Minna Olenius, Stone Artist

Artist Statement

Inspired by the smooth stones of the Pacific Ocean, in 2003 I felt tempted to begin creating pieces of art by painting them. In the beginning, I favored nature themes and wrote quotes on the stones. I sold my art in Long Beach where I lived, until returning to my home country of Finland in 2008. Since then, I have considered pointillism as my favorite way to express my inner world on the surface of stones. Ideas often come to me through my intuition and imagination, without the need to plan my artwork in advance. I feel a deep connection to Mother Earth while I am in the process of creating art.

In addition to painting stones, I compose framed pictures with pebbles and I also embed natural and painted stones in driftwood in order to create unique artwork. Actually, I consider stones as pieces of nature’s art just the way they are, even without any paint. However by painting them, I am giving them a new story which I find thrilling. While I am engaged in the processes of creating my artwork, I think about my relationship to nature and to my ancestors who have inhabited this land, with its harsh conditions for thousands of years. The thought that some of my painted stones have existed already for millions of years, makes me feel humble and grateful. Furthermore, painting gives me a chance to reflect on my own spiritual journey.

As I pick up a dull grey stone by a road, I realize how meaningless it was until I saw it and gave it a purpose. It reminds me that every person has a longing to be loved and accepted as he or she is. In fact, nothing in nature is useless or ugly - as even every single pebble has its special place in this world. Therefore we should not judge people or things, but accept them just the way they are. After all, aren’t we a lot like pebbles - one of a kind?

 

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