Tuulikki Pietilä

Who was Tuulikki Pietilä?

Tuulikki Pietilä was a Finnish graphic artist and professor, born in Seattle, Washington. Pietilä was one of the most influential people in Finnish graphic arts, and her work has been shown in numerous art exhibitions. She worked as a teacher in the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, for many years, and later trained graphic artists and wrote instructional books about graphic arts.

Pietilä began her studies at the Turku drawing school, which she attended from 1933 to 1936, and went on to study at the drawing school of the Finnish art association, the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and the Fernand Léger Art Academy in Paris. During her studies, she met her future life partner Tove Jansson; they collaborated on many works and projects, including the Moomin works, in collaboration with Pentti Eistola. These are now exhibited at the Moomin museum in Tampere.

Jansson's and Pietilä's travels and summers spent together on the Klovharu island in Pellinki have been captured on several hours of film, shot by Pietilä. Several documentaries have been made of this footage, the latest being Haru, yksinäinen saari and Tove ja Tooti Euroopassa.