Tuija Hansen on becoming a full time artist and creating community through teaching and connecting with nature.

The artist with plant died yarns and handmade loom. Photo from the artist’s website.

Tuija Hansen is a textile artist based in Thunder Bay, ON, who specializes in natural dying, weaving and up-cycling with a community based approach. We spoke with Tuija about how the pandemic shifted her career path and opened up new possibilities for her creative work. 

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Tuija was working full time in the service industry and doing her creative work on the side. However due to lockdowns and closures she finally decided to leave the service industry altogether and transitioned into working as an artist full time. 

Growing up in rural Northwestern Ontario, Tuija found herself surrounded by nature from day one and it naturally found a way into her creative practice. Her work is very much tied to the seasons, and in the summer months she is cultivating her dye garden, foraging for plants for natural dyes and facilitating workshops sharing her skills. When the growing season comes to an end she moves into her weaving studio for the winter months.

“...I discovered natural dyes and something clicked where I realized I could be foraging for my own colours and since then it has been a deep dive into the research of regional plant dyes”.

Photos from the artists website and Instagram.

The importance of nature and the ability to connect through nature is evident in Tuija’s work. During the pandemic, when connecting with people was a challenge, she found ways to access new communities and interact with people through her work. Since much of her practice takes place outdoors she was able to teach workshops and collaborate with community members in a safe environment. At the same time,  the massive shift online allowed her to connect with artists and organizations outside of the region which led to new work opportunities that she would have otherwise been isolated from. 

“One thing I love about working and community engaged art is that people who aren’t necessarily artists or identify as creatives, but we can often all connect through ideas about nature”.

She separates her creative practice into commercial work and artistic work, however both have a strong focus on plant dyes. Her most popular items from her commercial work include silk scarves and pillowcases that are leaf printed or dyed from plants she has foraged or grown in her dye garden. Her artistic practice focuses on weaving plant dyed yarns and incorporating techniques from her Scandinavian heritage. 

Photos from the artists Instagram.

“My artistic work centres explorations in plant colours throughout the seasons wherever I may be. I also do a lot of work inspired by my ancestry, being of Scandinavian heritage”.

Teaching and sharing her extensive skill set through workshops has allowed Tuija to fund her practice as a full time artists and build a community through shared connections with art and nature.