G is for...Games

Let the Games begin!! Today the XXII Winter Olympic Games began in Sochi, Russia. And, what a breath-taking opening ceremony!

With the technique challenge being silhouette, I was thinking how great it would be to have some olympic rings or a replica of St Basil's cathedral to photograph. What I do have is this Matryhoshka doll - also known as a Russian nested doll.

"It is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. They are sometimes incorrectly referred to as "babushka dolls" (grandmother doll). The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures inside may be of either gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme, the themes vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders." Wikipedia

Here's to a great start at the Olympics, and I suspect a few more viewing hours ahead!