Bio

Born and raised in a small mountain village in Switzerland, I grew up with a strong connection to nature, traditional craftsmanship, and quiet moments in the landscape. During my four-year training at the Swiss Woodcarving School, I learned to shape with my hands – a sensibility for material, form, and rhythm that continues to guide everything I create.

For more than ten years, I have lived and worked across the world – in Swedish Lapland, China, Iceland, Canada, and South Africa – before settling in Finland in 2018. Each place has left its mark on my artistic practice: China awakened my love for ceramics, South Africa taught me to trust my intuition in clay, and the vast landscapes of Iceland and Lapland showed me how to listen – both to the world around me and to myself.

Today, I live with my partner and our three children on a traditional farm in Laihela, western Finland, where the warmth of summer opens the doors to visitors from around the world. Here, in my studio, I create each ceramic piece by hand – slowly, quietly, in rhythm with the seasons. My work brings together many worlds: a respect for traditional craftsmanship rooted in my Swiss heritage, a Nordic sense of aesthetics and inspiration from nature, African warmth and rhythm, and the Eastern philosophy of Wabi-Sabi – the beauty of imperfection. Each piece carries traces of this journey – simplicity, presence, and quiet, natural beauty.

Over the years, I have participated in and organized several exhibitions across Europe and Canada, including ‘Far far away’ (Iceland and Switzerland, 2012) and ‘Long Light, Long Shadows’ (Laihela, Finland, 2025). Since 2019, I have run Orava Studio and, since 2024, ‘Mothers and Women in Art Residency’ at Ruutin Kartano, offering artists time and space to develop their work. These experiences have enriched my own artistic practice, deepening my presence in each piece I create, always rooted in the stillness of everyday life and the rhythm of nature.

 

Date of Birth: April 9, 1986
Instagram: www.instagram.com/orava_studio

Education

2002–2006:: School for Woodcarving in Brienz, Switzerland

2006 - 2007: The School for Visual Art in Bern and Biel/Bienne, Switzerland

 

Professional and Life Experience

  • 2007–2008: Idea and Graphic Designer, BrainStore AG, Switzerland

  • 2008–2009: Textile Designer, Création Baumann, Switzerland

  • 2009–2010: Artist, Kiruna Artists Guild, Sweden

  • 2010: Snow and Ice Carving, Icehotel, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

  • 2011–2012: Artistic and cultural explorations, Dalian and Beijing, China

  • 2012: Artist residency & solo exhibition, Gullkistan, Iceland

  • 2012–2013: Mosaic Maker, Mosaic Surface, Montreal, Canada

  • 2013: Birth of first child

  • 2014–2015: Living in Uster, Switzerland

  • 2015: Birth of second child

  • 2015–2018: Artistic and cultural explorations, Durban, South Africa

  • 2017: Birth of third child

  • 2018: Relocation to Laihela, Finland

  • 2019: Founder, Orava Studio, Finland

  • 2024: Founder, Mothers in Art Residency, Ruutin Kartano, Finland

 

Exhibitions

2005 Symposium for woodcarving, Gitschenen Switzerland work ‘Wetterhexe’

2006 Kunstnacht Brienz, Switzerland, work ‘Glow’

2007 Kunstnacht Brienz, Switzerland work ‘Um den heissen Brei herum’

2008 Kunstnacht Brienz,Switzerland, work ‘Schrott nach Grossmutterart’

2008 CentrePasquart, annual group exhibition, Biel/Bienne Switzerland
Work ‘post it poetry’

2010 Group exhibition at Stadshuset of Kiruna Artists Guild.
Work ´Herkunft und Zukunft´

2012 Gullkistan Art residency, Laugarvatn Iceland, solo show ‘Far far away’

2012 Solo show ‘Far far away’ at Kemmeriboden Bad, Switzerland

2025 Solo show ' Long Light, Long Shadows ' Finland