Jenni Tuominen: I like forms that look a bit lumpy
“Having fun is important no matter what you do. Nobody wants to go through life knit-browed. It’s lovely that I have been able to channel good spirits into a ‘lump’ that can make others happy, too.”
“I had done many types of design and illustration when, in 2011, I wanted to try something new in addition to drawing, painting and paper cutting. So I enrolled in a ceramics class at the community college in Porvoo. They taught me the secret of pottery. I assumed a laid-back attitude since the very beginning: I put my hands in clay and saw what came. At times, a surrogate teacher will say I’m not supposed to put my items in the kiln because they may break. Luckily that haven’t happened very often.
Modeling clay is extremely relaxing. I enter another world and only focus on what I’m doing. Nowadays I do ceramics at my own studio, too, but I’m also attending the class. I enjoy the relaxed, positive atmosphere there.
During primary and secondary school I was most interested in arts and crafts, no other subjects. After my basic education, I went to Mynämäki to become a metal artisan and later to Halikko to study textile design before entering the Turku School of Fine Arts.
In Turku, I fell in love with screen printing. I worked day and night in the school studio; it was a passionate endeavour. I had an enormous urge to create. After Turku, I applied to the Helsinki's Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. I was accepted to both, but I chose art and design because at that point, I was more interested in design.
There I was inspired to draw, which hadn’t interested me before. On the illustration course, we toured all over Helsinki with our individual sketch books. When Marimekko launched its “Design, meet user!” competition in 2005, I insisted to participate. I made sketches, browsed animal books and spent evenings on my living room sofa. My stream of consciousness turned into a print, Unessa (“Asleep”), that won the competition.
I still often sketch in the evening while watching a TV series. Hercule Poirot is my all-time favourite. Its visual world, characters and sense of humour all relate to me. I need background noise while working, and radio is not enough for me. I love being able to look up and see Hercule solving a crime on screen.
In the beginning, I used brownish clay like everyone else on the course. I immediately chose to model animals. I like to make appealing feel-good characters, and I like forms that look a bit lumpy. I am inspired by the courage of small children to create.
I don’t design my ceramic sculptures in detail, I just start modeling. Usually it’s a girl, a pony or some other animal. I’ve molded lush characters, some of which may be self-portrayals. Some time ago I tried the coiling technique by rolling some “worms”. My mother looked at one of my works and said it looks like “a Madame”. The Madame was so large and heavy that it collapsed in the oven and got a hump on its back.
Currently I use white china clay. At first, I tried to create the same colour palette in my ceramic works as I did with my prints, but the colours just didn’t turn out right. I simplified the palette and focused on the form. Suddenly black, gray and white became the best combination.
It has been fun to note how much people like my ceramics. Swiss luxury store Globus saw my work on Instagram and at the Samuji store. They asked me to design a collection for their selection. My ceramics were featured in an exhibition in Japan in the summer of 2017. It’s lovely that I have been able to channel my good spirits into a lump that can make others happy, too.
I’m glad to engage in many different things. Recently I wrote and illustrated a children’s book called Jengi (“The Gang”) that will be published by Etana Editions in the autumn of 2017. The story started to form itself from paper cuttings with which I’ve always puttered. For some reason, I can draw better with scissors than a pen. The only tools I need are old barber’s scissors and some glue. I have a large folder full of coloured paper and stickers that I’ve bought while traveling outside Finland and visiting old stationery shops.
My interest in different techniques and materials never ceases. I want to try them and strive to develop as a maker. Last year I joined a sewing class because I wanted to learn a new skill. Learning new broadens the world and generates ideas for the future.
Having fun is important no matter what you do. Nobody wants to go through life knit-browed.”
Jenni Tuominen
Born in 1976 in Landskrona, Sweden. Studied e.g. at the Turku School of Fine Arts and the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Winner of Marimekko’s “Design, meet user!” competition in 2006 and designer of various Marimekko prints.
Ceramic art featured in Japan and the Samuji store of New York. Children’s book Jengi (“The Gang,” by Etana Editions) to be published in autumn 2017.
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