Try Silence - Lessons from Finland
“When you’ve heard it all, try silence.”
marketing slogan for the Finnish Archipelago
A lake in Korppoo Island, Finland. ©Amy Guion Clay 2025
There is an artist residency - a bus, a bridge, and 2 ferries away from Helsinki - in the archipelago in the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Sweden.
They call it AARK, and that became my home for 5 weeks in Oct/Nov of this year, 2025. It is the brainstorm of a Finnish couple (Renja and Benkku), who bought an old ferryman’s building right by the ferry docks on the island of Korppoo/Korpo (both Finnish and Swedish names) to house 5 artists.
Their recent 10 year milestone anniversary is a testament to their commitment to bringing artists to this far away island, and to keep it afloat against many obstacles.
Try Silence #1 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged hand painted papers and thread.
My experience from first landing in Finland was one of calm, peace, stillness, and most definitely, silence. My nervous system, coming from the US, was on high alert, but quickly I felt an assimilation to the pace and peace of this place.
The Finns are notoriously comfortable with silence, driving in the car can be an exercise in NOT filling in the gaps (long periods of silence) with chatter.
Try Silence #2 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged hand painted papers and thread.
My usual way of creating is to dive in, start layering paint, adding and subtracting the layers, searching for the right balance of chaos and order. But my intention while at residencies is always to leave my old ways behind. To see with fresh eyes my new environment and respond accordingly.
Try Silence #3 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged hand painted papers and thread.
And Finland/Korppoo called for me to find my inner peace, to not force or rush anything, just allow things to find their own way without expecting an outcome. To find the silence.
Try Silence 8 ©Amy Guion Clay Collaged hand painted papers and thread. 2025
As my work emerged here, the collage/paintings became meditations - simple, symmetrical, quiet expressions of slowing down. I resisted the sometimes urge to jazz things up, to add more, to keep going.
Try Silence #4 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged painted decayed leaf and thread.
And I challenged myself to stop when it was just enough. Because everything already is enough. And what is enough anyway? One mark can be all it needs, when it’s a mark made from presence.
Try Silence #5 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged hand painted papers, old nail and thread.
But my time is waning here, and I’m grieving the leaving of this magical place. The water is a still as glass. A swath of pale blue is breaking through the overcast sky, mirroring on the lake, as shown in the above photo. I’m clinging to this memory as it happens, and drag myself away.
I muse on the realization that my palette all along has been just this - a soft blue, charcoal black, white and some reflections of bronze. Although the palette emerged naturally, it wasn’t until later that it was apparent the inspiration.
Try Silence #6 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged hand painted papers and old found nail.
So now the challenge is to hold on to that spacious calm within. I realize that will be a Sisyphean task, when the noise of the world creeps in again. When the cultural hustle screams do more, be more, get more. I know it too well. But at least I’ve had a respite from all that for these 5 weeks, a time to reflect and be still, to actually learn what silence means. These works I created will be my reminders.
An informal sharing with the other artists - works in process. ©Amy Guion Clay
So here are 3 simple and profound lessons I learned from my time in Finland:
Try silence. Really, try it. Honest silence for more than just a few moments. When the mind is silent too. Easier said than done, but creating a medication practice daily will spare the nervous system from noisy overload.
See less as more. Instead of adding, try pausing before you moving forward, keep things simple, focus on what the moment calls for - in art making and in life. Choose just the essentials.
Trust in enough. Notice when the external forces call for more and more, and just say enough. Notice the powerful temptation to prove yourself, to crave validation, to change for the external world. Know that now is enough, THIS moment is enough.
Try Silence #7 ©Amy Guion Clay 2025 Collaged hand painted papers and painted leaf.