Elm wood turned object, made in Korpilahti
elm wood turned object, eggshells, pencil, Various Artists, 2016
Korpilahti
On the shore of Lake Päijänne we encounter the Höyry Galleria, owned for the past six years by Ulla Huttusen and Arto Salmisen, two artisans, the former an enameller, the latter a woodturner. The gallery, housed in a former steam-powered sawmill, comprises two exhibition spaces, one outside, mainly used during summertime, and another above the gallery shop. The space is well known in the lake district, presenting work from an array of artists the owners connect with through a large network of artists and artisans. Even during wintertime, quite some visitors find their way to the gallery on the road from Tampere to Jyväskylä.
We are intrigued by the wooden objects made by Ulla's husband displayed in the shop. She calls Arto and, when we promise we won’t mind the mess, arranges a visit to their studios for us.
Both Ulla and Arto love to work on their own and are happy to live in the countryside, away from the city. Arto grew up in Jyväskylä, but moved to Korpilahti 25 years ago. He and Ulla, who is from Iisalmi in the north-east, found this old, remote school building from the 1930s for sale. The school closed at the end of the 1960s, when a lot of institutions were centralized. Later, the building housed Ufox, the legendary manufacturer of humidifiers for the home. Although the house is not easy to warm (on cold winter days, four wood burners need to be fed constantly), the spacious rooms it offers are ideal for Ulla's enamel studio and as a storage space for Arto's work. But his workshop, where he keeps a collection of various woods and some specialized lathes, is located in a shed outside. Arto is self-taught and mostly works with wood he gets from people from the neighbouring villages who call him when a tree needs to be cut down. For some reason he currently has lots of oak, one of the rare species in the area.
Various Artists acquired two unfinished woodturned objects, one elm, the other maple.
- seuropa.ike (an elm wood turned object, made in Korpilahti)
- seuropa.ik.re worked by innumerat
- seuropa.ik.re worked by Martaque