Home

Current and upcoming exhibitions

12. – 15.3.2025
Shining Despair @ Munich Jewelry Week, Werkstatt-Galerie, Zentnerstrasse 3, Munich, DE

1.3. – 28.3.2025
Fertile Ground, ‘Donner, wie Blitz’, Donnersbergerstr 20a, Munich, DE

9.10.2024 – 27.4.2025
Minun Maailmani II, The Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery Kruunu, Espoo, FI

11.1. – 27.4.2025
Aistinvarainen, Craft Museum of Finland, Jyväskylä, FI

11.2. – 8.3.2025
Textures of Time: Wandering in the Space, GAo ShAn, Snellmaninkatu 15, Helsinki, FI

Instagram

wpandikow

jewelry/art made from recycled plastic bags

Let’s finally talk about nålbinding! The word

Let’s finally talk about nålbinding!

The word comes from the Danish and Norwegian language and translated directly it would be ‘needle-binding’ in English.The word comes from the Danish and Norwegian languages and translated directly it would be 'needle-binding' in English. It is one of the oldest textile techniques, much older than knitting or crochet, where a single strand of thread is looped through itself with a blunt needle. The oldest archaeological find seems to be a fragment from 6500 BCE from Nahal Hemar in Israel, while the oldest European fragment is from 4200 BCE from Tybrind Vig, Denmark. But the most famous artifacts are probably the red toe socks from Egypt, often falsely labelled as knitting, and a Beret from the Tarim Basin, China.

In Finnish the technique is called ‘neulakinnastekniikka’ which basically means “technique to make a mitten with a needle”, referring to the item supposedly predominantly made using it. I find the term cumbersome and a bit weird, as it has also been used for making for example milk sieves and socks, but obviously the Finns of history don’t care about my opinion…
One of my favourite artifacts in the Finnish National Museum is a tiny fragment of nålbinding from between 800-1500 AD. It’s the first image of this post and you can see the structure quite well there (picture from finna.fi).

The technique has prevailed in Finland (and the European North in general) to this day and is having a bit of a revival recently. I learned the basics of it with wool a few years ago and knew I really wanted to include it when I started researching traditional handicraft techniques in Finland last year, in order to adapt them to plastic bags. One of my main sources for it was (and still is) a page called neulakintaat.fi (there’s also an English version) which I would greatly recommend to anybody interested in this. It has a lot of resources on different ways to start out as well as lots of different stitches.

I’ll go on telling more about how I learned and adapted it in another post!
.
.
.
.
.
#textilehistory #ancienthistory #ancienttechniques #revivinghistory #finnishtechniques #nalebinding #neulakinnastekniikka #livinghistory

Munich Jewelry Week is more or less in full swing

Munich Jewelry Week is more or less in full swing by now I would guess (I am not there myself, alas 😔) and apart from Fertile Ground I have the honor to be included in another exhibition as well: Shining Despair organized by Alliages and now shown in Munich!

~~
It is clear to all of us that the degree of the current chaos in the world is caused by our own actions, creating internal as well as external conflicts. We all suffer. The texture, characteristics, and significance of our suffering are more or less known to us, we try to get rid of them. Always with limited success. Some sort of pain and suffering are too overwhelming and cause a feeling of helplessness and a state of mind that we can either transform or accept as it is.

But we artists have a unique opportunity; with our craftsmanship and its requirements and the various materials and substances that are in front of us, we can take out the texture of our despair and transform it, following the call for life and creating luminous objects, – giving birth to a shining jewelry piece, with all its beauty and grace, a silent witness to our despair.
~~

Exhibition place : Werkstatt-galerie, Zentnerstrasse 3 (Metro Josephsplatz, U2)
Exhibition dates : March 12-15th
Exhibition hours : Wed 12th to Fri 14th (13h to 18h30), Sat 15th (10h to 12h)
Opening : Wednesday March 12th 18h30 to 20h30
#21 in the map & official program

Included from me is Bread Basket 5/biod., my Enjoia't Award winning brooch (wow that still feels weird to say 😅) made entirely from plastic bags labelled biodegradable (well, exempting the brooch mechanism which is stainless steel).
.
.
.
.
.
@alliages_asso #alliages #contemporaryjewellery #contemporaryart #schmuck #joya #bijou #munich #madefromwhat #plasticbags #coiling #ancientmodern

Spent two days at the start of the week helping to

Spent two days at the start of the week helping to build the yearly art sale at Cable Factory organized, as always, be the Jewelry Art Association!
It'll open on Friday and then be open until the 16th! Come see (and, if you like, purchase) some beautiful jewelry, and also some things that you might not define as jewelry 😁
I'll have a wall hanging and other wall pieces but also some brooches there. All, as always, made from old plastic bags.
.
.
.
.
.
@korutaideyhdistys #madefromwhat #plasticbags #weaving #contemporarycraft #contemporaryjewelry #tuohi #artsale #salesexhibition #kaapelitehdas

When the open call for this appeared last year I k

When the open call for this appeared last year I knew I really, really wanted to be part of it, and, luckily, now I am!

From the exhibition statement:
“This exhibition examines the intersection of making and care, reflecting on themes of motherhood, fertility, nature, and the choices surrounding them. Fertile Ground invites visitors to explore how nurturing—whether of life, ideas, or art—shapes both personal and artistic expression.”

While I think motherhood is a wonderful thing, it is also not the only thing women (and mothers for that matter) are capable of. For myself, nurturing has always been more focused on caring for a material and for a craft - I have never seen myself as a mother, but always as a maker...

Fertile Ground exhibition is opening next week in Munich and will be open not only for Munich Jewelry Week, but for the whole month! If you’re around for the event, please visit Donner wie Blitz <3

Thank you so much Clodagh Molloy @clodagh.molloy for organizing the event!

Three of my Needle-bound brooches, made from drop spindle spun plastic bags, and worked with the ancient technique of nålbinding, are part of the exhibition.
.
.
.
.
.
#FertileGroundExhibition #MunichJewelleryWeek #Schmuck2025 #JewelleryArt #ContemporaryJewellery #Sculpture #BodyAdornment #ArtandMotherhood #CreationandCare #madefromwhat #plasticbags #contemporarycraft #nurturingcraft

Two small brooches, made from drop spindle spun pl

Two small brooches, made from drop spindle spun plastic bags (and wood and stainless steel).
.
.
.
.
.
#dropspindle #spunplasticthread #spunfromplastic #madefromwhat #plasticbags #spinning #plarn #upcycling #contemporaryjewelry #materialresearch

Two small brooches, made from drop spindle spun pl

Two small brooches, made from drop spindle spun plastic bags (and wood and stainless steel).
.
.
.
.
.
#dropspindle #spunplasticthread #spunfromplastic #madefromwhat #plasticbags #spinning #plarn #upcycling #contemporaryjewelry #materialresearch

Some forms are more the decision of the material t

Some forms are more the decision of the material than the maker... I just need to decide when to fight back and when to let it happen...
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #upcyclingplastic #makingof #contemporaryjewelry #coiling #ContemporaryCraft

Spinning plastic bags (and how something that is

Spinning plastic bags
(and how something that is a failure at first, turns out to be exactly what you need).

When I started to use coiling and twisting basketry techniques for working with plastic bags, I would usually twist the plastic bags ribbons I had cut in order to get a smoother finish and also a stronger structure. At some point I started to use a drop spindle to speed up that process, but with the spindle sometimes I would accidentally overdo it with the twisting and pulling and the plastic would kind of slip and stretch and turn into a much much thinner thread (around 0.4 to 0.7mm). That threat was too thin for making the coiled and twisted baskets in the size I wanted, but at some point (after discarding a lot of strings and being very annoyed with myself) I realized that this “slipped string” would actually enable me to use textile techniques that didn’t look good when using just the basic, thicker plarn (plastic yarn). Techniques like for example nålbinding, which would need a much finer thread to get a neat texture. I refined the process; spinning and carefully pulling until the string “slips”, and repeating that until the whole length has been pulled thin, while also not pulling too hard, or with too little or too much twist, so the ribbon doesn’t snap.

It took a while to get it working consistently and it still goes wrong sometimes when a bag is too brittle or is the wrong kind of plastic, but generally, something that was an annoying failure at the beginning actually turned into a new kind of plastic thread, opening up a whole new set of possibilities. Which is why I find it so important to have ample time to experiment with materials and techniques, make mistakes and find new ways of working through them.
.
.
.
.
#developingtechniques #dropspindle #spunplasticthread #spunfromplastic #madefromwhat #plasticbags #spinning #materialresearch #plarn #upcycling #crafttakestime

This came about on quite short notice but I'm very

This came about on quite short notice but I'm very happy to invite you to the opening of Textures of Time next Tuesday at 6pm/18:00 at gallery GAoShAn, Snellmaninkatu 15!
There will be some new work of mine, but also beautiful pieces by textile artist Raija Jokinen as well as some older works by Finnish artists/designers going back to the 1950's.
The second pictures gives just a little glimpse of a bit of texture from a piece finished just this week 😁
.
.
.
.
.
#TexturesOfTime #FinnishArt #JewelryAndTextile #gaoshanhelsinki #maijalavonen #irmakukkasjärvi #raijajokinen #finnishtextile #wiebkepandikow #contemporarycraft #contemporarytextile #contemporaryjewellery #contemporarybasketry #needlebinding #nålbinding

And one more similar to, but in a slightly differe

And one more similar to, but in a slightly different birch bark weaving technique than the light blue/green one

Brooch, 2024
Plastic bags, pigment, mechanism from stainless steel
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #fusedplasticbags #weaving #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraftnewmaterial #finnishcraft #plasticweaving #pillow #materialresearch #birchbarktechniqes #suorapunonta #tuohityöt

And one more similar to, but in a slightly differe

And one more similar to, but in a slightly different birch bark weaving technique than the light blue/green one

Brooch, 2024
Plastic bags, pigment, mechanism from stainless steel
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #fusedplasticbags #weaving #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraftnewmaterial #finnishcraft #plasticweaving #pillow #materialresearch #birchbarktechniqes #suorapunonta #tuohityöt

Using the ancient technique of needlebinding (nål

Using the ancient technique of needlebinding (nålbinding, neulakinnastekniikka) on spun plastic bags. Some snippets from pieces in progress.
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #upcyclingplastic #makingof #contemporaryjewelry #ContemporaryCraft #spunplasticbags #needlebinding #nålebinding #lowwasteart #handicraft #ancienttechniques

Brooch, 2024 Plastic bags, pigment, mechanism from

Brooch, 2024
Plastic bags, pigment, mechanism from stainless steel
75 x 75 x 20mm
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #fusedplasticbags #diagonalweaving #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraftnewmaterial #finnishcraft #plasticweaving #materialresearch #birchbarktechniqes #suorapunonta #vinopunonta

Three weeks ago the Aistinvarainen (On Senses) exh

Three weeks ago the Aistinvarainen (On Senses) exhibition opened at the Craft Museum of Finland in Jyväskylä, where all the pieces in the exhibition can be touched. It really left quite an impression to feel the artwork and I wanted to just give a few glimpses of some of my favourites. And there's so many more! It's really worth a trip if you’re in Finland

Details of works of:
1 Melissa Sammalvaara @melissasammalvaara
2 Elli Hukka @ellihukka
3 Tuuli Autio @tuuli_autio
4 Minja Kolehmainen @minjakolehmainen
.
.
.
.
.
@suomenkasityonmuseo @artistsory
#taiteenedistämiskeskus #suomenkäsityönmuseo #taiteilijato #aistinvarainen #onsenses #arttotouch #pleasetouch #artexhibition #touchableart #tuuliautio #ellihukka #melissasammalvaara #minjakolehmainen

Before Christmas I was talking about pieces made b

Before Christmas I was talking about pieces made by using techniques from birch bark weaving but using recycled plastic bags - here another one!

Still searching for a good name for these, so as of yet untitled

Brooch, 2024
Plastic bags, pigment, mechanism from stainless steel
75 x 75 x 20mm
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #fusedplasticbags #diagonalweaving #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraftnewmaterial #finnishcraft #plasticweaving #materialresearch #birchbarktechniqes #suorapunonta #vinopunonta

Another new beginning... It’s so good to be bac

Another new beginning...
It’s so good to be back at my work table after being away for quite a while. First for the holidays and then to help build a bigger exhibition.
It feels peaceful to just have my hands working again, the strings running through my fingers, the needle running through loops….
.
.
.
.
.
#workinprogress #plasticstring #spunfromplastic #madefromwhat #plasticbags #needlebinding #nalbinding #contamporarycraft #contemporaryjewelry #whileworking #handicraft #upcycling

Aaaaaaand the exhibition is open!! If you wanna t

Aaaaaaand the exhibition is open!!

If you wanna try on the sculpture/headpiece/neckpiece or whatever you want to call it, now you can!
The Aistinvarainen - On Senses exhibition is now open at the craft museum of Finland in Jyväskylä until April!
.
.
.
.
.
@artistsory @suomenkasityonmuseo
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #contemporaryjewelry #contemporarycraft #sculpture #WearableArt #wearablesculpture #touchableart #pleasetouchtheart #wearingart

I am very happy to start the year with the opening

I am very happy to start the year with the opening of Aistinvarainen (On senses) next week, organized by Artists O association (@artistsory). It’s an exhibition at the Craft Museum of Finland in Jyväskylä, in which the visitors are allowed to touch all pieces exhibited - I love the concept and was very happy when an older piece of mine was accepted for it last spring!
I will be there for the opening on Friday the 10th, from 17-19 in the evening and afterwards the exhibition will be open until the 27th of April. The Craft museum of Finland is usually open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 11 to 18.

In the exhibition there are 17 artists, in addition to myself: Tuuli Autio, Elli Hukka, Sirpa Hannele Heinonen, Niina Hiltunen, Leena Juvonen, Teemu Järvi, Minja Kolehmainen, Laura Merz, Mirja Niemelä, Wiebke Pandikow, Laura Pehkonen, Johanna Pöykkö, Piia Rossi, Melissa Sammalvaara, Ulla Sinkkonen, Päivi Vaarula and Jana Vyborna-Turunen.

Come see and TOUCH! our work 🤩
.
.
.
.
.
#taiteenedistämiskeskus #suomenkäsityönmuseo #museovirasto #suomenkäsityönmuseo #taiteilijato @kulttuurikaupunkijyvaskyla #aistinvarainen #onsenses #arttotouch #pleasetouch
#tuuliautio #ellihukka #sirpahanneleheinonen #niinahiltunentextiles #leenajuvonen #teemujärviillustrations #teemujärvi #minjakolehmainen #lauramerz #wiebkepandikow #laurapehkonen #johannapoykko #piiarossi #melissasammalvaara #ullasinkkonen #päivivaarula #janavybornaturunen

These started out as tests, but then I quite liked

These started out as tests, but then I quite liked them so made them into small wall pieces in the end. Each is about 13cm square.
.
.
.
.
.
#madefromwhat #plasticbags #fusedplasticbags #diagonalweaving #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraftnewmaterial #finnishcraft #plasticweaving #materialresearch #birchbarktechniqes #suorapunonta #vinopunonta

I wish you all many moments to realize see the bea

I wish you all many moments to realize see the beauty and wonder closeby, now and in the coming year. Hopefully you can celebrate lovely moments with people you love and/or find peace and quiet you need to spend exactly how you wish!

Here the hills are green and mild. Some cranes that decided to stay in the ever warmer december call out over the far meadows. And there are small specks of color hidden among the leaves, bright and festive as the best of Christmas ornaments.
.
.
.
.
.
#nofilter #bright #natureornament #beautycloseby #closeup #brightwinter #bestwishes #quietdays #hiddencolors #closetohome

Load More Follow on Instagram