Creative direction
1.Your name and where you're from
Hi hwello! I am Sonja Katariina Vahasaari, a multifaceted artist from Finland, based on the east coast of Australia.
2.How would you describe what you do-artist, surfer, author, creative director-how do you see all those roles coming together?
I find the whole existence so creative, so romantic and so friggin cute! So I love expressing myself and that romance through various creative mediums.
Different creative fields weave together like a perfectly built spider web - understanding a variety allows me to express myself better.
The main waters I’m currently swimming in are modelling, surfing, creative direction, fashion and graphic design, writing books and poetry, photo and video editing and styling.
My mission is to express myself through creativity and design beautiful works that are colourful, cute, healing and connecting. I want to touch peoples hearts with my art, ignite inspiration and lovingly leave one pondering. I love sharing a message through my work. Usually it’s about preserving the nature, interconnectedness, love or sharing my view to inspire one to see the world’s intricate beauty.
3.What first got you into longboarding, and do you see surfing as a form of art?
I tried surfing for the first time in Morocco. I remember the feeling of the first wave I was able to stand up for a while - I was losing my mind. Like.. I was surfing a wave?! On water?! I was held by a board that allowed me to surf on liquid?!? My rational mind couldn’t comprehend how I could defy gravity in such way but I knew that I was immediately obsessed.
Surfing for me is art.
It’s an expression of emotion, a place of meditation, connection.
It’s the feeling when you play a new chord and it sounds like honey.
Or when do your first drop knee and see your board move in a way you’ve never seen before.
It’s the sound of silence after a storm. The smell of flowers in the morning mist. It’s that feeling. It’s pure joy that is art.
Every surf we are given a blank canvas that continuously moves and morphs throughout the day and we get to paint anything we like on it. And have so much fun. How lucky are we ?!? I love surfing.
4.As a creative director, where do you usually draw your inspiration from?
I have such a fine attention to detail and the intricate beauty that is constantly floating within and around us. My eyes, ears and all my senses are constantly wide open. I get excited about EVERYTHING. You should see my phone camera roll and my notes hahaha. They’re full of lights casting shadows, cool patterns of bugs shells, toasters glistening in the morning light bending time and gravity. I feel 110% and I write about it. I experience and I capture the inspiration. I get inspired by the sounds, connections and patterns around me. Nature. Humans. Animals. Space. Anything and everything.
5.How do you decide what's worth creating?
I usually get a huge pull to create something. And by huge I mean the feeling that I could explode of excitement and all I want to do is THAT THING! My brain feels like an infinite tap of ideas and the stream doesn’t stop. I could start a new business every day with all the ideas that land in my brain holes. It used to overwhelm me but I’ve learned to manage the flood of ideas and pick the ones that excite me the most.
6.What's your favorite type of art to create right now?
Fashion, design, modelling, surfing, filmmaking, writing & creative direction. I’m really into crocheting at the moment. I’m currently making a cat beanie. I mean a beanie with cat ears. I friggin can’t wait to wear it.
7.Tell us about the children's book you just finished-what inspired the focus on dolphins and writing for kids?
I love my lil book! The Little Tail is about embracing our uniqueness. The main character is a young dolphin that has a small and curvy tail that has made her feel insecure. She compares herself into the “cool dolphin crew” that seem so perfect in her eyes (they’re wearing chains and caps and you know - all the cool things). Without spoiling the end of the book, the Little Tail experiences a surprising event that changes her mindset and life. The whole book is designed, illustrated and written by me.
Even though it is a children’s book I wanted to pick a theme that resonates with the person reading the story too. I wanted to write and illustrate about a topic that many of us experience in our lives: social pressure and insecurities. I reversed few social settings in the book to share a deeper message together with the theme of self-love and connection. I am aiming to get The Little Tail into Australian (and potentially global) education system! I feel like it could help many. The print copy is launching super soon. Few schools and stores are already waiting for their copies - its so cute, I am so excited!
And why dolphins? They have always been my top favorite animals because of their joyful essence and play in the big blue.
8.What's one big dream goal you want to accomplish as an artist?
I wake up every morning thinking how deeply I want to help and heal the whole world with my art! So that is my biggest goal. Currently I have one dream project brewing in my head for a short film I want to make! So I am in a look out for a filmmaker who is passionate about environment, who wants to go sailing, filming and surfing to tell this story I got in my mind. I can already see the launch event so clearly!
9.How do you stay creative when you're in a rut or feeling blocked?
The first thing I do is to listen to my body and ask questions. Whyy do I feel stuck? What is my body telling me? Am I in the right environment? Or surrounded by the right people? Am I following my passion? Am I socially drained?
I ask myself questions and go from there. To feel instant ease I always go out in the nature and move my body. Surfing is great cure for this. If I’m feeling quite lost I take myself to an environment I am not used to and listen to the natures melody around me and quiet my mind.
One thing that also helps me is to find something that will get my froth on. I’ll go buy some beautiful yarn that makes me froth crocheting a new thing. Or find a new pen and fun paper to go with it. I LOVE the feeling of a buttery smooth pen and perfectly textured paper making the perfect match - I cannot describe the joy when these two come together! Then I’ll I make a cutesey to do list that looks like an art work and tick boxes as I go. I like to make things as fun and cute as possible, it gets my creative juices flowing.
10.Who or what influences your art style and direction?
Colour, nature, music and water. I love soaking myself in natures way of naturing. From design eras, psychedelic art era and bauhaus inspire me the most.
11.How would you describe your fashion style? Is there anything or anyone that inspires the way you dress?
My fashion style is slightly whacky, quite whimsy, lots of buckles and buttons - it’s like a colourful lollipop brew ! My style choices are pretty loud and out there - I love colour and odd combinations so much! Colour, nature and music inspire my fashion as much as they inspire my art. Well, fashion to me is art.
Every morning I wake up, I get SO excited to choose what I get to wear that day! Like how FUN is it! What really gets me is socks.. I love socks SO MUCH. I shop my socks mainly from kids sections because they got the cutest frills, patterns and colours. I wanna design a sock collection next in collaboration with a brand that aligns with my style!
I love vintage clothing and I always seek to find pieces made of sustainable/natural fibres. I have some synthetic pieces but I am in a process of changing my entire wardrobe into designs that are only made of natural fibres. I’m doing this not only for my health but for the Mama Earth. We have enough plastic, let’s change the system ! !
12.Any words of advice or thoughts you'd want to share-could be about art, surfing, or just life in general?
My biggest advice for anyone reading is to embrace your uniqueness, create and wear what ever you like!
Yes, you can wear hot red cowboy boots and a whimsy pink dress to get bread from the shops in the morning. Do it! Make art without a thought, grab a blank canvas and slap some paint intuitively. Start a new hobby. Make your life so friggin romantic that you fall in love with yourself and your surroundings. Get new bed sheets. Decorate your room with flowers, plants and get them the most cutesey pots that makes you go like “Wow Mr Plant, why do you look so friggin adorable?!” Make your life cute. Fall in love with it and with yourself. Celebrate everything within and around you! The only person stopping you from being unapologetically you is you! The world wants to see your essence shine loud and bright!
I love life, it’s so friggin CUTE!
