In her sculptures Laasonen uses various types of wood, plywood, ceramic clay, iron, thread, fabric, concrete, porcelain clay and bronze. She also likes to combine various materials. For Laasonen, breaking boundaries is the spice of artistic work although she does appreciate traditional sculpting methods in her work: for example, she casts her bronze and aluminium sculptures using the ciré perdue method. Laasonen’s works are large and small sculptures, reliefs, spatial sculpture entities, installations and environment art. The size of the pieces has increased over the years. This is due to the materials used as well as Laasonen’s current studio which allows her to make large and even tall pieces if she chooses. The size is not defined by the sublimity of the original idea but the image she has of the idea and the long process of thought that follows. The final outcome is ruled by the subject as well as the material used. The end result may either be very realistic or rather simplified. What is essential for Laasonen is how to translate the desired idea into a plastic three-dimensional form.

As a sculptor Laasonen does not start anything on the spur of the moment due to the fact that sculpting materials are costly and the techniques require a great deal of pre-planning. Sculpting is thinking, investigating and experimenting with materials. A sculptor must know how all the technical details and materials work before beginning to work on the final version. Laasonen enjoys the technical challenges posed by carving and values hands-on processes as well as the feel of the shape and the material. The repetition of certain stages in sculpting also allows room for thought processes. During the planning stage Laasonen often has to calculate angles, circle surface areas as well as circumference and the work has to be very purposeful and disciplined. At times she just lets go, sees how the work turns out, enjoys the process and lets the feeling guide her.

Laasonen works on a number of pieces simultaneously and invests a lot of thought into her work. Therefore the actual hands-on work in a studio accounts in fact only for a fraction of the time spent on a sculpture. Laasonen never takes time off from being a sculptor as she constantly absorbs ideas and themes from her environment and then works on them in her head. Planning the pieces can easily take place while gardening or driving a car. At times an idea may mature for years before it’s ready to be sculpted. The themes of Laasonen’s pieces are multi-dimensional and fascinating and they are based on small everyday things. Ideas may stem from grocery shopping receipts, quarrels, sadness, family relations, pain, joy or merely from just wondering about a matter of some kind. With her art Laasonen wishes to tell tales from this life, mirror our time and open new views for the people experiencing art. Laasonen’s work brings beauty, fresh viewpoints, tolerance and joy to the surrounding world.


Kirsi-Maria Tuomisto
Museum lecturer

Lapua Art Museum publication number 6, 2008