Leena Juvonen
- Ceramic Art
- Ceramics
- Artist
- Designer
- Teacher
- Uusimaa
Huoku
- Competent
I often work with natural themes and look at the changes in the circle of natural life. I express them in the slowly progressing phenomenon such as stone erosion through water and wind or the growth of moss on rock surface. Perceptions of the changing climate are often in my thoughts and I try and view the nature as a force which has its own laws: human is a part of that environment and leaves permanent prints everywhere.
In the past ten years I have used wood-firing kiln to fire my sculptures. The recent work resembles pieces of bedrock, round stones with indentations made by ash. Working with wood-firing kiln is a time consuming process which has a significant effect on the end result. The inspiration for these pieces are ancient stones, which have a strong connection to the views and surroundings from my childhood and the collective memory of my family. The melting ash forms textures on the objects.
Experience
Work experience
Education
Works
2019
Size: 45 x 45 x 23 [cm]The sculpture depicts the inner turning point of a person.
The sculpture depicts the inner turning point of a person, where the slow fall has polished away the sharp corners. Piece by piece, the edges have become round, which allows for free movement. The sculpture reflects patient perseverance, the end result of which is a rolling stone turning lightly.
2021
Size: 65 x 70 x 12 [cm] Through shared experiences, relationships become direct and balanced.
In the piece, I want to describe how time is a continuous wave motion. What is important to achieve by fighting when you are younger changes its meaning over time and is compensated as reciprocity. Through shared experiences, relationships become direct and balanced.
2021
Size: 28 x 28 x 11 [cm]The work describes trust in healing touch.
I hope that my work arouses curiosity in the viewer. The image looks like a hazy landscape, but it is also a cropped detail of the sole of a person’s foot and the fingers pressing on the heel with two hands. The heel is a mythical image of vulnerability, but all parts of the body and nerve endings are also reflected in the sole of the foot. The work describes trust in healing touch.
2019
35 x 45 x 23 [cm]The work describes stability and the permanent values of life.
In the work, I wanted to describe stability and the permanent values of life. Red granite is the basic Finnish bedrock. It is tough and durable, regardless of the conditions. The red color is achieved when a kiln cools down, when oxygen is not allowed into the kiln, but it is burned off with a small flame. Finally, the reduced iron particles in the clay body comes to the surface and re-oxidizes to red when the loading cools down.
2020
Size: 52 x 52 x 7 [cm]The work is about consideration and overcoming fear in the face of the unknown.
I got the inspiration for the piece from a dream where I was standing on the edge of a steep cliff bordered by sparkling deep water below. I looked at the gap opening and decided to jump. I backed up to pick up speed, but at the edge, an unimaginable fear made me stop. I was left spinning in my place and felt how my bare toes drew circles in the sand. The work is about consideration and overcoming fear in the face of the unknown.
2019
Size: 30 x 30 x 15 [cm]The trace of my wood-firing kiln is sometimes like the deposits of slowly growing lichen.
The trace of my wood-firing kiln is sometimes like the deposits of slowly growing moss or lichen on the surface of the stone. When this work came out of the hottest part of the kiln, it was arresting with its jagged beauty. Buried in the embers of the hearth, on the surface of the object, the ash had melted into glass.