
Since I was a teenager I wanted to be an artist, but coming from a rather materialistic and prudent family it felt too big of a risk to me. So at the age of 16 I decided to follow the footsteps of my father and eventually went to study to be an architect. I worked as an architect co-running my own office for 25 years but I never felt the architecture was my passion, I never put my full energy into it. I did enjoy the creative part of it, but being an architect involved too much mundane office work and restrictions for me and too little free creativity.
For all my life working with my hands has been my doorway to my private magical place. As long as I can remember that is where I feel the most alive and satisfied, the outside world fades away and there is just me and what my hands are working on. There I feel that something greater than me is just flowing through my hands and all I need to do is to step aside and enjoy the ride. And that is the most intoxicating and satisfying feeling I have ever felt.
So when I decided to quit working as an architect it didn’t take long to decide that I want to do art and specifically bronze sculptures. The process of creating a bronze sculpture, especially doing the whole process from start to finish, has a perfect combination of creative art work and craftmanship for me.

All the sculptures shown here are key points on my spiritual path on my search for fundamental questions of who am I and what is my purpose here on this earth.
My desire is that they would transmit my lived experiences to others in a deeper way that it is possible for me to describe in words.
Leijona Wiren
PS: for those who know that my given is name is Timo, why am I calling my self Leijona now? It is part of me opening to the new possibilities and letting go of the old patterns that dont serve me anymore. Its me wanting to live to my fullest potential and not play it small. Lot of us Finns are conditioned to play it small, blend in and not stand out. To put yourself forward is easily considered arrogance and the possible failure then shameful. But me or anyone else playing it small doesn’t do anyone a favor. I want to shine and I want others around me to shine too.