Järvi - Lake, lace paintings and weavings with natural materials

I grew up with my mother who was a nurse and we lived in a rural home for elderly people in a villge called Ridasjärvi. My mother was an avid crochet maker and she taught the skill to me too. Crocheted materials and laces were everywhere in our home; curtains, pillow covers, blankets and clothes.

While growing up I had my own mythological world, the World of Silence, where I was a wood sprite and in the world there were numerous other spirits, Äiti Maa, Mother Earth and forests and lakes. I had a very spiritual relationship with nature and a strong feeling its holy quality. Today the World of Silence is a part of my spirituality as a grown woman. Now it also includes orthodox Christianity. I live in Heinola, in an orthodox Juliana community. For me God is a lake and I live and move in its warm waters. This inner lake is also the source of my works.

This exhibition presents lace paintings and weavings with natural materials that pay homage to the lakes and the natural world. The works describe the life in lakes in different seasons. My relationship with lakes and nature is mystical. Crocheting connects me to the women in my family and is for me one of every day rituals in a woman's life.

My works are activism though crafts, craftivism. I bring the crafts that used to be considered womens' private chores into the realm of art. My works are a comment on the loss of ecosystems, pollution and climate change and in them I present my views through orthodox christianity.

Work above Henna Paasonen: Järvi, järvenselkä

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