Henna
a self-taught abstract artist, PhD (LL.D.) in law, attorney
My background
I have been studying pretty much my whole life. I can't count the times I have sat in the front row taking notes. Lecture after lecture, exam after exam. After graduating law school, I started working on my PhD thesis right away. It is not a surprise that I chose most topics on legal theory - the field of law that in my opinion is the closest thing to art. In between my studies I worked as a teacher in law school and conducted some serious research. I travelled around the world studying and participating in seminars. I sang in a choir and played the piano. Took spinning classes. Cooked for my friends. Served as a trainee judge in a district court at a young age. I held fancy dinners, asked critical questions and felt at home in high heels. I was young, hungry and fearless. But that wasn’t all that I was. I was more.
Working as an attorney is a big part of me and I highly appreciate it.
My doctoral studies as a Fulbright Scholar in the UCLA Law School in Los Angeles was one of the best years of my life. One can really feel free in the City of Angels. During that time, I felt a strong pull towards academia but I had a really burning intellectual interest for being an attorney as well. It suited well to my nature being precise, finding solutions to difficult issues and just mastering it. After the years in academia I had my big dream come true when I got a job at an international attorney's office in Helsinki. I enjoyed working in the dispute resolution team and I still do. Working as an attorney is a big part of me and I highly appreciate it.
How I started to paint
My husband and I got our sweet little daughter in November 2018. After being a busy career-oriented person my whole life, the stay-at-home-mom scene was quite shocking to me. The change, compared to my old life, was just overwhelming. So much so, that it moved something in my soul. The strong creative side started to bubble up - something that I had abandoned a long time ago was now reaching back to me. I found that my self-awareness about my career and my calling was expanding.
In art I can be out of line. I get to be a rebel.
During the maternity leave the artistic energy, that I always knew I had, broke free. The colors just flew out of me. I found incredible joy when I finally had the time and the space to let my creativity flow. So I started painting and I haven't stopped since.
Painting is my passion. It is like music. It takes me places and feeds my soul. In art I can be out of line. I get to be a rebel. I get to hang out in wool socks and have paint in my hair. That is radical. That is dynamite.
Inspiration and the future
My inspiration rises from contrasts that I face in everyday life. You can see it in colors, in tones of voices, in professions, in personalities - in almost everything around you. In particular contexts you can explore differences between the feminine and masculine, hard and soft, powerful and weak and so on. My creativity lies in such contrasts and I am constantly seeking that.
Due to my background in academia I have found it fascinating how art and science collide but still always find a way to converse with one another. Working in the legal profession gives me a unique kaleidoscope as an artist. I get to bring the different shades of humanity into my artwork from an unexpected angle. Despite the contradictions between the legal and artistic world I strongly feel that these two professions have huge assets to give to one another. I feel lucky that I get to work in both fields.I feel enormous satisfaction by being not only a critical thinker, but also a creative thinker. As a lawyer art helps me to think outside the box, and law, in return, gives me the inspiration and the boost I need as an artist. I must admit that I feel good about wearing not only the proverbial hat of a lawyer but also the hat of an artist.
How can a brain that masterfully analyses cases and legislation also have a talent for creativity? This question often makes me feel uneasy. Well, "creativity takes courage" as Henri Matisse (lawyer himself) said. I agree.
I'm very touched by all the superb reviews I have gotten after releasing my first collection. I have sold more paintings than I ever could have imagined. This all gives me the needed courage to keep on painting - I hope you stay with me!
Henna
