My journey with fiber began around the age of 3 in Finland, and I received my first little table loom for Christmas when I was 4 years old. Our neighbor Vanskun Tati often invited me to join her daily activities, such as prepping fibers for her loom. We would sit outside, cutting and sorting secondhand fabrics for her vibrant rag rugs. Watching her transform strips of old linen, cotton and wool into stunning tapestries and rugs left a lasting impression on me. These were common practices in many Finnish homes back then.
When my family immigrated to North America, we brought our large floor loom with us. My mother continued to weave rag rugs and runners, knitting, crocheting and sewing in her spare time. My parents always encouraged me to participate in their activities, whether it was whittling wood or creating with fibers. They provided tools, materials and endless support, fostering an environment where creativity flourished without limits.
After moving from Finland to Canada, money was tight. My mother shopped at secondhand stores, seeking clothes made of the finest fibers. She taught me to recognize fibers by their look and feel, and helped forge my confidence and strong interest in quality materials. Growing up surrounded by fiber art and a culture that values wall hangings, I developed a profound love for textiles. This cultural background and early exposure to fiber arts instilled in me a deep interest in working with fibers.
My husband, Douglas, has been has been the greatest supporter of my creativity. While my parents encouraged me to follow my interest in science at university, Douglas recognized my true passion for art and supported my decision to pursue it full time. This allowed me to develop and grow as an artist. Experimenting, teaching and exhibiting have all been a big part of my progress. Douglas has crafted hundreds of bespoke frames and creative solutions to support my artwork as well as the combination pieces we create together, marrying fiber and wood.
Years ago, I developed a unique tapestry style and sold my work through galleries in Nova Scotia. However, a serious shoulder injury from a night sledding accident forced me to stop weaving. Determined to continue working with fibers, I turned to felt making, a traditional Finnish handcraft. A one-day workshop on the basic felting process was all I needed to understand the technique. Best of all, I was able to do this without aggravating my injury.
Felting involves laying down wool fibers in crisscrossing layers, similar in concept to the warp and weft in weaving. This technique allowed me to continue visualizing fibers in a new, yet familiar, fashion. I experimented with combining linen fibers — given to me years earlier by a member of my guild, the Atlantic Spinners and Handweavers — with wool and was thrilled with the results. This experimentation opened up a new sense of freedom to use different fibers and materials with wool as the foundation or “canvas” of my compositions.
I truly felt that I had found my calling. The organic quality of felt making was the perfect medium for expressing my feelings of wonderment towards nature’s complexities via fibers. The No. 1 source of inspiration then and now is my love for observing and listening to nature. I pay homage to it through my artwork.
People often ask me about my studio space, its size and what it looks like. I usually say that my studio space is the 60 acres of forest and sea we are surrounded by. This is where the designing and composition occur in my head. Taking walks through the forest or on the beach, I observe how leaves form, birds behave, the currents and tides flow, the transformation of trees throughout the year or how the sky is constantly changing. An endless source of inspiration for the mind.
I usually research my subject matter in order to better understand the qualities of who/what I am focusing on. If I feature the black-capped chickadee as a focal point on an old man’s beard-laden branch in the Acadian forest, I need to understand its behaviors, habitat, seasonal cycles, etc. The more I learn, the more my interest and respect grow. My outdoor studio is overwhelmingly inspiring and exciting.
The physical studio space in the house is where the mechanics and logistics of the work take place. This is where the designs and compositions flow from my head to my hands and come to fruition on the workbench.
A cherished part of my atelier is our cat, Savu. She is my special helper, often napping in her woolly nest or occasionally “helping” by walking across my carefully laid fibers. Her specialty is needle felting (with her claws) on the vertical foam board I use for detail work. Luckily, as a senior assistant, she now spends most of her time observing from the sunny window ledge. When she is busy being an active senior outdoors, she still checks in regularly.
The most satisfying part of my job is the journey of creating, and every step it takes to produce a piece — from coming up with a concept and wildcrafting materials to figuring out the physics and entering the multiple layers of colours and textures to create a vision. When I regard a piece as complete, the journey is done: I have reached my destination. Every step is enriching. While the final result is important, the process of getting there is what I treasure the most. I am constantly learning, evolving and pushing the boundaries of my art.
Douglas and I are fortunate to have the support of three wonderful galleries in Nova Scotia: Harvest, Prow, and 14 Bells galleries. They represent and champion our work as we continue to grow and develop our visual concepts.
Douglas and I also enjoy showing our work by appointment at our own concept gallery space. Like our home, we designed and constructed the gallery out of straw bales and clay from our land. It is a solar-powered show space that is meant to convey the spirit of our work and respect for nature and the environment.
♦♦♦
From Isabelle Fish | Sanna’s art is imbued with the ocean, the sky, the coastline and the abundant nature that surrounds her studio. But the soul of each piece is a direct reflection of Sanna’s personality — generous, kind, bright, determined, loving life and embracing it fully. Meeting Sanna is like hugging the sunshine. I had to share her work and story with you.
My journey with fiber began around the age of 3 in Finland, and I received my first little table loom for Christmas when I was 4 years old. Our neighbor Vanskun Tati often invited me to join her daily activities, such as prepping fibers for her loom. We would sit outside, cutting and sorting secondhand fabrics for her vibrant rag rugs. Watching her transform strips of old linen, cotton and wool into stunning tapestries and rugs left a lasting impression on me. These were common practices in many Finnish homes back then.
When my family immigrated to North America, we brought our large floor loom with us. My mother continued to weave rag rugs and runners, knitting, crocheting and sewing in her spare time. My parents always encouraged me to participate in their activities, whether it was whittling wood or creating with fibers. They provided tools, materials and endless support, fostering an environment where creativity flourished without limits.
After moving from Finland to Canada, money was tight. My mother shopped at secondhand stores, seeking clothes made of the finest fibers. She taught me to recognize fibers by their look and feel, and helped forge my confidence and strong interest in quality materials. Growing up surrounded by fiber art and a culture that values wall hangings, I developed a profound love for textiles. This cultural background and early exposure to fiber arts instilled in me a deep interest in working with fibers.
My husband, Douglas, has been has been the greatest supporter of my creativity. While my parents encouraged me to follow my interest in science at university, Douglas recognized my true passion for art and supported my decision to pursue it full time. This allowed me to develop and grow as an artist. Experimenting, teaching and exhibiting have all been a big part of my progress. Douglas has crafted hundreds of bespoke frames and creative solutions to support my artwork as well as the combination pieces we create together, marrying fiber and wood.
Years ago, I developed a unique tapestry style and sold my work through galleries in Nova Scotia. However, a serious shoulder injury from a night sledding accident forced me to stop weaving. Determined to continue working with fibers, I turned to felt making, a traditional Finnish handcraft. A one-day workshop on the basic felting process was all I needed to understand the technique. Best of all, I was able to do this without aggravating my injury.
Felting involves laying down wool fibers in crisscrossing layers, similar in concept to the warp and weft in weaving. This technique allowed me to continue visualizing fibers in a new, yet familiar, fashion. I experimented with combining linen fibers — given to me years earlier by a member of my guild, the Atlantic Spinners and Handweavers — with wool and was thrilled with the results. This experimentation opened up a new sense of freedom to use different fibers and materials with wool as the foundation or “canvas” of my compositions.
I truly felt that I had found my calling. The organic quality of felt making was the perfect medium for expressing my feelings of wonderment towards nature’s complexities via fibers. The No. 1 source of inspiration then and now is my love for observing and listening to nature. I pay homage to it through my artwork.
People often ask me about my studio space, its size and what it looks like. I usually say that my studio space is the 60 acres of forest and sea we are surrounded by. This is where the designing and composition occur in my head. Taking walks through the forest or on the beach, I observe how leaves form, birds behave, the currents and tides flow, the transformation of trees throughout the year or how the sky is constantly changing. An endless source of inspiration for the mind.
I usually research my subject matter in order to better understand the qualities of who/what I am focusing on. If I feature the black-capped chickadee as a focal point on an old man’s beard-laden branch in the Acadian forest, I need to understand its behaviors, habitat, seasonal cycles, etc. The more I learn, the more my interest and respect grow. My outdoor studio is overwhelmingly inspiring and exciting.
The physical studio space in the house is where the mechanics and logistics of the work take place. This is where the designs and compositions flow from my head to my hands and come to fruition on the workbench.
A cherished part of my atelier is our cat, Savu. She is my special helper, often napping in her woolly nest or occasionally “helping” by walking across my carefully laid fibers. Her specialty is needle felting (with her claws) on the vertical foam board I use for detail work. Luckily, as a senior assistant, she now spends most of her time observing from the sunny window ledge. When she is busy being an active senior outdoors, she still checks in regularly.
The most satisfying part of my job is the journey of creating, and every step it takes to produce a piece — from coming up with a concept and wildcrafting materials to figuring out the physics and entering the multiple layers of colours and textures to create a vision. When I regard a piece as complete, the journey is done: I have reached my destination. Every step is enriching. While the final result is important, the process of getting there is what I treasure the most. I am constantly learning, evolving and pushing the boundaries of my art.
Douglas and I are fortunate to have the support of three wonderful galleries in Nova Scotia: Harvest, Prow, and 14 Bells galleries. They represent and champion our work as we continue to grow and develop our visual concepts.
Douglas and I also enjoy showing our work by appointment at our own concept gallery space. Like our home, we designed and constructed the gallery out of straw bales and clay from our land. It is a solar-powered show space that is meant to convey the spirit of our work and respect for nature and the environment.
♦♦♦
From Isabelle Fish | Sanna’s art is imbued with the ocean, the sky, the coastline and the abundant nature that surrounds her studio. But the soul of each piece is a direct reflection of Sanna’s personality — generous, kind, bright, determined, loving life and embracing it fully. Meeting Sanna is like hugging the sunshine. I had to share her work and story with you.
