I'm Petri — graphic artist, storyteller, and hatcher of peculiar birds.
Feathered Figures took flight from years of shaping characters, spotting humor in odd moments, and giving human quirks feathers and a smile.
A sense of humor has been swinging over my shoulder for as long as I can remember. Somehow, I tend to spot the amusing twists hidden in everyday situations — and especially in mishaps. Perhaps it’s a byproduct of creativity, or maybe it’s simply a survival skill, an instinctive way to soften life’s sharper edges. Whatever the reason, I’m determined to hold on to this childlike, quirky lens through which I see the world.
Me and my youngest daughter at an old-time market in Tornio in the early years of the 2000s.
Along the way, I’ve learned one of the most valuable tricks: to laugh at myself. And honestly, that's plenty of laughter already. Laughing at yourself is a kind of rebellion — sometimes a quiet chuckle in the corner, sometimes a loud, unstoppable fit of laughter — against the idea that life must always be taken seriously. I have no desire to become someone so solemn that even joy forgets to knock.
“Cranky Quarrelarian” brooding — like it’s a full-time job
I’ve noticed that joy often sneaks into the world by accident. It’s rarely something you can plan or manufacture. It happened naturally during our days in the Seikka ceramic studio. My wife Leena and I would craft absurd ceramic figures and spin ridiculous stories around them. Somehow, the joy we felt seeped into the clay itself. Hearing that our creations and their stories had made people laugh and lifted their spirits — that was the greatest reward.
“Buck Buoyant” — a ceramic hare character flat on his skis, laughing his head off.
It was in that lively, playful atmosphere that the first Feathered Figures quietly hatched. They weren't born all at once but emerged one by one, each carrying a little fragment of human nature wrapped in their feathers. They have been with me ever since, growing, evolving, and multiplying in unexpected ways.
“Chuckler” — a ceramic original from the first flock of Feathered Figures.
But life, as it tends to, shifted course without warning. In 2009 we had to close the studio due to illness in family. Yet even in those challenging seasons, humor — sometimes sharp-edged, sometimes absurd — kept our heads above dark waters. I am grateful to share my life with someone who still laughs at the same old jokes and new absurdities. The ceramic studio ended, but the Feathered Figures had already found their wings.
In the Same Boat
Two partners passing by,
rowing under storming sky.
Both know in their heart,
the other is my missing part.
A poem, born to accompany a two-flame candle boat, symbolizing the journey through storms — together.
A few years later, in 2016, I started a new chapter: Seikka Design. I continued to create and draw the Feathered Figures, giving them life on postcards, prints, and other cheerful carriers of small truths. In 2022, they finally gathered into one great flock in the book Feathered Figures – An Identification Guide to 70 Species, published by Tammi.
Feathered Figures – An Identification Guide to 70 Species, Tammi in 2022.
In the end, I suppose that's what I’ve always tried to do: to let a little lightness slip into a world that too often forgets how to laugh.
Petri Törmänen
Entrepreneur in the field of graphics — a quiet brooder of odd birds with peculiar habits, finding inspiration in the subtle ways people reveal who they are.
"You never know — you might already be feathered and flying in my sketchbook. "
The poem “Life” accompanied this image in the photo exhibition — a quiet testament to light, renewal, and unstoppable growth.
Life
Light floods in,
the dam of darkness breaks.
Death drowns.
Life flows.
Forcefully.
Effortlessly.
Buds half-open,
a sprout lifts its head,
gazing at spring.
Flabbergasted Fowl (Admiratio stupefactus)
"Oh! You read all the way down here? Curious little thing, aren’t you?"