Ari Mäkinen

I am a self-taught artist who has been handling a carving knife since the age of five. I lived in Finnish Lapland from the age of five until I was twenty, and during that time, nature became an integral part of my identity. Even before starting school, I loved being in the forest and enjoying its diverse beauty. In this way, nature and wood became deeply ingrained in me—or perhaps I became deeply a part of nature. Wood has always been a material I love for its natural qualities and the feeling it evokes. My artistic work with Finnish wood evolved gradually; today, it is so essential to me that I sometimes feel physical distress if I cannot hold a piece of wood in one hand and a knife in the other. I hope you will join me on a journey to discover the beautiful things the forest and the wood have to offer.