Lokal: Tell us a little about yourself and your work.

Henna Nuutinen: “I am an artist-designer living and working in Lahti, Finland. I’m originally from Nurmes, in North Karelia. I graduated with a Master of Arts from Aalto University in 2021 and with a design degree from South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences in 2017. My main focus is on abstract ceramic sculptures, and I especially enjoy working on large-scale pieces. Lately, I’ve been increasingly drawn to wood firing in ceramics and the element of unpredictability it brings.”

L: How did your journey in ceramics begin? 

H.N.: “I first started working with ceramics in a community college course while I was still studying design in Kouvola. I had occasionally dreamed of trying ceramics, but it wasn’t until I was on an exchange in Portugal—surrounded by ceramics everywhere—that I felt an urgent need to get involved with it. From there, I signed up for a course that would start when I returned to Finland. Since my school had facilities for working with ceramics, I was able to spend my evenings exploring the material beyond the course—and I was hooked right away. At first, I mainly focused on learning how to throw functional pottery on the wheel. During my master’s studies, I began to find my place in ceramic art, with a pivotal moment being my exchange studies in ceramic art in Sweden. In my thesis, I explored my own artistic path and created a series of ceramic sculptures. Coming from a background in furniture design, it took me a while to embrace the idea that I could create something that didn’t serve a functional purpose beyond its aesthetics.”

L: How do you approach your work? 

H.N.: “I build my sculptures using the traditional coiling technique with very thin walls, making the process particularly slow. Each layer needs to dry slightly before I can add another coil, so it can support the weight of the next one. This slow construction method results in lightweight sculptures with carefully considered forms. Sketches inspire me to discover new shapes and can serve as a starting point for a piece, but often, the clay itself suggests a direction, and I let it guide me. As a result, the final form often emerges intuitively and can even surprise me.”

L: Do you have sources of inspiration that have stayed with you over the years?

H.N.: “Where these shapes originally come from remains a mystery even to me. I grew up in the countryside, and my strongest theory is that nature, which has always been close to me, is my biggest source of inspiration. I believe that through art, we can express something deep within us—something we may not even consciously recognize yet. But at the same time, inspiration can spark from anything: shadows, movement, stones shaped by water, cliffs, dark forests… Still, more often than not, it seems to come from nature.”

Shop: Henna Nuutinen’s Works

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