Ocean Friends Across the Atlantic

It all started from art. An online art teacher by the Arctic Circle met in Zoom two girls in California to show painting every three weeks. Their father, Noel, wanted his daughters to have an openess towards global cultures.

The Chiu family had immigrated from Taiwan with values of high education and successful life goals. Offering children knowledge and awareness was a core of communication, mixing into the leasure time and school in California. The two girls were raised in abundance and safety, but always near the oceans and nature of both the United States and Taiwan.

The time zone differencies from San Fransisco PST to Lapland EET made the daughter’s online classes take place mostly at evenings Finland time and mornings California time. This only added up the fun as the art teacher Sini was able to show the specialities of the Arctic winter darkness or snow life with Christmas lights. Even the hours online were of many art medium topics and painting together, cultures and life events were shared.

The girls and their teacher would talk of many countries in the world, about the seas and marine life, of pollutions and environmentalism, of national and international news they had that day heard. A friendship was formed. Mobile phones made ocean crossing easy and fun.

As years went and the daughters approached teenage years, a bond was formed. The children would show their garden flowers in the sun and the colors were analysed with their art teacher. Sea life creatures painted, hummingbirds flew around as the easel was set to the back yard for painting sessions and ocean topics often interested both the teacher and her students.

This kind of a connection between a Scandinavian online art teacher and two art students over the Atlantic is quite rare, even mobile phones can make sharing and art hours easy. The cold Nordic seas have cobalt and indigo tones with greens from algy and a non-transparent water depth.

The warmer Californian shores offer a view to a turquoise, surf waves ocean with transparent waters. The marine life with its animals fascinated all and father Noel often joined the online art hours to participate into the conversations of whales, otters and sea life between two continents.

Art inspiration is easy to adapt into protecting the environment. Noel wanted his children to develop a wise eye for the world and variety within cultures by showing them. The online art hours had a goal to offer joy to the daughter’s for long lasting anchor towards respect for the planet, art and themselves.

A happy jump near a dear place: the Californian beach.

Soon the two young sisters asked their father to take them to Finland to meet their online art teacher and to be on location and not just online. This was a brave idea from a preteen. What a lovely meeting to visit from so far away, Sini thought.

A nice summer trip was set for the journey from San Francisco to Helsinki via Portugal. Art teacher Sini spent two days showing the family Helsinki, the summer hills and city center near docks and boats by the Baltic sea.

This connection of the two young preteens and their 54- year old professional artist teacher was digitally enabled to be regular from the North Pacific Ocean all the way across the North Atlantic Ocean to Scandinavia, Europe by the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia.

As a father offers this by enabling such a service to his children, the connection can offer things money could not buy. Real friendship built with time, by sharing culture and art.

Whale by A. Chiu 2023.

The online art teacher was also an oceans advocate working on another online project, totheoceans.com. She became interested on the emotions these sisters would have as young towards different marine life and the future of the seas. Now the teacher would herself learn of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and how species adapt in deep waters with marine forests and the marine ecosystem.

So many nice talks were held as the girls would paint whales and octopuses during the video calls online. The art work became interesting and inspiring as the connection to the seas contained many colors, experiences and memories across the seas to a different continent.

“Happy Whale” by E.Chiu 2023.

The tones of light, shadow and water reflections had an individual color palette of light blues in California as the colors in Nordic waters were more darker blues, grey and to some extent, nature green.

This online art teacher contact was always international sharing thoughts on known animals, nature coloring, different seasons of the year and of feelings for the area near. The art hours dealt not only of California and Finland sea topics, but of the world oceans, marine pollution and the girls wishes for a safer future for the planet.

The oceans. sea animals and nature colors inspired both. The teacher would show her young students by San Francisco what reindeers looked like, how the snow was piling onto trees and tell of the Spring fluds of Lapland. Water cycles and different waters in many countries were interesting.

Ability to keep contact with WhatsApp, Zoom or other social media digital tools makes real global friendships possible across cultures easier than before. Calling online is easy and makes visual experiences be shared quickly.

“The Octopus” by Ava 2023.

The English language was used, but the girls could also speak Chinese and the native language or the teacher was Finnish, which has a rich vocabulary describing sea life and nature elements.

The art students have been invited to visit again Finland in 2024/ 2025 winter. This time the trip is to see the Lapland Northern Lights dancing in the Arctic sky.

(This blog is donated to the totheoceans.com audience by Ella´s & Ava´s family as part of
To the Oceans Project “Guardians of the Blue” Families Program.
Art work copyrights Ella and Ava)