit on Facebook:

“Finally we’re able to publish photos of these custom made, epic showcases for LOTR and Hobbit figurine collection. Probably the biggest collection in Finland and now it’s also displayed in showcases it deserves! This whole thing is 100% handmade out of solid oak and we wanted to use glass doors to maximize visibility into the cases. Each one of the showcases has distinct features to corresponding races/nations; carvings on the top and a custom made steel handle.

“Height of these wooden marvels is 250cm, so they barely fit into a regular house! [sic]”

Puustikki is run by carpenter Jarkko Pilvinen and jeweler Juho Manninen. The makers pull their inspiration from history and historical fantasy. At this writing, their online store includes drinking horns, a picnic table and benches, beds, dragon pegboards, runed coasters, and jewelry, among others.

My goodness! Astounding, aren’t they? Stylistically, a lot of their other wares are not our style at all, but as a maker myself, I really admire and appreciate the consideration and effort that went into all of their designs.

Check out the Puustikki website or Instagram for more.

Images by Jukka Alasaari Photography via Puustikki on Facebook

In Making Stuff occasional feature, we share fun arts and crafts done by us and our fellow geeks and nerds.