OUR MEMBERS
Search alphabetically by surname or browse and get to know our talented community of members
SAHAR AJAMI
ILLUSTRATOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Sahar is a passionate illustrator and cartoonist with graphic design and artistic abilities, including hand-rendered and digital illustration, cartoon and layout. Specialties include Illustration, Graphic Design, Cartoon, Layout Design.
TIMO ALA-VÄHÄLÄ
Timo Ala-Vähälä (b. 1958) is a freelance researcher and visual artist. He has given solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions since 2015. His main medium is drawing but he has also done installations and makes photographs. In addition to his own art, he has given drawing classes since 2016.
ARTIST
AHMET ARSLAN
ABSTRACT PAINTING, FOOD ART,
SCULPTURE
I was born in Antalya, Turkey. My education background is food and beverage vocational-technical school. I have been working in HoReCa business for 10 years and last 5 years as a chef and cook. I moved to Finland 4 years ago and continued my profession for my livelihood. My interest in arts especially for painting started since my childhood. Combination of food and art made me more creative and I decided to allocate my more time in paintings. My philosophy is to make people thinking and emphasise simplicity as well as peacefulness.
PANTELIS ARVANITAKIS
ABSTRACT ART
Born in 1984 in Nicosia, Cyprus, he is a Greek contemporary artist.
Inspired by his kindergarten teacher mother's craftsmanship and his father's eclectic art and music taste he developed a passion for creativity. He spent his youth participating in art competitions in Greece and abroad. With no formal training in fine arts he developed his skills by participating in museum workshops and online courses. He has been living and working in Finland since 2013. The work aims to be a conversation about truth and nature. The style is inspired by 50s AbEx, Minimalism, Pop Art and Folk art.
Pantelis takes commissions and his work can be acquired in print form, as well.
LENA BLANKENSTEIN-HOLMSTROM
MIXED MEDIA ARTIST
Lena Blankenstein–Holmström is self-taught mixed media and alcohol ink artist living and working in Turku, Finland. Nature and sea is an important part of her life and where she finds her inspiration. She loves to use recycled materials in her mixed media art. For Lena, since childhood art has always been a way to express herself. Lena’s works have been exhibited in Finland and her art can be found in private collections in Finland and the USA.
OLGA BLOKH
CERAMICS ARTIST
Olga Blokh (1986) is a potter from Komi Republic, Russia. She has been residing in Finland for the past 12 years. Before moving to Finland, Olga lived in St. Petersburg for 7 years, where she pursued her studies in Finnish language and culture. She graduated with a degree in Finnish language and literature philology.
In Finland, Olga initially started making ceramics as a hobby through community courses in Helsinki. Eventually, she decided to pursue professional studies in ceramics and established her own ceramics studio, Bloch Ceramics, in Puumala in 2020.
Olga's creations are unique and incorporate pottery techniques as well as natural elements like lake sand, wild clay and wood ashes. She also wood fires her ceramics. Inspired by the cycles of nature and the wildlife surrounding her forest studio, Olga brings her observations to life through her sculptures and a comics art series called "Murpups From Puumala”.
Over the years, Olga has exhibited her work extensively in Finland and internationally, including the United States, Russia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Wales, and Germany. She was also selected to participate in the Craft Hub EU residency program. In 2023, Olga Blokh worked at the Undermount Art Centre artist residency in San Sebastián.
MARI BLOMROOS-HEININEN
TRADITIONAL OIL PAINTING
Mari Blomroos-Heininen is a traditional painter living and working in Helsinki. She has studied art history and is a Visual artist graduate.
Mari Blomroos-Heininen is active member in many artist associations and organizations in Finland. She works as a curator and exhibition coordinator in gallery, artist organizations and other private artists. She paints using different techniques, making paintings and portraits. She also does graphics, photography and
installations.
ALEXEY BOLTUNOV
SCULPTOR
BOLTUNOV is an emerging Russian sculptor who uses clean shapes and minimalistic colors inspired by the Russian Avant-garde art movement of the early 20th century combined with the non-typical materials often featuring the objects of daily consumption. These combinations form the distinct visual style of Boltunov's work.
With this reduced visual language Alexey develops a conceptual art form to talk about the changes and challenges in the society, relationship, belief and finally the “I” itself the younger generation is facing today.
LOUISE CHARLES-SAARIKOSKI
DOG ARTIST - OIL, ACRYLLICS
‘I am a dog painter and create paintings capturing the character and personality of the subject, something to be cherished now and a lasting memory for the future.’
Louise Charles-Saarikoski is a full-time oil painter. She takes commissions for custom made dog portraits and other animals. Working from her clients’ photographs means distance is no object, and therefore her work can be found in many countries around the world. Since adopting a galgo Espanol (Spanish greyhound) Louise has become increasing inspired to paint the slender form of these athletic dogs, and they are appearing more and more in her work. Originally from the UK she now lives in Finland and works from her studio in Helsinki.
TANIA CROSSINGHAM
ILLUMINATION, CALLIGRAPHY, GOUACHE, WATERCOLOR, GOLD LEAF, PARCHMENT
Tania Crossingham is an Australian born artist now living in Finland. She has been studying and creating Illuminated Manuscripts for over thirty years. She began her professional career as an Art and History teacher, then left formal education to pursue her passion for medieval illumination. Her work has been exhibited in numerous, galleries, and museums. She has been Artist in residence at Cathedrals, museums and the two largest medieval festivals in the Southern hemisphere. Her work has been presented to Queen Elizabeth II, and used in Warner Brother Films.
She now creates original illuminations and heraldic art for clients across the world. In her spare time she is developing a range of contemporary works using marbled papers. Tania also has a great love of teaching, passing on her knowledge and skills to others so that this exquisite art form will not be forgotten.
MARI C
MIXED TECHNIQUE - ILLUSTRATION
I’m a self-taught artist born in Italy in 1978 and currently living and working in Helsinki, Finland, since 2011. Art has been part of me since I was born. Oddly I am in the business and financial field since my parents I follow my real passion as self-taught, learning the classic techniques, experimenting new ones, and trying several styles.
My Illustration style is a combination of old school drawing and modern digital painting! I like to go through the appearance of what can be seen and dive into the hidden side. I like to show how I see them, how I feel them, how they look like in the colourful world of my mind. I would not consider my Artworks as “mirror portraits”. I am not interested in replicating a copy of an existing original. What I like to express with my Art is what is beyond the common sight.
LAURA DAHLQVIST
ABSTRACT ARTIST - PAINTER
Born in 1991 in Helsinki, I am a self-taught artist driven by my inner passion for creativity. Painting serves as my compass, navigating through the exploration of joy, sorrow, and love. I create abstract and semi-abstract mixed-media and acrylic works, and my pieces can vary from bold femininity to embracing a minimalist, earthy aesthetic. Drawing strength from within, I paint intuitively to convey the beauty of nature and emotions. My ultimate goal is to share joy and happiness through my art.
"In my art, I delve into the depths of my emotions, guided by intuition, and inspired by the beauty of nature. I create harmonious pieces that radiate joy and calmness."
SARAH DON
WATERCOLOR - URBAN SKETCHING
Originally from Australia and after having spent time living and working in Japan and the USA, I now call Finland home. Watercolour is my favourite medium to work in - the water is in a sense alive on the page and you have to negotiate with it to get the pigment to settle where you want it to. It feels like an emergency while I'm painting, and it's exciting and absorbing.
paint to share these experiences with you. Helsinki has beautiful scenes at every turn and it feels like I will never run out of inspiration as long as I live here.
I am available for commissions, and prints of my work are also available upon request.
SVETLANA EMBRICH
FELT ARTIST
Svetlana is an Estonian Felt artist, lover of music, theatre and travel. Svetlana likes to use natural ingredients in her felting process.
CHRIS FRASER
ILLUSTRATOR - MOTION GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Hello! I’m Chris! I am an illustrator and motion graphic designer living in Helsinki, Finland.
I have a worked in digital marketing, advertising and international broadcasting creating marketing content for online, social, print, digital outdoor and broadcast television.
JENNY FRESE (Lucy Heart)
ARTIST
My name is Jenny and I am 25 years old.
I have loved drawing since I went to kindergarten.
I always draw the pictures I draw with a lot of heart.
I am grateful to everyone who sticks by me and always encourages me in what I do, especially my Mother.
I come from Germany and I am happy to be in Finland and that I was able to turn my hobby into a profession.
I couldn't be happier.
MATIAS FONTECILLA
GRAPHIC ARTIST
Matias Fontecilla is an emerging graphic artist born in Santiago, Chile, known under the pseudonym MFont.
Very imaginative from a young age, he started to draw focusing mainly on animals and nature, defining his style by the time he was a teenager. Influenced by artists like Miró and Dalí, his technique consists of throwing lines out of his imagination and his dreams, creating strange shapes that become surreal creatures, faces, and abstract constructions.
The diverse collection of Fontecilla's works is perceived in a particular way by every eye.
