Finland: Artist creates sustainable art from birch bark
In a rustic hut in the forests of southern Finland, 87-year-old artist Erkki Pekkarinen carves delicate strips of birch bark with his knife before weaving them into beautiful objects.
Arts and crafts
"I started practicing at the age of 10. You could say that for 77 years I've been fiddling with birch bark," Erkki Pekkarinen told the news agency AFP. In his art gallery in Asikkala, countless objects are on display, made from nothing more than strips of birch bark woven together without glue or nails.
No limits to creativity
Properly processed, the cardboard-like, honey-colored bark of the black and white tree can be cut and bent without effort. While wood is generally regarded as a robust and inflexible material, Pekkarinen insists that with the right technique, birch bark can be used to make "anything you can imagine."
Jewelry, bags and ducks
The Finnish artist has made everything from detailed wooden jewelry and handbags to small toy ducks and backpacks.
From lumberjack to artist
His piece de resistance is a full suit, complete with a hat, briefcase and shoes. It creaks and rustles when he puts it on, but is surprisingly flexible as Pekkarinen walks around the hut filled with his wooden artworks. Born in the eastern Finnish town of Lieksa, the wood artist said his interest in bark dates back to his youth, when he worked as a lumberjack.
Remote gallery
Pekkarinen's workshop is located in Asikkala, a small municipality in southern Finland located around 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the city of Lahti in the south of the Finnish Lake District. Surrounded by forests, the exceptional artist doesn't have to travel far to procure his building materials.
Ancient tradition
Complete bark suits may have been rare in Scandinavia in the past, but the ancient tradition of using birch bark to make everyday objects goes back a long way. The origins of birch bark lie in the Stone Age, where it served a similar function to our modern-day plastic. Its uses ranged from boxes for berries to toys for children.
Birch bark shaped Finnish language
The material was once so valuable that it shaped the Finnish language — the expression "collecting bark" still means "earning money." From a supply of bark that he receives from friends and relatives, Pekkarinen crafts anything that comes to mind. "You can make anything your imagination will allow," he said.
A love for detail
Every single one of Pekkarinen's works of art — like these tiny shoes — shows how much heart and soul the Finnish artist puts into his work.