My Week: Outi Martikainen

One of Helsinki Design Weekly’s  missions is to support both the local and international design community all year round. The My Week series presents the everyday life of creatives through their own lens. Every article is written and photographed by the person whose week it covers. This week, we’re delighted to take a peek into the week of textile artist Outi Martikainen.

Outi Martikainen is a textile artist with a classical education. Her works contain influences both from craftwork traditions and the observation which is so central to art. A distinctive feature of the works is the recording of small perceptions and memories in a concrete form. They may be individual works composed of minor details or larger installations made up of big panels.

Martikainen will give a lecture this Thursday on weaving as a form of artistic expression. Organised by the Finnish Textile Culture Association and Helsinki Adult Education Centre, the lecture will take place in Viipuri Hall at Opintotalo from 5 to 5.45 pm. It is part of the lecture series At the Intersection of Craft and Art (Käsityön ja taiteen rajapinnoilla). The lecture can also be attended remotely. The online link and further information can be found here.

DAY 1

Hanging my artwork Itkupaju at Lokation by Lokal in the mellow autumn atmosphere of Bilnäs. The former shovel factory has been serving as a satellite space for Lokal’s Annankatu location since the summer. The space is wonderfully open, with plenty of height, and the materials and scale of my works feel right at home here. This piece features a lot of reflective material woven into the wefts. It’s perfect for this time of year, when even the smallest ray of light is reflected many times over, bringing the work to life. Hanni, Amos, Katja <3

DAY 2

On my way to the studio, my mind is already tuned in to noticing shapes and structures. I sometimes prefer taking a slightly longer route, one that leaves room for unexpected discoveries. I find endless inspiration in the different types of stone used to build Helsinki. Stone also has its own distinctive smell, and carries a remarkable sense of age. The fascinating piles of materials at construction sites always catch my eye.

DAY 3

I started sketching a new piece. I painted onto a transparent film using inks in different colours, looking for a new kind of effect for a woven surface. The subject is the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, where I spent a residency in spring 2025. There’s still a long way to go before this becomes a file ready for weaving, but sketching is definitely my favourite part of digital Jacquard weaving. After that comes all the calculating and adjusting, which requires a rather different mindset.

DAY 4

Every now and then, I need to dedicate a whole day to weaving samples. This time, I was testing how the rhythm of colours changes when I splice together the wefts I use as my materials, following specific lengths and sequences. Changing the weave structures creates even more variation. To get a proper view of the results, I have to climb up a ladder to a height of about two metres.

DAY 5

For a very special guest, I unpacked this piece called Utö, measuring six metres wide and 160 cm high. For over ten years, we rented a tiny half of a house on the island of Utö. I took lots of photos there, capturing the ever-changing weather conditions. This piece depicts a snowy, blustery day when all the buildings and other surfaces seemed to float in the vast whiteness surrounding them. It made me miss Utö.

DAY 6

Setting up an event organised by the Finnish Friends of Handicraft (Suomen Käsityön Ystävät ry) in the Maija Hall at Oodi. I volunteer for the association, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in a couple of years, making it one of the oldest design organisations in the Nordic countries.

But how do you get people out and about on a November evening? We recorded the event, so it will eventually be available to watch on the association’s YouTube channel. Through the event, we wanted to highlight the enormous cultural significance of the association’s extensive archive of design sketches, which it manages together with the Museum of Architecture and Design.

DAY 7

Helsinki is just so beautiful. I take a deep breath here. Everything in this picture has been built by people. The spectacular autumn sky adds a touch of grace to it all.

It’s Saturday, early evening. Walking with my hands in my pockets, taking in the air, heading to Vallila with the girls for a night of dancing. A day off.