{"product_id":"maria-memento-tote","title":"Maria - MEMENTO Tote","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis made-to-order high quality, reversible and oversized tote bag features a heavy weight 100% cotton organic canvas with distressed and frayed seams, printed with three striking artworks and one self-portrait of 19th-20th century \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eFinnish artist, Maria Wiik.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIncluded is a matching oversized drawstring pouch for your umbrella, sunglasses, phone (or whatever you so desire!), as well as two fabric bookmarks and two slow-fashion advocacy patches to showcase your support of independent slow fashion. These items are made from the fabric offcuts and are included with the purchase of the tote ☺️\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe MEMENTO collection is dedicated to remembering the remarkable women artists that history has overlooked.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e✮✮✮✮✮\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-2 -mb-1 text-base font-bold\"\u003eMaria Wiik (1853–1928): A still, quiet brilliance.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eMaria Wiik was born in Helsinki in 1853 into a cultured, Swedish-speaking Finnish family. She began drawing studies as a young woman and in 1875, at twenty-two, travelled to Paris to study at the Académie Julian — one of the few art schools that admitted women. She trained under Tony Robert-Fleury, and in 1880, her portraits were accepted for exhibition at the Paris Salon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eMaria spent years moving between Paris, Finland, and artists' colonies in Brittany and Cornwall. In the late 1880s, she and her close friend and fellow Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck spent two formative years at the St Ives art colony in England, where Maria's work absorbed new influences — symbolism, impressionism, a deepening interest in the emotional interior lives of her subjects. In 1889, she returned to Paris to work with Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, further refining the luminous, contemplative quality that defines her best work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eHer masterpiece, \u003cem\u003eOut into the World\u003c\/em\u003e, depicted with tender drama the threshold between youth and age. It won a bronze medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris and was featured in Walter Shaw Sparrow's \u003cem\u003eWomen Painters of the World\u003c\/em\u003e in 1905.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eMaria returned permanently to Helsinki, painting until deteriorating eyesight forced her to stop in 1923. She died in 1928. Today, her friend Helene Schjerfbeck is celebrated as one of Finland's greatest artists. Maria Wiik, who walked beside her, studied in the same studios, and exhibited on the same walls, has largely faded from the story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eI hope that in wearing her image and her beautiful artworks, you too will say \"I see you, Maria\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e✮✮✮✮✮\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eDesigned and made by Meg in The Patch, Australia.  All megsmithmakes garments are Ethical Clothing Australia accredited and megsmithmakes is a proud member of Seamless Australia.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"megsmithmakes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48368482680969,"sku":null,"price":290.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0713\/4248\/9737\/files\/MEMENTOCanvasTote-Maria2.jpg?v=1789805251","url":"https:\/\/megsmithmakes.com\/products\/maria-memento-tote","provider":"megsmithmakes","version":"1.0","type":"link"}