Tuulikki Pietilä

01

BY THE RECORD PLAYER

“At last I’ve found my way to the one I want to be with,” writes Tove Jansson in one of her first letters to the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä in June 1956.

Their paths had crossed a few times over the years, but their first proper encounter came in 1955 when they met over the gramophone at the Artists’ Guild Christmas party in Helsinki. They had both brought their own records and were keen to hear them played. Despite Tove’s invitations, they didn’t dance together that night.

Tove then received a Christmas card from Tuulikki Pietilä, featuring a drawing of a stripey cat, and their feelings for one another deepened. A bitter winter lingered and the snowdrifts were high in March 1956 when Tove first visited Tuulikki’s studio in faraway Töölö. They shared a bottle of wine and played their new French records. Bonding over their shared passion for music became an important part of their relationship. The following year, Tove Jansson published her sixth Moomin book Moominland Midwinter (1957), in which Moomintroll meets Too-ticky and learns of the uncertain nature of winter. In some of Tove’s letters she even calls Tuulikki ‘Too-ticky’ sometimes, but in private the nickname was soon shortened to Tooti. In the comic series Moomin and the Sea (1957) the character introduces herself with the words: “I am Too-ticky, I’m looking for driftwood.”

Tove Jansson is open about the fact that Too-ticky was closely modelled on Tuulikki Pietilä and the similarities between them are many. Just like Too-ticky, Tuulikki was a craftswoman who created her own world in her studio. Her myriad interests included literature and film, and her well-crafted bookshelves – which also displayed her ever-growing cumulation of home videos – lined the walls of her home. Interestingly, she collected editions of Daniel Defoe’s classic novel Robinson Crusoe.

tove jansson work desire tuulikki pietilä cat christmas card — The Christmas card sent to Tove Jansson by Tuulikki Pietilä in 1955.

The Christmas card sent to Tove Jansson by Tuulikki Pietilä in 1955.

tove jansson trollvinter — Tuulikki Pietilä was the role model and inspiration for the character Too-ticky, introduced in the book Moominland Midwinter.

Tuulikki Pietilä was the role model and inspiration for the character Too-ticky, introduced in the book Moominland Midwinter.

“At last I’ve found my way to the one I want to be with,” writes Tove Jansson in one of her first letters to the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä in June 1956.

Their paths had crossed a few times over the years, but their first proper encounter came in 1955 when they met over the gramophone at the Artists’ Guild Christmas party in Helsinki. They had both brought their own records and were keen to hear them played. Despite Tove’s invitations, they didn’t dance together that night.

Tove then received a Christmas card from Tuulikki Pietilä, featuring a drawing of a stripey cat, and their feelings for one another deepened. A bitter winter lingered and the snowdrifts were high in March 1956 when Tove first visited Tuulikki’s studio in faraway Töölö. They shared a bottle of wine and played their new French records. Bonding over their shared passion for music became an important part of their relationship. The following year, Tove Jansson published her sixth Moomin book Moominland Midwinter (1957), in which Moomintroll meets Too-ticky and learns of the uncertain nature of winter. In some of Tove’s letters she even calls Tuulikki ‘Too-ticky’ sometimes, but in private the nickname was soon shortened to Tooti. In the comic series Moomin and the Sea (1957) the character introduces herself with the words: “I am Too-ticky, I’m looking for driftwood.”

Tove Jansson is open about the fact that Too-ticky was closely modelled on Tuulikki Pietilä and the similarities between them are many. Just like Too-ticky, Tuulikki was a craftswoman who created her own world in her studio. Her myriad interests included literature and film, and her well-crafted bookshelves – which also displayed her ever-growing cumulation of home videos – lined the walls of her home. Interestingly, she collected editions of Daniel Defoe’s classic novel Robinson Crusoe.

02

TEN YEARS ABROAD

Tuulikki Pietilä studied engraving at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, before moving to Paris for a few years.

Tuulikki Pietilä (1917-2009) was born in Seattle, but her family moved back to Finland when she was four years old. Her parents Frans and Ida Pietilä (née Lehtinen) settled in Turku in 1921, where her brother Reima was born in 1923. He went on to become one of Finland’s most renowned architects.

Like Tove Jansson, Tuulikki Pietilä was focused on becoming an artist from a young age. She began her artistic education in Turku at the age of sixteen, and went on to the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki three years later. During the war she served in East Karelia as a part of the Lotta Svärd voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women, then in 1944 she got involved with the evacuation of children from Finland to Sweden. She ended up in Halmstad where she worked in healthcare and had her first solo exhibition. After the war she attended the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (1945-49) to study engraving, before moving to Paris. There, she immersed herself in graphic arts at the Académie Fernard Léger and went on to work with the legendary engraver Louis Calevaert-Brun. She also worked as a teacher of graphic form and technique. After a decade abroad, Tuulikki Pietilä returned to Helsinki in 1954. It was the following year that she met Tove Jansson. They lived together for forty-five years.

tuulikki pietilä art — A graphic by Tuulikki Pietilä from 1956.

A graphic by Tuulikki Pietilä from 1956.

Tuulikki Pietilä studied engraving at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, before moving to Paris for a few years.

Tuulikki Pietilä (1917-2009) was born in Seattle, but her family moved back to Finland when she was four years old. Her parents Frans and Ida Pietilä (née Lehtinen) settled in Turku in 1921, where her brother Reima was born in 1923. He went on to become one of Finland’s most renowned architects.

Like Tove Jansson, Tuulikki Pietilä was focused on becoming an artist from a young age. She began her artistic education in Turku at the age of sixteen, and went on to the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki three years later. During the war she served in East Karelia as a part of the Lotta Svärd voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women, then in 1944 she got involved with the evacuation of children from Finland to Sweden. She ended up in Halmstad where she worked in healthcare and had her first solo exhibition. After the war she attended the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm (1945-49) to study engraving before moving to Paris. There, she immersed herself in graphic arts at the Académie Fernard Léger and went on to work with the legendary engraver Louis Calevaert-Brun. She also worked as a teacher of graphic form and technique. After a decade abroad, Tuulikki Pietilä returned to Helsinki in 1954. It was the following year that she met Tove Jansson. They lived together for forty-five years.

03

A SUPER 8 MM FILM CAMERA FROM JAPAN

Tuulikki Pietilä was a traveller and a seeker who valued freedom above all else, just like Tove Jansson. A shared future was on the cards from the very beginning.

“I love you as if bewitched, yet at the same time with profound calm, and I’m not afraid of anything life has in store for us,” Tove writes to her beloved in June 1956. Tuulikki replies:

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This is where Tove and Tooti’s love story really begins.

Their lives changed over time, but two things remained constant throughout the years: work and love. When Tooti was looking for a new home in the early 1960s, there was a vacant apartment in the same building as Tove’s studio – albeit with a different street address – and she converted it into her home and studio. Thus they lived in separate quarters within the same building, an arrangement that suited them both perfectly. They could walk through a corridor in the attic to visit each other.

Travelling was a central part of both of their lives from a young age. Though they made careful preparations, what they loved most was travelling freely, without too much planning. They didn’t usually book hotels in advance. In Resa med Tove (2002), Tooti tells Tove’s publisher Helen Svensson about their main principle: “If we were enjoying ourselves somewhere, we would stay for as long as we felt like it, and if we weren’t enjoying ourselves, we would move on. It was our great freedom, and it was never spoken of, it was simply understood.” Their first trip in 1959 saw them travel to Greece through Europe by train. On their way back they stayed for a month in Paris, their favourite city, and took subsequent trips to Spain, Portugal, France, England, Ireland, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria – then later, north to the Faroe Islands and the fjords of Norway.

They did a couple of stints living at the artists’ residence Cité des Arts in Paris when Tooti was granted a stipend and access to a studio. It was there that Tove created the painting “Grafikern” – the graphic artist (1975). During their big round-the-world trip (1971-1972), Tooti bought a Konica film camera in Japan, which became their constant travel companion from then on. The documentary film Tove and Tooti in Europe directed by Kanerva Cederström and Riikka Tanner, is based on Tooti’s home movies from their travels between 1972 and 1993.

Tuulikki and Tove in Tokyo. Photo Tamiko Bjernér — Tuulikki and Tove in Tokyo, 1971. Photo: Tamiko Bjernér.

Tuulikki and Tove in Tokyo, 1971. Photo: Tamiko Bjernér.

Tuulikki Pietilä was a traveller and a seeker who valued freedom above all else, just like Tove Jansson. A shared future was on the cards from the very beginning.

“I love you as if bewitched, yet at the same time with profound calm, and I’m not afraid of anything life has in store for us,” Tove writes to her beloved in June 1956. Tuulikki replies:

T
o
v
e
,

y
o
u

c
a
n

h
a
v
e

n
o

i
d
e
a

h
o
w

m
u
c
h

I

l
o
v
e

y
o
u
.

This is where Tove and Tooti’s love story really begins.

Their lives changed over time, but two things remained constant throughout the years: work and love. When Tooti was looking for a new home in the early 1960s, there was a vacant apartment in the same building as Tove’s studio – albeit with a different street address – and she converted it into her home and studio. Thus they lived in separate quarters within the same building, an arrangement that suited them both perfectly. They could walk through a corridor in the attic to visit each other.

Travelling was a central part of both of their lives from a young age. Though they made careful preparations, what they loved most was travelling freely, without too much planning. They didn’t usually book hotels in advance. In Resa med Tove (1998), Tooti tells Tove’s publisher Helen Svensson about their main principle: “If we were enjoying ourselves somewhere, we would stay for as long as we felt like it, and if we weren’t enjoying ourselves, we would move on. It was our great freedom, and it was never spoken of, it was simply understood.” Their first trip in 1959 saw them travel to Greece through Europe by train. On their way back they stayed for a month in Paris, their favourite city, and took subsequent trips to Spain, Portugal, France, England, Ireland, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria – then later, north to the Faroe Islands and the fjords of Norway.

They did a couple of stints living at the artists’ residence Cité des Arts in Paris when Tooti was granted a stipend and access to a studio. It was there that Tove created the painting “Grafikern” – the graphic artist (1975). During their big round-the-world trip (1971-1972), Tooti bought a Konica film camera in Japan, which became their constant travel companion from then on. The documentary film Tove and Tooti in Europe directed by Kanerva Cederström and Riikka Tanner, is based on Tooti’s home movies from their travels between 1972 and 1993.

04

TWO ARTISTS

Life with the increasingly famous Tove Jansson was a huge adjustment for Tuulikki Pietilä as an artist.

Working together was the foundation of their lives. In 1969 they put on a joint exhibition of their art at a museum in Jyväskylä. Many projects had their starting point in the Moomin world. Together with their friend Pentti Eistola, Tove and Tooti built the large Moominhouse which came to be exhibited in many countries around the world, and then continued to work on a series of three-dimensional dioramas showing scenes from Moomin stories. Tooti also sculpted the Moomintroll statue that stands in Tampere and designed several small porcelain figurines for the Finnish ceramics company Arabia in the early 1990s, including Moominmamma and Moominpappa.

Summers on Klovharun, one of the outermost islands of the Pellinge archipelago, are described in their joint project Notes from an Island (1996) with text by Tove and pictures by Tooti. A variety of landscapes and natural settings are brought to life in Tooti’s watercolours, from midsummer moonlight rippling on the sea to the dark violence of a storm. This island, where she and Tove spent their summers for almost 30 years, was more than just a landscape, it was a way of life. It is also documented in the documentary film Haru – Island of the Solitary, directed by Kanerva Cederström and Riikka Tanner, based on the home movies that Tooti made on Klovharun over the years.

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Tove and Tooti built their lives together but it was not a pain-free process. Anyone who lived with Tove Jansson also had to live with her family. “All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured,” says Too-ticky in Moominland Midwinter.

Life with the increasingly famous Tove Jansson – they met after the Moomin series had first become a success – was a huge adjustment for Tuulikki Pietilä as an artist. She was one of Finland’s foremost graphic artists, with hundreds of exhibitions and thousands of artworks to her name. She worked for a period as a teacher at the Fine Arts Academy of Finland in Helsinki and wrote books on her craft. She earned the title of professor in 1982, a couple of years after Tove. From early on in her artistic career, she worked with colour and experimented with different techniques. Her motifs varied between the figurative and abstract, and the retrospective exhibition that took place in Helsinki in 2017, a century after her birth, was a powerful representation of her entire repertoire – compositions, landscapes, self-portraits and various studies of the human form in motion.

Tuulikki Pietilä had to come to terms with the fact that her artistic career would be overshadowed by Tove Jansson, but at the same time, her art and practical outlook on life had a huge impact on Tove Jansson’s work as a writer and visual artist. “That I was able to write Moominland Midwinter was entirely due to Tooti,” Tove Jansson once wrote in a letter to me. “She made me write about difficult things.”

Many of Tove Jansson’s texts were also rooted in life with Tooti, from Moominland Midwinter to the novella Fair Play (1989), which depicts two women living together. One is a visual artist, the other a writer and visual artist. In the last chapter, “The Letter”, the visual artist has received a scholarship to Paris but is reluctant to leave her partner and travel alone. But for those who are “blessed with love”, as the story concludes, there are always opportunities in solitude.

Text: Boel Westin

Tuulikki Tove Klovharun — Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä spent almost 30 summers at Klovharun. Tuulikki was a big support, who helped Tove manage her work and provided guidance, just like Too-ticky in the story Moominland Midwinter.

Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä spent almost 30 summers at Klovharun. Tuulikki was a big support, who helped Tove manage her work and provided guidance, just like Too-ticky in the story Moominland Midwinter.

Tuulikki Pietilä 1999 © Pertti Nisonen — Tuulikki Pietilä, 1999. Photo: Pertti Nisonen

Tuulikki Pietilä, 1999. Photo: Pertti Nisonen

Life with the increasingly famous Tove Jansson was a huge adjustment for Tuulikki Pietilä as an artist.

Working together was the foundation of their lives. In 1969 they put on a joint exhibition of their art at a museum in Jyväskylä. Many projects had their starting point in the Moomin world. Together with their friend Pentti Eistola, Tove and Tooti built the large Moominhouse which came to be exhibited in many countries around the world, and then continued to work on a series of three-dimensional dioramas showing scenes from Moomin stories. Tooti also sculpted the Moomintroll statue that stands in Tampere and designed several small porcelain figurines for the Finnish ceramics company Arabia in the early 1990s, including Moominmamma and Moominpappa.

Summers on Klovharun, one of the outermost islands of the Pellinge archipelago, are described in their joint project Notes from an Island (1996) with text by Tove and pictures by Tooti. A variety of landscapes and natural settings are brought to life in Tooti’s watercolours, from midsummer moonlight rippling on the sea to the dark violence of a storm. This island, where she and Tove spent their summers for almost 30 years, was more than just a landscape, it was a way of life. It is also documented in the documentary film Haru – Island of the Solitary, directed by Kanerva Cederström and Riikka Tanner, based on the home movies that Tooti made on Klovharun over the years.

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l

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a
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s
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.

Tove and Tooti built their lives together but it was not a pain-free process. Anyone who lived with Tove Jansson also had to live with her family. “All things are so very uncertain, and that’s exactly what makes me feel reassured,” says Too-ticky in Moominland Midwinter.

Life with the increasingly famous Tove Jansson – they met after the Moomin series had first become a success – was a huge adjustment for Tuulikki Pietilä as an artist. She was one of Finland’s foremost graphic artists, with hundreds of exhibitions and thousands of artworks to her name. She worked for a period as a teacher at the Fine Arts Academy of Finland in Helsinki and wrote books on her craft. She earned the title of professor in 1982, a couple of years after Tove. From early on in her artistic career, she worked with colour and experimented with different techniques. Her motifs varied between the figurative and abstract, and the retrospective exhibition that took place in Helsinki in 2017, a century after her birth, was a powerful representation of her entire repertoire – compositions, landscapes, self-portraits and various studies of the human form in motion.

Tuulikki Pietilä had to come to terms with the fact that her artistic career would be overshadowed by Tove Jansson, but at the same time, her art and practical outlook on life had a huge impact on Tove Jansson’s work as a writer and visual artist. “That I was able to write Moominland Midwinter was entirely due to Tooti,” Tove Jansson once wrote in a letter to me. “She made me write about difficult things.”

Many of Tove Jansson’s texts were also rooted in life with Tooti, from Moominland Midwinter to the novella Fair Play (1989), which depicts two women living together. One is a visual artist, the other a writer and visual artist. In the last chapter, “The Letter”, the visual artist has received a scholarship to Paris but is reluctant to leave her partner and travel alone. But for those who are “blessed with love”, as the story concludes, there are always opportunities in solitude.

Text: Boel Westin