From Three Bags To Three Idols

Here are my newest folk bags, all custom orders. The fabrics I have used in these bags are my own designs and create an illusion of continuous knitted fabric. I think of my bags as collage, combining different elements in uniform way.

I would love to add more artistic elements to my bags, like wild paintings. I often think my work is too controlled, too designed. I admire the look of relaxed illustrations, especially lively drawings. It is like I have walked a long way to be able to create something detailed and then, I just wish I could go back to the child's world where anything is possible and everything is relaxed and playful.

That's why I admire Miina Äkkijyrkkä so much. She is not only brilliant sculptor, but also outstanding illustrator who has designed fabrics for Marimekko. She, Anni Rapinoja and Sirkka Könönen are my three idols!

Why I Would Like To Be Purple

Here's a very special folk bag that I have made by custom order. It is meant for a spindle, that's why its longer than my regular bags.

I got the fabric with the order and I just fell in love with it. It was pure joy to make the matching crochet and knits. I love blue purples! They are very spiritual colors and there's nothing mundane in them. I wish I could be purple - well over everyday worries and petty thoughts!

Making this bag was color therapy for me. It makes me think how important it is to work with the colors that have some kind of personal meaning. What colours touch your soul?

Handmade Business Cards

As a participant of Discovering Y.O.U art marketing course I was encourage to try to make my own business card. I was a bit pessimistic first, but making these was so much fun!


It all started with the stamp I had ordered from Vistaprint.

The stamped text box is nothing artistic but the it hit me. I am going to paint and draw the image on the other side. I took an old sheet of blank business cards and started painting. As I also make textiles, especially knits, I wanted to have some of them in the card too. I took few balls of handdyed yarns and made some samples of them. What do you think about the result?

My art journal has got a couple of new pages. These are inspired by interior decoration and gardening magazines.

Colorful Illustrations and Gray Yarn

Here are more pages of my first art journal that I am making at Traci Bautista's Discovering Y.O.U. course. I am getting there: undestanding how fun and fascinating it is to have journal. I have always dreamed about having an extra room for library and now I dream also about the whole bookshelf with books that I have made myself.


I am also more and more into illustration. I have been listening Thomas James's podcast Escape from Illustration Island for some time. It is worth listening if you want to go deep with the professional illustration world. I quite like to find stuff way above my own skills, it really makes me practice more and more.


Here's a journal page with some illustration:
Few spreads of the journal:




Besides making journal, knitting and other regular crafts, I have been making yarn from the wool I got from my friend. I have carded the wool myself and now some of it has been spun to the yarn. Now so colorful than my journal pages but I think it is so cool to be able to make yarn from the wool collected from the area where I spent my childhood.




I want to finish with colors though. Here's a card that I made some time ago with stamps and markers. Stamps are great for creating illustrated feel too!

Dreaming Big and Art Journaling

I am currently attending Traci Bautista's e-course called "Discovering Y.O.U." It is about marketing your art and it includes exercises that are meant to put together into an art journal.

I am pretty organized person and just could not crab some odd pages in different sizes as it was suggested. Instead, I chose an old book from my book shelf, downloaded Altered Books Tutorial from PaperClipping.com (which happened to be for sale just at that time) and started converting the book to the journal.

The book became very overwhelming in patterns and all. But it's so me, so I think it's ok. The papers and decorations are all my designs.

Here's the front cover:

And here's the back cover:

If you haven't seen enough patterning yet, here's the inside back cover. I have to take a deep breath before opening it!

First pages:

The exercises require quite a lot of thinking. Like this one: creating your own artist mission statement.

While making this I am constantly meeting the person I am most familiar with: my inner critic. She can be very discouraging, to be honest. Compared to scrapbooking, art journaling goes much deeper, and I almost hate it! My inner critic wants everything be controlled, black and white, clear-shaped ... bla bla bla.

When she's off, I browse the wildly patterned papers I've made for the book, giggling! How serious art journaling should be - I don't know! I am a total beginner in it!