This is a story how bears became icon of my personal process and symbol of finnish mentality.
Tradition and storytelling is still needed, just to remember how wandering and getting lost is part of who we are.
Islands and islets on the fields got my attention, while travelling through Finland. Those are hard to reach and bit mystical, they might even have their own ecosystem. That's how I got interested about creating stories for those, like a small world inside the world we know.
First ideas brought out this flying, small islet. Almost immediately I brought along animals, that could make it move. What would suit better than a bear, common inhabitant what only a few have seen.
After making few sketches, it became more related to understand bears.
How they move, how they act and pose, what makes a bear.
Prints became the first media to make it more known.
Simple and yet not too open way to present this concept and visual identity.
I have a somewhat long history in flexo printing, so it was a natural way to get in touch with prints.
Mural commission was the grand breakthrough for this project. It was done on tiles with proper tile paint, making this home office more personal and appealing.
Hopefully this project will continue by making more and refining the concept. Next step is now a novel to bring out the connection between storytelling and illustration. To make it eternal.
One more mural was done to Sejong Univ. in Seoul, South Korea. I really enjoyed making this one during night, locals reactions gave me really positive feedback.
