Kuopio Art Gallery, Finland

Leena Mäki-Patola

 
Leena's clay panels and vessels became a great inspiration for my self directed clay work.  After visiting the gallery, her pieces gave me many ideas on experimenting with glazes and slips, as well as how I could display my own work.  Her textural surfaces, created with glazes, metal and using contrasting clays as slips are all elements that make it successful and interesting.  Her careful consideration of colour, particularly the harsh difference between blue and red are eye catching and work well with the grid style display.  I also find the rawness of the materials highly attractive.

Eunice Geustyn

    Sunset Beach, New Crossroads, Crossroads, Bishop's Court, 2009, mixed media on paper

Although I did not find Eunice Geustyn's embroidered prints the most exciting part of the exhibition, I feel that I can relate to her style.  The black and white prints, both subtle and detailed, made a great base onto which simple stitch was applied.  I also enjoyed the laid back approach to the way in which it was displayed, simply by hanging it from a line.

 Kristiina Korpela

   Kukkameri (flower sea), 2008

   Saraako, 2010-2011, glass

Kristiina Korpela had the greatest presence at the Vessi, Water's exhibition.  To begin with, I found myself feeling indifferent to her flower sea collection.  However, after watching the various plastic items float around in the tank, I began to quite enjoy it.  Although very simple, the flowing movement was very mesmerizing.  Her glass vessels dominated the ext of the exhibition halls.  After working with hot glass myself, I appreciate the interesting forms she has been able to create.

The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg houses The State Hermitage Museum, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world.  Its collection, only a small part of which is on display, comprises of nearly 3 million pieces, including the largest collection of paintings in the world.  Whilst visiting, I was lucky enough to see work by Da Vinci, Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky, Rembrandt and Michelangelo.  The guided tour provided me with an invaluable view of the museum.  Not only were the items within the museum an honour to view, but the building itself was an extravagant work of art.

Habitare, Helsinki, Finland

Tuija Markonsalo

Tuija's dense bead work and baby faces definitely made an impression at Habitare.  This is the first time I had seen work like this, and done in such a good way.  Her intense beading is striking, and the time and effort gone into each piece is obvious.  The choice of the weird and wonderful baby dolls have left a creepy imprint in my mind, which is always a good thing.  I think this is a case of 'I wish I had done that', and I am envious of her patience.

Aino Kajaniemi

                           Things I Never Did, 2007, tapestry

I find myself fascinated by textiles outside of my own specialism of embroidery.  Weave in particular, never fails to leave me perplexed.  Aino Kajaniemi is no exception.  I looked upon her illustrative weaves with awe, and my mind was put in a twist.  I can honestly say I have no idea how she created such spot on translations of drawings to weave!

Studio Kaisi

Of all the work displayed at Habitare, I have selected probably the least traditionally Finnish work.  Finland, like other Scandinavian art, is very function based, meaning it tend to be very plain.  However, Studio Kaisi is a perfect example of a Finnish artist going against the traditional trend.  Bold two tone prints, with hectic illustrative designs dominated the space.  I was especially drawn to the framed work which, as shown above, was displayed in a much more interesting fashion.  Although the frames are busy and perhaps over bearing, they are a great way of gaining the attention of passers by.