Kaija Savinainen Mountain

Almonte, ON, Canada

About Kaija Savinainen Mountain

Born Ikaalinen, Finland. Kaija is a professional working artist, tutor and teacher. She paints from Willow Creek Studio in the Ottawa Valley, Ontario, near the very picturesque and artistic community of Clayton, west of Ottawa, Canada's capital city."When people look at my work, they may just see horses...it's about so much more. One needs to look beyond the surface and understand that horses or other animals in nature, can be symbolic parallels to human lives. I often use the imagery of horses - imagery that I believe is accessible to most people - to illuminate and enrich our existence, to help viewers to focus on the underlying potential and dignity of our lives. The works are suggestive - they speak to viewers, who can then fill in the blanks' with there own echoes. Why horses? Their contrasts can say so much. Despite their strength and vitality, they have a vulnerable, graceful quality. They are wild and chaotic, yet can exude peace, calm and gentleness. Plain and heavy or exotic and delicate - they are as varied as humans. And through the subtlety of the gentleness, they give grace to life, providing us with aesthetic pleasure just by being. My work has an immediacy of vision that is reflected in its spontaneous, seemingly disordered or haphazard nature. Underlying the surface imagery, however, are formal elements and a sense of balance that is surprising. The order results from my vision of what I want to express.I like to think my work has an energy, and an exuberant quality, amplified by the fact I work in mixed media - watercolours, oil paintings, and pastels -entirely left-handedly. A decision to use the untrained hand, to attempt to tap into instinctive, subconscious, non-rational energies that supposedly emanate from the right brain has added another interesting dimension to my work. Kaija Willowcreek studio facebook

Education:

Bachelor of Education, University of Ottawa
Bachelors of Fine Arts, University of Lethbridge

Events:

Art in the Manor
December 5, 2018 - Feb 5, 2019

Fairview Manor Foyer,
75 Spring Street,
Almonte, Ontario

T H E T E N C O L L E C T I V E

A group of ten artists featuring
diverse backgrounds and styles of painting.
EXCLUSIVE TWO DAY SHOW | ALMONTE

2019 EXCLUSIVE TWO DAY SHOW | ALMONTE
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Sunday, April 7, 2019

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TEXTILE MUSEUM
A National Historic Site of Canada