Anni Honkajuuri

Have you ever pondered how your way of thinking has evolved? How do you process your thoughts? Do you notice if your thoughts are in a bubble, do you let slip frogs from your mouth, and can your thoughts soar? How does all this really happen? How have your thoughts been constructed: layer upon layer of knowledge, perhaps interleaved and intertwined, possibly fragmented?

Currently, my goal is to make the structures of thought visible, clothed in three-dimensional form. While creating three-dimensional structures, I find myself examining my own way of thinking as well as my way of learning. I am a ceramist, and that’s why I currently use linen paper porcelain as my material. I have been working with linen paper porcelain for several years now, but over the past year, I have found an entirely new way to use porcelain clay. There have been various experiments along the way. My works are built from small translucent pieces of linen paper porcelain. I feel that my works are architectural sculptures that narrate the growth, construction, and expansion of thought, as well as the difficulty of thinking.

Influencing people’s ways of thinking is also key to societal influence.
In addition to ceramics, I am an art educator and I want to share what I have learned. Teaching is part of me, and I feel I am at my best when I can do my artistic work, learn something new, and share this with my students while exploring it with them. Through my own artistic work, I understand how my students can impact the world through their own artworks.

I am Anni Honkajuuri, an art educator (MA) and designer (BA). I am a native of Hämeenlinna. In my job at the Aimo Visual Arts School for children and young people in Hämeenlinna, I strive to provide my students with positive holistic experiences in art. I want to emphasize that we have many senses through which to experience life, not just sight but also touch, feeling, hearing, and smell. One of the most important things is to teach them to think in the language of art. My belief is that art education provides valuable tools for life, even if one’s path as an artist may not unfold through it.

I am a familiar face in the education sector as well as in other cultural venues in Hämeenlinna, such as collaborating with the Art Museum; I worked at the “ArtBarrack”s for 11 years, and I am a member of the Hämeenlinna Artists’ Association, Artists O, and of course Ornamo.
My ceramic work is a serious endeavor; I actively participate in group exhibitions, I have worked in a ceramic studio in England, went on ceramic trips in Asia, and organized ceramic events, especially in Häme.