Actress Kiti Kokkonen’s creative hobby is flourishing

One or two a year ago Kiti Kokkonen the passionate craft hobby exploded into new rounds. It was a time of the corona pandemic, and people retreated to their homes. That’s when the actor-screenwriter’s home workshop began to produce even more ceramics, mosaic work and various handicrafts.

Normally, the tables in the living room are full of unfinished work and tools, but now Kokkonen has cleaned up for the guests.

“Upstairs there is a small lobby with my things. They have already spread into that room, and sometimes there are even in the kitchen,” says Kokkonen and admits that it takes a lot from the spouse to put up with his chaos.

“My bonus daughter asked a couple of years ago in October where we are going to eat at Christmas when there is no room here.”

Kokkonen doesn’t even want a separate study, because he doesn’t think he can get into the same creative mood there.

“I feel like I’m terribly inspired all the time at home, and I think it’s mostly because nature is so close here,” says Kokkonen at his home in Espoo.

Finland the dexterity of the artistic director of the comedy theater has become familiar to his numerous social media followers. Especially Kokkonen’s girl vases have aroused admiration, which have something sad, wistful and soothing at the same time.

“They may be shy and quiet, but I haven’t thought that they are sad.”

Kokkonen has wondered if he makes his girl vases because he hasn’t had the opportunity to have biological children.

“I’ve been thinking, in general, about my obsession with making handicrafts, whether I have a need to create things. Could it be related to that? If you think about the Tanhupallo character as well,” he says.

Tanhupallo is a character created by Kokkonen more than 20 years ago, dressed in a ballet costume for preschool age, who takes care of his pet Hairworm. Kokkonen introduced it Waterfallprogram in 2018.

“Something fascinates me in such childishness, a certain sensitivity. All the mosaic workers are also women. Maybe I find peace for myself with these jobs and then maybe I also wish for peace for everything. That’s probably why my female characters have their eyes closed.”

Money Kokkonen’s ceramic work found a new home last May, when he organized his first ceramic exhibition at the Studio M gallery in Helsinki.

It evoked a wide range of emotions in Kokkose.

“There has been a lot of talk about whether you can be a real actor if you are not trained, and who can call themselves an artist. However, this has started as a hobby for me, which has taken me by storm. The fact that you get the opportunity to exhibit can of course arouse irritation in people.”

In the past, Kokkonen has only sold his works on a very small scale in friend sales that he has organized.

“It would especially seem silly that I would set up an online store and start selling ceramics without training and extensive knowledge. The exhibition felt like a small-scale opportunity to offer people interested in my works the opportunity to acquire them,” he says.

On the other hand, it is Anu Pentik an excellent example of a ceramist who created a successful career as a hobby without a professional qualification. Kokkonen is surprised: “Oh yeah? Is that really the case?”

When it comes to acting, he says he’s already you, even though he never made it to Theater College.

”I’ve been acting for so long and through work I’ve learned not to be ashamed anymore. But for a long time he was ashamed. Here [keramiikassa] I’m not at the same point yet, but maybe one day I will be”, reflects Kokkonen.

“Now the monk has to figure out the Anu Pentik thing.”

”

“No more shame.”

Kokkonen has always been curious to learn new things and doesn’t mind if things go wrong.

In his childhood home, he was always encouraged to do something, not so much to be good at something.

“I’m not afraid of a bad outcome or that I can’t.”

The same relaxed, carefree attitude to life and to himself is reflected in the fact that when Kokkonen slept soundly in the morning, he jumped out of bed almost straight to rehearsals for the Komediateatteri’s new revue wearing a nightgown. It’s so common that no one even noticed. He is still in his nightgown.

Fourteen Kokkonen, who has been in charge of the theater for years, is one Here we go -revue scriptwriters. The comedy theater persistently keeps the Finnish revue tradition alive, but it has also been criticized for being overly kind and flattering.

“It’s really important to me not to get personal. I know many of my colleagues think I am too cautious. I admit, that is my challenge.”

Kokkonen thinks that excessive sharpness only increases polarization.

“I would primarily like to bring people closer together, but I would not like to cause more confrontation. The world is changing more and more in the direction of being against each other, and that’s not a good thing.”

What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

“I would say that you should never start smoking. That’s the only thing you’ll regret.”