I`m a silver smith and a sculptoress, since 1969 titled as a free-lance artist. These sites, with some examples, will give you an overall idea about my works of art during the last decades. I started my career by making hand made silver jewellery using the ancient repoussage and chasing techniques. This jewellery has been displayed in many group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad ( in more than 30 countries)

I have always been very interested in sculpture. In the early 80`s, after my studies at Taideteollisuusopisto (University of Industrial Arts ), Helsinki. I was planning to continue my studies at Taideakatemia ( Academy of Fine Arts,Helsinki). However, the silver jewellery I had created aroused great interest among the public and the independent way of working in my own workshop fascinated me too much to change to do something else.

In the late 70`s I started to experiment by making big metal reliefs. After experimenting many kinds of techniques I ended up to repoussage technique in copper reliefs, too. In this relatively seldom used technique it`s essential that the metal is soft and elastic (gold, silver and copper) and that it`s molded into a thin sheet shape (0,4-0,6mm). The sheet in then attached to a special chasing pitch which operates as a flexible ground while the figures are pressed into the sheet by using different kinds of metal punches and a hammer.

After this the sheet is removed for burning out the pitch stuck on it and for labouring the other side of the sheet. With this kind of technique you can create very meticulous figures into the surface of the metal. The bigger embossments and the overall shape of the relief are produced after the surface figuring. The last stage of the work consists of the cleaning of the metal and the colouring (patination).

In addition to the methods known in sculpture patination I have developed my own copper patination methods. The theme of the relief is often connected with nature or feeling, e.g. rain,freezing,sand on the beach,plants etc. During the whole of the 80`s I also produced reliefs using other techniques than repoussage. I "found" the painted metal works of art when I bought a sheet metal roof of a dismountable house! It already had a basic colouring and it was a lovely surface to be added with more colours.

When making Christmas cards I got the idea of paper jewellery in 1985. I had an exhibition of my paper jewellery in Helsinki in 1986. Later on they have been displayed in many different group art exhibitions. I had slides taken of my paper jewellery with me when I worked in Cite des Arts in Paris in 1987. At the same time there was the First Jewellery Triennale at Hotel de Sens in Paris. I introduced my slides to the chief organizer of the triennale and I was invited to the following triennale which took place in Palais Luxembourg in 1990.

For this exhibition I produced copper jewellery made by repoussage technique. A piece of art of this collection was accepted to the collection of Musee des Arts Decoratif in May 1998. The museum is located in Palais du Louvre in Paris.

My largest own exhibition in Finland so far took place in the Finnish Glass Museum in Riihimäki in 1992. The space of the exhibition consisted of 400 squaremetres, the height of the space was 6 metres. Only my big works of art could be disposed there because of the huge amount of room around. The copper sheet is produced in 100x200 cm sheets. I chased them and made works of art consisting of 2-3 parts which had their whole sheets side by side or one on another. The exhibition included copper statues and a retrospective pavilion of my works of jewellery. This exhibition was valued on professional levels and I received a State Prize in 1992. Building up the above mentioned exhibition was very challenging both physically and mentally. After all this I found myself producing light colourful paper statues wrapped around iron strings.It was exhilarating to make abstract statues "standing on their own feet" and to experiment the qualities of paper.

At the moment I`m back with copper. It`s my material. I´m working with 0,2 mm thick copper sheet. I cut tens of pieces of the sameshaped size I then bend into profiles and solder to each other. With this technique I greate statues which in their own symbolic ways resemble real figures in nature: cones, beans, seeds etc. They have connections to creatures living in The sea, too. With my works of art Iwant to emphasize The variety of nature and its protection.

1998