About the Exhibition:
The rug exhibition “Uue päeva muna” (“The Egg of a New Day”) at the Elva Cultural Centre is an overview of works by Koidu Lauri created between 2010 and 2025. The display features more than twenty colourful pictorial rugs crafted from carded wool, wool batting, and wool yarn, using both wet-felting and needle-felting techniques. To enrich the surfaces, beads, sequins, paper, and other elements have been added.
These works carry felted-in joyful thoughts, wishes, and dreams, as well as subtle hints, playful twists, and small riddles (e.g., Beneath the Surface, Above Autumn, It’s All in Your Head…).
A smaller part of the exhibition consists of more monochromatic rugs made in a completely different technique, where cutting handmade felt has resulted in striking visual effects (e.g., Good Messages, Thinking Myself to the Moon).
About the Artist:
I was born in Petseri County when it was still part of Setomaa. I attended school in Viluste, Räpina, and Tartu, the latter eventually becoming my home. I graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in chemistry.
I’ve been engaged in handicraft throughout my life. My enthusiasm for felting began in 2010 with indoor slippers and toy animals, followed by the creation of felted pictorial rugs. Over the years, I’ve held dozens of rug exhibitions—from Võru to Tallinn and from Märjamaa to Rakvere—in libraries, galleries, schools, and elsewhere. Alongside felting, I began painting more consistently at the Konrad Mägi Atelier. Painting is the reason felting has taken a back seat in recent years. What started as a painting hobby has grown into my calling.
Wool holds power and enchanting possibilities that are easy to become captivated by. I hope these works “speak” to the viewer, offering joy and aesthetic pleasure, and inspiring anyone to embark on a creative pursuit.
