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Current and upcoming exhibitions

19.9. – 1.12.2024
Selected Works of the Contemporary Jewellery Awards ENJOIA’T 2024, Disseny Hub Barcelona, Spain

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

30.10.2024 – 28.2.2025
METALLOphone – Don’t Tell me a Story, Museum of Applied Arts, Vilnius, Lithuania

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

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jewelry/art made from recycled plastic bags

So, using birch bark techniques with plastic bags!

So, using birch bark techniques with plastic bags!
It was pretty clear from the start that, as birch back is quite stiff, plastic bags just as they are would be too soft to use in the same manner. So I went back to the original techniques I have spent years developing: fusing several layers of bags into thicker sheets, with the possibility to adjust the thickness of each sheet to the width of the strips I would be cutting them into (slightly thinner sheet for narrower strips and the other way around.) And then it was mostly following patterns for a bit.

I have so far not used actual birch bark itself (but planning for it next year), but I did some of the first tryouts with paper to get a feel for the basic techniques. And compared to paper, plastic bags are so much more slippery! They really don’t want to stay in place in a weave by themselves and need lots of little clips along the way. But it does make it possible to pull the structure really, really tight in the end. It took me quite a while to get used to it and I did quite a few tiny little baskets and some tiny ‘virsut’ (birch bark shoes -they’re on some earlier post).
With the basics relatively clear I then just went to try weaving different shapes on my own. Vinopunonta (diagonal weaving) really felt like breaking my brain a few times 😅 - but I’m getting used to it!
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#madefromwhat #plasticbags #fusedplasticbags #diagonalweaving #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraftnewmaterial #finnishcraft #plasticweaving #materialresearch

The Minun Maailmani II exhibition at the The Finni

The Minun Maailmani II exhibition at the The Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery Kruunu (@kellojakorumuseokruunu) opened at the start of October already and I just realized I never posted pictures of my finished piece! 😅
A couple of weeks ago me and my work partner for the project were also interviewed by Selko Media (they write articles in an easier to understand version of the Finnish language to make it easier for learners to read) and the article is online now, so now is a really good point to finally also show “One Yes” properly!

I really liked working on this project, it was wonderful to meet K. and I’m glad that I could give some kind of shape to her experience. You can read more about us in the article (I will link to it in a story I will put up and also save in “current events”to be accessible later).

One Yes
object/wearable sculpture
Recycyled plastic bags, wood, thread
~12 x 10x x8cm
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#madefromwhat #plasticbags #upcyclingplastic #Plasticbasketry #ChooseToReuse #LowWasteArt #breadbags #coiling #coiledbasketry #jewelryart #contemporaryjewelry #ContemporaryCraft #minunmaailmaniII #immigration #immigrationstories #contemporarybasketry

'Consumption' has been prepared for hanging, packa

'Consumption' has been prepared for hanging, packaged and is now on its way to Jyväskylä to be installed later in December for the upcoming Aistinvarainen (On Senses) exhibition, organized by Artists O association (@artistsory) and opening in January! 🤩
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#hangingart #sculpture #madefromwhat #Plasticbags #fastfashion #plasticwaste #waste #overconsumption #tshirts #recycledart #consumption

A little bit of background on birch bark technique

A little bit of background on birch bark techniques!

Birch bark has been used in Finland (and the North of the world generally) since prehistoric times. The most ubiquitous were “sheet techniques” - so just removing whole sheets of bark and folding it into different objects and containers, making boats (more prevalent in the north of the American continent) or using it flat as a part of a roof for example. The interlacing/weaving techniques (which interest me the most), seem to have been more prevalent in the North of Europe, mostly in what is today Finland, Estonia and northern Russia. They are a more recent invention than sheet techniques, with the earliest archeological finds from around 1200AD. Virsut, shoes made from birch bark, are only mentioned in texts and found at around 1500AD, which was surprising to me as I thought they would be a much older thing. Of course objects made from organic materials often fall apart before they can be found by archeologists and also here it is believed that at least the general weaving techniques themselves could have been used already in prehistoric times, but there’s just no evidence left.

As for the trees, it seems all species of birches can be stripped and this does not kill the tree, as only the top layer of bark is removed and not the area that actually transports water and nutrients. It does of course still damage the tree somewhat. That damage will be less depending on how well one knows what one is doing and also depending on the time of year - in Finnish climate, bark supposedly comes off the easiest around midsummer.

If you want to know more (and speak Finnish), the book Ylimuistoinen Tuohi by Sirkka-Liisa Ranta has lots of information.
I don’t think it has been translated though and have not found nearly as extensive a resource in English. If you want you can ask me things in the comments and I will try to answer to the best of my abilities 😀
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1 - birches on a lake shore at midsummer
2-4 from the "Ylimuistoinen Tuohi" book
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#tuohi #birchbark #ancienttechniques #traditionaltechniques #traditionalcraft #oldcraft #finnishcraft #oldculture #crafthistory #naturalmaterial

About a week ago the 7th International Biennial of

About a week ago the 7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art, METALLOphone 2024 - Don’t Tell Me A Story, opened in Vilnius and judging by the pictures I've been sent (thank you so much @reading_jewellery) it looks like an amazing, diverse exhibition. I didn't attend the opening since it would have meant either flying or sitting in a bus for 16 hours just for that but I almost regret it now 😅 I'm also happy that so many pieces of my Daily Bread series could be included, it gives a more complete impression.

Photo credit: Gintarė Grigėnaitė
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#contemporaryjewelry #contemporarymetal #metalart #jewelryart #biennial #metallophone #vilnius #lithuaniannationalmuseumofart #openingnight #contemporaryjewelryexhibition

Little bit of a 'throw back Thursday' to the start

Little bit of a 'throw back Thursday' to the start of this month, when the "After the End" exhibition in Vienna at gallery Stoss im Himmel @atelier.stossimhimmel ended. (Where has October gone anyway??)
The exhibition presented works that explore the apocalypse and possible futures after it, giving inspiration for change.
I'm always happy to work with NOD @notonlydecoration <3 and thank you for the pictures!
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#jewelryartexhibition #contemporaryjewelry #burnedwood #consumerism #consumeristcritique #aftertheend #notonlydecoration

I am very happy to be part of the 7th Internationa

I am very happy to be part of the 7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art! The exhibition, themed "Don't tell me a story", will open at the end of this month at the Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius, Lithuania, and last until the end of February next year.
From myself there will be a whole array of my little bread basket brooches and then sooooooo many other jewelry and metal artists <3

In the words of the organizers:
"Don't tell me stories - sounds paradoxical — aren’t we encouraged to create and tell stories at every opportunity? Aren’t we saying that there is a story behind every object or phenomenon? But at the same time, don’t we feel an influx of stories, or rather a flood of stories? Words are needed when they add value, when they reveal, name, shape. But when words flood in like a tsunami, there is a real danger of drowning.[...]"
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£contemporaryjewelry #contemporarymetal #metalart #jewelryart #biennial #metallophone

I’m super excited to be learning so many new thi

I’m super excited to be learning so many new things right now. And especially, looking at several techniques at the same time, to realise the commonality between them. How birch bark techniques are simple weaving, how making lace is just complicated braiding, how nålbinding is net making… The basic motions of twining, looping and interlacing - a way of classifying textile and baskets I mentioned before and first encountered in Mary Schoeser’s book World Textiles - are underlying everything, everywhere. I love to see these connections, how these very simple principles have been applied to open up into an unbelievable wealth of different techniques to enable the making of a myriad different objects.

And it makes me sad that so few people nowadays (at least in the industrialised world) use them to create items for everyday use themselves (or to mend and repair things, for that matter) . Because of course everything has to be quick and convenient, to be bought on the fly more or less cheaply and used and discarded. When we are supposed to spend all our time working for some weird goal of… more money I guess? - for most there is hardly any time and energy left to make simple things for everyday use by ourselves, even if we were interested to do so. To feel the quiet joy of seeing something appear and grow in your hands.

Well, that quickly took a turn into an anti-capitalist lament.
But I feel there is a resurgence for simple and true things happening. And maybe at some point more and more of us will decide that what we want to live for (and the world to look like), might be something else than the overarching market system tries to make us believe.
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The video is of a larger wall piece in progress, utilizing diagonal plaiting originally used for working with birch bark, here of course used with fused plastic bags.
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#musings #madefromwhat #plasticbags #oldtechniques #ancienttechniques #reinventingthepast #activistart #lowwaste #upcycling #contemporarycraft #nalebinding #neulakinnastekniikka #workinprogress

Last year I forgot about it, but today I remembere

Last year I forgot about it, but today I remembered! Happy Korun Päivä - Day of Jewelry 2024 everybody! (launched in 2013 by the Finnish Jewelry Art Association)
Here a glimpse of the first result of my foray into using old birch bark plaiting techniques with plastic bags. The piece doesn't have a name yet but there will be more info about it at some later point.
Today also apparently is World Mental Health Day and as, at least for me, doing work with my hands - never mind if it's a piece of jewelry art or handicrafts - definitely help calm me when I am anxious, I do see a small connection there - Therefore, let's celebrate the importance of speaking about mental health as well!
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#korunpäivä #jewelryday #selfportrait #jewelryart #contemporaryjewelry #contemporarycraft #worldmentalhealthday #tuohityöt #suorapunonta #plaiting #madefromwhat #plasticbags

Yesterday evening the Minun Maailmani II - My Worl

Yesterday evening the Minun Maailmani II - My World II exhibition opened in the Finnish museum of Horology and Jewelery Kruunu!
It will last until the 27th of April next year and can be visited at Ahertajantie 3 in Espoo. It’s opened Tue 12-17, Wed-Fri 11-17, Sat-Sun 10-17

The exhibition showcases the stories of 16 highly educated immigrant women and their experiences in Finland, focusing on themes of equality, inclusion and equity. Each story teller was paired with a professional jewelry maker to create a piece based on those stories. It was wonderful to finally have all the pieces live together and also see most of the story tellers and makers (and also meet “my” story teller there once again <3).

I especially encourage everyone to take the time and read the complete versions of the texts through the Reveel museum guide that you can access from the QR in the exhibition. I’ll see if I can also add a link to my stories/highlights at some point, as I think there are some really important things there that people that do not have an immigrant experience themselves should know about.

All the working pairs in the exhibition:
Fardoos Helal ja Ritva Kara
Kristiina Tiimus ja Jenna Puntala
Katrin X ja Jenny Puputti
Lauren Stevens ja Marika Tiukkanen
Megha Goswami ja Ilona Treiman
Farnaz Farahdel
ja Mari Syren
Allison Abdile ja Eero Lintusaari
Cleide Tommila ja Inni Pärnänen
Khageshwori Bohara ja Wiebke Pandikow
Ana Boaghe ja Marja Arola
Bahar Mozaffari ja Susana Corneh
Rozabela Signh ja Erja Levikari
Bo Ram Jung ja Elli Hukka
Caroline Karanja ja Eeva Väänänen
Ita Petrika-Lindroos ja Kaisa Vuorinen
Dora Puhakka ja Nelli Tanner

I tagged the people I know the account of, please let me know if you find yourself and your account hasn’t been added!!
@_nelli_tanner_ @eeva.vaan @ellihukka @inniparnanen @lintuee @marisyrendesign @karanbadesign @marikatiukkanen @kaisavuorinenn
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@kellojakorumuseokruunu @Väestöliitto
#korutaide #korutaidenayttely #kellojakorumuseo #minunmaailmani #minunmaailmani #museokortti #yhdenvertaisuus #womento #internationaltalent #mentorointi #DEI #maahanmuutto

FINALLY some more about the craft research I’ve

FINALLY some more about the craft research I’ve been working on for the last months, as I promised already aahh… 4 months ago 🤣

Let me start before I started, as it were:
Even before getting into the actual research I had begun creating a general list of different kinds of techniques that have been used in Finland traditionally for a long time and are based on semi-soft or soft materials, which would make them usable for me with plastic bags. Going through books, museums and of course the internet I came up with a list of around 15 techniques that fit my objectives best, most of them with several subtechniques (for example, under weaving I grouped rag rugs, different band weaving, different kinds of tapestries and so on) That was of course waaaaaaay too many to even attempt to research, learn and adapt in half a year (which is the time I got funding for). So I started out May with cutting down the list to the techniques I mentioned in the earlier post already: birch bark weaving/plaiting (tuohin suora- ja vinopunonta in Finnish), bobbin lace (pitsinnypläys) and nålbinding (neulakinnastekniikka). I also kind of added spinning at some point, because I realised it was an important base for other techniques but I am unsure yet if it warrants its own separate series of works in the end, we will see.

How I decided what to use in the end was mostly on what felt the most feasible and in some cases (like types of weaving) I decided against a group of techniques because there was just too much information for me to use in the amount of time I have (but something to definitely come back to!)
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As illustration, have a few pictures of some nice artefacts from the Finnish National museum @kansallismuseo (except the snowshoe, I don’t remember where that’s from) and a glimpse of my file with the list of techniques
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Thank you Taike (@taikegram) for supporting my work
#contemporarycraft #finnishcrafts #finnish #birchbark #tuohi #plasticbags #madefromwhat #craftresearch #adaptingcraft #research #kansallismuseo #oldcrafts

Here some background information on my now Enjoia'

Here some background information on my now Enjoia't awarded (🥰) piece "Bread Basket 5 biodegradable"!

When applying to be considered for the award that included making a presentational video about the piece. I was reluctant to post it publicly at first as it was just meant for the jury originally. But now I think it might be interesting for others as well, to show the work that went into that. Edited a little for clarity!
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@afad_associacio
#contemporaryjewelry #jewelryart #PlasticJewels #madefromwhat #plasticbags #biodegradable #AnthropoceneArtifacts #ContemporaryBasketry #WearableArt
#contemporaryjewelryexhibition #awardwinner #enjoiat2024 #background #makingofvideo

I spent a night in the woods and was very tired ge

I spent a night in the woods and was very tired getting back, so it was a great surprise indeed to finally open Instagram again this morning and get these amazing news! My work has been honoured with this year’s Enjoia’t Contemporary Jewelry Award! 🤩
Thank you to the jury and Association of Artists and Artisans @afad_associacio !

“Professional category: “Bread Basket 5 Biodegradable” by Wiebke Pandikow.
What does the jury say?

The sensibility to transform a biodegradable plastic bag into a piece of art jewellery shows the compromise and the ability of Wiebke to interpret the theme. The soft texture of the piece gives the impression of a thread and the volume resembles a bread basket, a comfort and quotidian element that reminds us the importance of small things in life.”

As accompaniment, see just the first seconds of my presentational video about the piece, which was made for the jury as part of the application 😁
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#contemporaryjewelry #jewelryart #PlasticJewels #madefromwhat #plasticbags #biodegradable #AnthropoceneArtifacts #ContemporaryBasketry #WearableArt
#contemporaryjewelryexhibition #awardwinner #enjoia't2024

I am very happy to be part of @notonlydecoration ‘s upcoming exhibition in Vienna opening on the 26th:
After the End - Visions of Tomorrow at the @atelier.stossimhimmel

“The exhibition presents works which explore a future after the apocalypse, stimulate discussion and give inspiration for change.”

Three of my Cinder brooches made from burned wood and plastic bags are part of the exhibition 🖤

Posterdesign by @veresa_eybl
#NOD #NotOnlyDecoration #AtelierStossImHimmel #TheApocalypseAndFutureMashUpEdition #madefromwhat #palsticbags #forestloss #burnedwood #contemporaryjewelry #activistart

Bread Basket 5 biodegradable brooch, 2024 plastic

Bread Basket 5 biodegradable
brooch, 2024
plastic bags labelled biodegradable, mechanism stainless steel

“The Enjoia’t International Contemporary Jewellery Awards reach their 28th edition to present the best pieces of artistic jewellery worldwide. This year’s jury, [...] has chosen a total of 29 pieces that are eligible for the various awards given this year. [...]
This award recognises the proposal that questions and transgress the limits of contemporary jewellery through its originality, technical quality and the conceptual richness. The 2024 Enjoia’t awards put the focus on sustainability, traceability, and the resignification of materials in contemporary jewellery.”

So it says on the Enjoia’t webpage and I am very happy indeed to be included in the selection, the exhibition of which will open next week on the 19th at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona 🤩
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All artists: Antonia Barra, Victoria Belert Gimeno, Ana Cardim, Macarena Cianciarulo, Elvira Cibotti, Denis Music, Chiyang Duan, Laura Egea, Javier Ens, Eva Fernandez Martos, Lola Giuffré, Hiyu Hamasaki, Yiwei Huang, Juan José Ibáñez Piqueras, Sonia Jurado, Ji Young Kim, Jung Ki Min, Makila Nsika, Taibe Palacios, Wiebke Pandikow, Helena Pons Sans, Ahlam Qaissi, Liu Qiwei, Nora Sarlak, Mengying Sun, Yumeng Wu, Ruiya Xu, Xuan Xu, Dahin Yoo, Yuki Yoshioka
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@afad_associacio @dissenyhub
#contemporaryjewelry #jewelryart #PlasticJewels #madefromwhat #plasticbags #biodegradable #AnthropoceneArtifacts #ContemporaryBasketry #WearableArt
#contemporaryjewelryexhibition

At the start of this year I was able to join a pro

At the start of this year I was able to join a project by the Watch and Jewelry museum Kruunu in Espoo for an exhibition that will open in October. It’s called Minun Maailmani II (My World II) and is a continuation of a series of projects with which the museum wants to show the realities of different minorities in Finland through jewelry art. In this case it meant that a group of jewelry artists was connected with a group of highly educated immigrant women in Finland, to meet them and get to know them, hear about their experiences coming to this country and then create a piece of jewelry/art to somehow reflect these experiences.

Through this project, in spring I was able to meet and get to know a very focused, intelligent young woman from Nepal who had come to Finland not so long ago, and despite high-level education, experience and a continuously developing knowledge of the Finnish language was unable to find work. Writing hundreds of applications in a very short amount of time and not getting any response really decimated her confidence in what she knew she could do. Her tenacity did pay off in the end and she finally got a Yes as an answer, but it was with employment not at a level with her actual area of expertise. There are signs that this will change though, and she builds her future trying to connect two parts of her life that are not easy to connect - something I can at least understand a little, as I am also an immigrant to Finland, though from a much closer and thus easier to manage cultural sphere.
Over the next week I will be posting in my stories pictures about my process in making a piece to visualise her story!
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@kellojakorumuseokruunu
#minunmaailmaniII #immigration #immigrationstories #workinprogress #madefromwhat #contemporarybasketry #contemporaryjewelry #plasticbags #reuse #lowwasteart

I'm back from spending some wonderful holidays in

I'm back from spending some wonderful holidays in Scotland so I probably should start posting something here again 🙈 Conveniently, I realized I actually finished a piece at the end of July that I haven't shown of yet so here you go! Bread Basket Nr. 8. As always, made from plastic bread bags and stainless steel for the mechanism.
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#madefromwhat #plasticbags #upcyclingplastic #Plasticbasketry #ChooseToReuse #LowWasteArtist #breadbags #coiling #coiledbasketry #jewelryart #contemporaryjewelry #ContemporaryCraft

One more land art piece I did last week before I’m off on holidays for three weeks 🤩

Virta (käpyjoki) / Stream (pinecone river)
Spruce cones on forest floor
About 20-25m long
Kaunissaari, July 2024
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@oldforestechoes #landart #forestart #pinecones #river #flowing #arrangement #everythingflows #kaunissaari #moss #billberry #wildart #forestfloor #sprucecones

One more land art piece I did last week before I’m off on holidays for three weeks 🤩

Virta (käpyjoki) / Flow (pinecone river)
Spruce cones on forest floor
About 20-25m long
Kaunissaari, July 2024
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#landart #forestart #pinecones #river #flowing #arrangement #everythingflows #kaunissaari #moss #billberry #wildart #forestfloor #sprucecones

"Traces" I also just did some more meditative weav

"Traces"
I also just did some more meditative weaving of random shapes in a biiiig patch of that lovely fluffy grass.
So once again flows and patterns and connections, celebrating how strong a fibre becomes when interwoven into bigger strands (in ‘21 I used the same technique and the resulting piece was much more resilient to the elements than I thought it would be)
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@projectlandjewelry @oldforestechoes #landart #landjewelry #projectlandjewelry #materialsflowing #naturalart #lowwasteart #grass #wovengrass #knottedgrass #bloominggrass #humantraces #patternsingrass

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