Bumblebee Bear - Whimsical ...
Crumplings Workshop£78.00
£78.00
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I make whimsical sculptures and art dolls out of paper mache, textiles and fibres, clays, pressed plants, and found materials. My artworks tend to combine mundane and fantastical concepts in a playful and humorous manner. Some of my pieces involve moving parts as well, which work through hand-turned cranks – I love how even a simple mechanism for movement can add so much soul to a sculpture, and transform it into a little world of its own.
Paper mache has been my primary technique since I started sculpting in the early 2010's. Throughout the years, I've used crumpled newspapers and wheat paste to build everything from the tiniest miniature worlds to three-meter long giraffes and life-sized animals released in urban environments (some of which may have been entirely uncommissioned, so don't tell anyone it was me). Before moving to the UK, I lived in Finland where I studied art in Savonlinna Senior Secondary School of Arts, then biology at Helsinki Uni. My non-art career eventually landed me in London, where I met my husband and recently set up a workshop in our spare bedroom in order to focus more on sculpting in my free time once again.
When I'm not working on my little guys – as my husband calls them – we spend time hiking in the countryside with our fluffy dog Crumpet (no relation... though I am sure he would adopt any crumplings handed to him). I also do distance running and occasionally go surfing in Cornwall, and through the winter you can catch me swimming in the frosty ponds of Hampstead Heath. I believe life is best lived through tangible projects and activities that connect us to our environment and shape the material world around us for the better – be it challenging outdoorsy adventures, crafting beautiful artworks by hand, or just baking a comforting apple pie on a chilly day. I like to think of humans as pairs of hands and feet first and foremost, not just our abstract thoughts and the verbal noise in our heads we so easily identify with.
Reviewed by Carol
Simply charming! A photo cannot do justice to the exquisite crafting of this adorable autumn gremlin -- the structural whorls inside her ears, the tiny red straw in her pumpkin spice latte, the chunky scrunched socks over her spiffy striped tights -- I could go on! Suffice it to say that Anni is enormously imaginative and talented, and her art is full of heart. I can't wait to see what she creates next!
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