Vytautas Jasinskas, Sodas su akmens skulptūromis / Garden with stone sculptures

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this image is a screenprint from the video in the documentation

In he northeast of Lithuania lies Kupiškis, a city with over 16,000 inhabitants, beautifully situated at the confluence of the Lėvuo and Kupa rivers. 

Culturally and economically, the city is an important center in the Panevėžys region.

this image and the next three published here .
in agreement with the website Pozicija.org

Life and works

As a renowned sculptor, Vytautas Jasinskas, who was born in the late 1940s, contributes to the cultural aspect of the city.

He had a difficult childhood because his father, who had escaped from a concentration camp, had to go into hiding and frequently change his place of residence.

Those circumstances also meant that Jasinskas, who had a clear talent as a draftsman, could not receive training as an artist, but had to learn a trade to help his father in earning a living.

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Jasinskas gained experience in stonemasonry while working in the monument workshop of the Kupiškis Domestic Service Complex. 

He learned from experienced craftsmen how to break, chisel and polish stones.

The work was not easy, because at the time, in the Soviet era, stoneworking technology was nowhere near as modern as it is now.

Many years passed, during which the young stonemason developed a fondness for artistic stone working .

The desire to reveal the natural beauty of the boulders in the fields, the desire to let the stone speak, grew ever stronger, until it eventually became his daily occupation.

Jasinskas recounts that when he worked as a stonemason at the former domestic services factory in Kupiškis, he and his colleagues were called upon by museum staff, not only to put their skills to use, but also to create works of folk art.

Currently Jasinskas lives in a house along Topolių Street, a relatively short street situated along the northeastern edge of Kupiškis, a place where the urban development gives way to green fields with a small hill.

There is a spacious green area between Jasinkas's home and the street, which he utilizes to situate his sculptures.

As the very fisrt image shows, people walking down the street have an unobstructed view of the sculptures displayed in Jasinska's art environment..

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Documentation

* Article (April 2023) on website Pozicija.org

* Article (May 2020) on newspaper Sekunde.lt

* Article (April 2023) on newspaper Ukininkopatarejas

Video

* Video by Jolita Pipynienė entitled Kupiškėna folk artist Vytautas Jasinskas (2018)  

Vytautas Jasinskas

Garden with stone sculptures

at the end of the Topolių street

Kupiškis, region Panevėžys, Lithuania

Erkki Pekkarinen, Koivuntuohimuseo / Birch Bark Museum

unless indicated otherwise images have been published here
in agreement with the (Finnish) Rural Education Association  
above image and the next one by Juho Haavisto

The image above shows a studio, which in addition to various materials, also includes two large-scale woven shoes in the background.

This is Erkki Pekkarinen's Bark Weaver’s Cottage in the small rural community of Asikkala in Finland.

The photo below shows him seated in his studio.

Life and works

The two scenes give an impression of Erkki Pekkarinen's house museum, which can be seen as a small-scale art environment.

Erkki Pekkarinen has become known as a virtuoso when it comes to weaving pieces of birch bark. He has made both the largest creation of woven birch bark shoes in the world, a work 2.7 meters high, and the smallest, which has a size of 3.8 millimeters.

He was born in 1936 in the city of of Lieksa and he now lives in Asikkala, in the region Päijänne Tavastia in the south of Finland.

His father was a carpenter by profession, but as a boy he had to learn to weave birch bark himself. He started doing this at a fairly young age, when he was some ten years old.

After his years in primary school, Pekkarinen went to work at a sawmill, where was enough material available to make wickerwork whenever he felt like it.

Portrait (2018) by Peter Holliday

One of his most iconic works, as in the image above, is a wearable three-piece suit made entirely out of woven birch bark. 

He regularly appears at the opening of art exhibitions dressed in this suit, complete with a woven Stetson hat made of tree bark and a tree bark briefcase.

The image below-left shows him in his entirety in this costume. 

this image courtesy of Veli Grano

this image courtesy of Veli Grano

In the image above-right, Pekkarinen can also be seen in this costume, but then, almost literally, at the foot of one of his gigantic creations.

Such a figure, more than five meters tall, was in 2017 placed in the courtyard of a hotel in his hometown.

At the hotel reception stands the giant's little brother, referred to in Finnish as Pikku-Erkki.

image by Raija Kalioinen

The world's smallest creations made of birch bark, created by Erkki Pekkarinen, have been on display at various exhibitions in Finland and have also toured England for two years.

Recently two notable developments occurred.

Firstly, the Asikkala Local Heritage Museum established a space where Pekkarinen's works are on display in an atmospheric setting. That space was opened to the public in late June 2026.

The museum's website shows an image of the wall cabinet in the studio that Pekkarinen had in his home (as in the first image in this post). It is possible that this cabinet, along with other creations, has moved to the museum.

Secundly, the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, USA, announced a new exhibition, opening on October 10, 2026, and running until September 5, 2027. This exhibition, titled Flaunt: When Appearance Speaks, also features work by Erkki Pekkarinen. 

The exhibition shows more than 60 works by various artists who often use processed everyday materials such as buttons, pipe cleaners or birch bark, like Pekkarinen.

Documentaion

*  Article on the website ITE Taide published by Maaseudun Sivistysliitto,  the (Finnish) Rural Education Association  

* Article  on the website of the municipality of Assikala

Video

* Video (2017) by Mike Inglis with Raija Kalioinen and Erkki Pekkarinen talking about his wickerwork (If you watch the video on YouTube, there is also accompanying information about the topics discussed)

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Erkki Pekkarinen

Birch Bark Stables

Asikkala Local Heritage Museum

Kirkkotie 43

17320 Asikkala, region Päijät-Häme, Finland

Pasi Keskisarjan, Seikkailupuisto "Crazyland" / Adventure Park "Crazyland"

this image as on Streetview
the location of Crazyland along the road

Northern Ostrobothnia, a region located in the north-central part of Finland, is the second largest in the country by area. It stretches from the Gulf of Bothnia in the west to the border with Russia in the east.

In the village of Maliskylä with some 250 inhabitants, which is part of the municipality of Nivala, lies Crazyland, a well-known adventure park in Finland featuring all kinds of miniature models, sculptures, and (artistic) installations.

this image and the next ones are taken from the video 
in the documentation made in 2026,
 published here in agreement with the photographer Hillbilly.

The development of Crazyland

The story of Crazyland begins in 2015.

It all started with Pasi Keskisarjan, an inhabitant of Nivala born in 1968, who dreamed of owning a model of an airplane and somehow realized that dream. 

However, the plane he acquired was so large that it did not fit in the garden aroud his house. So he looked around if he could rent a plot of land somewhere around Nivala to accomodate the plane. 

He found the site that now comprises Crazyland and initially planned to designate the area as a storage for caravans, but on second thought and probably in consultation with friends, he gave the site more the character of an exhibition space.

And so his airplane was the first item to end up on a piece of land that over the years would grow into an exhibition space open to the public and featuring all kinds of more or less artistic creations.

The space near the airplane was supplemented with a depiction of a control tower -portrayed below- and a representation of a runway.

The idea of ​​situating a kind of adventure park on the site was well received by many people and thus, over the years the park would take shape at a rapid pace.

With the exception oft the airplanes, all creations have been made by Pasi Keskisarjan, who had no artistic education.

A striking structure is the 14 meter high wooden copy of the Eiffel Tower, located at the the entrance, which can be seen in the image at the top of this article.

In addition to a reproduction of the world-famous Eiffel Tower, there is a creation dedicated to the equally well-known sinking of the Titanic, as in the image above.

The image below has on the left side reproduction of a rocket, likely an imitation of a historic 110 meter large American rocket that reportedly took astronauts to the moon in the 1960s.

The image below portrays a dancing young lady, internationally known as Marilyn Monroe.

And then there is a space craft in a flowerbed with a crew member from another world in the universe, situated on a round stone base filled with small-scale golf courses.

In addition to the images of Marilyn Monroe and the person from space, there is also a creation below representing Charlie Chaplin.

The scene below depicts a young lady playing a piano, 

and a little further down, an airplane can be seen in a somewhat peculiar position.

By now, the site also includes all kinds of inflatable, multicolored facilities, which are especially suitable for children to play on. 

Indeed, this art environment is still under development.

The park has services such as a kiosk, a golf course during the summer season, a few cottages to stay in, and a cottage for barbecuing.

Documentation

* Website of Crazyland

* Account of Crazyland on Facebook

* Series of images on ITE-art

* Article (March 2023) with illustrations on Finnish newspaper Seura

Videos

* Video  (August 2021) by Seppoy on YouTube

* Another video (July 2026) by Hillbilly on YouTube

 

Pasi Keskisarjan

Adventure Park "Crazyland"

Makkaratie 1311

85640 Maliskylä, region Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland

admission is free

the site on streetview

Remilio da Re, Casa del Castello / Castle House

all images courtesy of Giada Carraro

The castle-like structure depicted above is situated in a garden near a house in Orsago, a small municipality located in the province of Treviso, Italy.

The city, with some 3700 inhabitants (2003) is situated about 60 kilometers north of Venice.

 Life and works

The structure was created single-handedly by Remilio da Re, who was born in 1927 and died in 2003.

He was married and the couple had a few daughters.

Remilio da Re had a job as a bricklayer, working for a construction company, where he resigned in the 1960s for health reasons.

A castle-like creation

The 1960s were also the period in which he devoted himself fully to the construction of a castle-like structure, situated in the front garden of his house. For the construction, he used cement, mortar and stone.

The castle-like building rests on a sturdy concrete foundation, and the images in this post clearly show that the castle is not only equipped with numerous entrance doors and various windows, but that spread over the entire structure of the creation it features several round towers and various pointed roofs.

As far as is known, the design is not based on a structure located elsewhere that served as a model and source of inspiration, but the de Casa del Castello as a whole stems from the creative mind of Remilio da Re.

The castle-like creation does not stand on its own, but is surrounded by a number of smaller creations.

The family and descendants of Remilio la Re ensure the continued existence of his creations after his passing.

Documentation

* Article by Giada Carraro, about Remilio da Re on her website Bric-á-Brac Italia. (As far as I could ascertain, this is the only publication on the internet  about the creation).

Remilio da Re

Castle House

Orsago, region Treviso, Italy

Corrado Bricchi, Il muro dei sogni / The wall of dreams

this image and the next three as on Facebook, 
published here in agreement with Veneto Segreto

Jesolo is a city in northern Italy, located in the Veneto region, at the mouth of the Plave and Sile rivers.

It boasts a beautiful beach and charming streets, making it a popular destination for many European tourists, especially those wishing to visit nearby Venice.

Life and works

Jesolo is also home to the Wall of Dreams, an art environment characterized, as the images show, by an explosion of colors and shapes.

The art environment was conceived in 1997 when Corrado Bricchi, a resident of Jesolo who worked as a cook in the local hospital, wanted to cover a damp patch on the exterior wall of his house. He tried to cover the stain with white paint, but when that didn't work, he covered it with an image of a boat on a blue sea.

That helped. 

In fact, passersby found the boat so charming that they took pictures of it.

This inspired Bricchi, who was interested in art, to go beyond just the boat and give the entire wall a colorful look. 

Thus, the Wall of Dreams was born.

It has become a multi-coloured decoration, made up of dozens of individual elements, often provided with small informative texts on white plaques.

Corrado Bricchi appreciates the interest shown in his work by passersby. Therefore, in addition to the main section of the art environment, he has created a separate corner called Agendina del Sole (Solar Agenda), which invites passersby to pause and take a photo of themselves standing in front of the artwork.

Documentation

* Entry on the website Costruttori di Babele, with a variety of images

*Article by Giada Carraro on her website Bric-a-Brac, also with a variety of images

* Article (December 2018) on the Facebook account.of Veneto Segreto

* Article (May 2024) on the local newspaper Veneto Orienhtale Informazione

Corrado Bricchi

The wall of dreams

21 Via Ada Negri

30016 Jesolo, region Veneto, Italy

can be seen from the street

Dominique le Paih, Jardin de l'harmonie / Garden of Harmony

images courtesy of Sophie Lepetit, from hetr weblog

The Garden of Harmony is an art environment that is located in Pluméliau-Bieuzy, a municipality with approximately 4,600 inhabitants (January 2023) in the center of the Morbihan department in Bretagne,  France.

The community was formed on January 1, 2019 by the merger of the municipalities of Bieuzy and Pluméliau.

Life and works

This decorated garden has been created by Dominique le Paih, who was born in the early 1950s and nowadys is pensionated. 

During his working life, he was a plumber and heating engineer.

He built his house in Pluméliau-Bieuzy with his own hands and when that was finished, in his spare time he built a turret in the backyard of his house..

Subsequently, he spent three years constructing a barbecue facility, which took on the distinctive shape of a structure consisting of two towers and a surrounding wall, giving the whole thing the allure of a castle.

Apparently, occupying himself with all kinds of construction work in his spare time, pleased him so much, that in the early 1990s, when he was about forty years old, he took the direction of embellishing the garden with more artistic creations.

So without any formal artistic training, he began making all kinds of stone sculptures, as can be seen in the surrounding photos.

Working with granite from the quarries of Le Saint, near Le Faouët, the garden of Dominique le Paih acquired a special allure, which, as stated in the article on Sophie Lepetite's blog, is "a living, constantly evolving work of art, a place where nature and imagination come together to form a poetic and inspiring universe."

In addition to the large-scale creation of the barbecue, the garden features a large number of smaller creations, such as a large fish, a statue of Venus, and also a relic of the famous Brussels Manekken Pis.

Walls are decorated with Chinese figures and all kinds of animals such as owls, scorpions and dragons.

 Other creations are imitations of statues on Easter Island.

Dominique le Paih is still actively working on expanding the collection.

The site is regulalary open to visitors.

Documentation

* Article (March 14, 2026) on the weblog of Sophie Lepetit

* Article (June 2025) in newspaper La Gazette

* Article (June 2025) in newspaer Ouest-France

* Article (2025) on the website Open Agenda

Dominique le Paih

Garden of Harmony

72 Rue du stade 

56310 Pluméliau-Bieuzy, dept Morbihan, region Bretagne, France

Odd Einar, Skulpturer langs en vei langs en fjord / Sculptures along a road along a fjord

this image as on Google Streetview

The scene above and the one below are part of an art environment, located near Kornstad,  a small town in the coastal area in western Norway.

The town is part of the municipality of Averøya, located on the Kornstadfjorden.

this image also as on Google Streetview

Life and works

The sculptures, situated at various locations along the road along the fjord near Kornstad, have been created by Odd Einar, assisted by his wife Monica, a couple that lives in a house near these sculptures.

Odd Einar was a teacher at a local school for 41 years and is now retired.

this image and the next four courtesy of Sophie Lepetit, .

from her weblog (see documentation)

The image above and the following four were created by Sophie Lepetit from France, who traveled through Norway with her partner and, to her surprise, came across the sculptures.

Many more images can be seen on her weblog (see documentation)..

The numerous creations along the road are made of wood, mostly tree trunks, and appear to have been shaped with a chainsaw.

They depict classical figures, such as the Viking in the very first image. 

This image also shows multiple people with colorful painting applied by Einar's partner.

But besides that, there are numerous other sculptures, mostly not painted in color, such as, to quote the article on Sophie Lepetit's weblog "reindeer with exuberant antlers, enormous bears, stately deer, a crocodile, an angel, eagles, a penguin, apples, trolls, owls......"

Although the sculptures are largely scattered throughout the area along the road, their design and appearance undoubtedly form a coherent whole.

Located along a section of the route that has a unique character due to its location along the fjords of Norway, this art environment attracts many tourists traveling along this route..

Documentation

* Article (May 16, 2026) on the weblog of Sophie Lepetit

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Odd Einar

Sculptures along a road along a fjord

Village of Kornstad, Municipality of Averøy, region Møre og Romsdal, Norway

can be seen from the road