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Aino Ellis Art
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Cutting Corners Through Time
Hi!
I'm Aino Ellis, a collage art hobbyist and founder of Hki Collage – a lively new art community based in Kalasatama, Helsinki.
My digital collages are inspired by old photographs, historic paintings, and design from 1890s through 1920s. I also love to bring people together for art and chatter!
I invite you to scroll down and click to check out my art. If you'd like to book a collage workshop in Finland or Estonia, I'd love to hear from you!
Have a beautiful day,
Aino
+358 45 150 1446
@ainoellis_art
@hki_collage
Portfolio // Aino Ellis
Collage works using old museum photos, public domain paintings, Art Deco artworks and old wallpaper fragments
Click on the thumbnails to view the works in their entirety (the preview crops them) and to read more about each piece. See if you can spot my signature cutting style - entirely straight lines - in the pieces below!
Block Party (2025)
Digital collage inspired by a contemporary photo portrait of a boy in traditional costume. I mixed it up with Art Deco vintage posters, a Victorian skirt and a photo bank image of poppies, going for a fun, vibrant and celebratory feel.
Can you hear the music? See the dancers, musicians and neighbours who come together once a year for a cheery afternoon?
Can you hear the music? See the dancers, musicians and neighbours who come together once a year for a cheery afternoon?
Graduation (2025)
Digital collage inspired by an old portrait of two Finnish highschool graduates, which I mixed with some old Japanese art.
It got me wondering how these girls' lives turned out. Did they continue their studies? Find a profession? Remain friends or drift apart?
It got me wondering how these girls' lives turned out. Did they continue their studies? Find a profession? Remain friends or drift apart?
Commander
Digital collage inspired by an old portrait of a woman with classical Mediterranean features. Her determined expression made me think of a navy commander, and inspired this piece.
To create this piece, I cut the painting up, and mixed it with fragments from old paintings, mosaics, posters and animal illustrations, using almost exclusively straight cutting lines.
To create this piece, I cut the painting up, and mixed it with fragments from old paintings, mosaics, posters and animal illustrations, using almost exclusively straight cutting lines.
Cyprus Garden
Digital collage inspired by old parrot illustrations. The orange circle shape reminded me of orange tree in Cyprus, which reminded me of sparrows and seagulls, and off I went!
This collage also contains an old photo portrait upside down. Just because!
This collage also contains an old photo portrait upside down. Just because!
True You
Digital collage inspired by an old portrait image of an actress in the midst of a recital
Her glamorous look made me want to partially redesign her dress. I used an old garden design plus public domain art deco images and an old bird illustration. All the elements added are cut with straight lines only.
Photo: Svenska teaterns arkiv CC BY 4.0
Her glamorous look made me want to partially redesign her dress. I used an old garden design plus public domain art deco images and an old bird illustration. All the elements added are cut with straight lines only.
Photo: Svenska teaterns arkiv CC BY 4.0
Here Today (2025)
Digital collage inspired by an old, public domain painting... and Louis Renard's colourful fish illustrations from 1719!
For me, collage is about 75 % stunning materials and 25 % composition. Finds like this painting and these ancient illustration give me so much joy! I hope some of it comes trough and reaches your heart as well.
For me, collage is about 75 % stunning materials and 25 % composition. Finds like this painting and these ancient illustration give me so much joy! I hope some of it comes trough and reaches your heart as well.
Windy Day
A small, cheerful piece inspired by this adorable cat of a kitten in a woolly sock. Another piece where I got to play with pattern!
Original photo: Nuoperi via Finna.fi
Pattern fragment: William Morris vintage
Graffiti fragment: Pixabay
Original photo: Nuoperi via Finna.fi
Pattern fragment: William Morris vintage
Graffiti fragment: Pixabay
Erasure, She Wrote
Collage inspired by women writers who submitted their manuscripts under male aliases.
Because a woman's world view couldn't possibly interest publishing houses - or the reading public...
My submission for Paris Collage Colletive's and Europeana's open call for International Women's Day 2025 with the theme 'Women and Media'.
Original images:
Portrait of Anna May Wong. United Archives / World History Archive.
Poster by Paul Berthon, 1895. Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art.
Because a woman's world view couldn't possibly interest publishing houses - or the reading public...
My submission for Paris Collage Colletive's and Europeana's open call for International Women's Day 2025 with the theme 'Women and Media'.
Original images:
Portrait of Anna May Wong. United Archives / World History Archive.
Poster by Paul Berthon, 1895. Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art.
Regret o'Clock
Inspired by ADHD hyperfocus. At my age, it's not outwardly hectic or busy. Not manic or restless. I don't climb anything ever!
It's just being 150 percent, sparkling awake when all the neighbours sleep... Consumed by an intense interest.
It's all there is, my brain is lit brightly like a ballroom, and I CAN'T leave what I'm doing.
Even though it's now Excessive AM. Half past Stop-it-Now. Regret o'Clock!
Photo: The Society for Swedish Literature 1905, CC BY 4.0
Other elements:
Turku Museum Centre CC BY 4.0
The Finnish National Library 1893
It's just being 150 percent, sparkling awake when all the neighbours sleep... Consumed by an intense interest.
It's all there is, my brain is lit brightly like a ballroom, and I CAN'T leave what I'm doing.
Even though it's now Excessive AM. Half past Stop-it-Now. Regret o'Clock!
Photo: The Society for Swedish Literature 1905, CC BY 4.0
Other elements:
Turku Museum Centre CC BY 4.0
The Finnish National Library 1893
Chaotic 1 & 2 (2024)
Digital collage inspired by house cats - and my own neurodiverse traits - and the chaos both of these they can bring
This pair of collage works is the digital Christmas piece I sent to friends in 2024. A person with inattentive ADHD traits can appear perfectly calm on the outside, but have a colourful chaos in their head at any time of the day or night.
While I may sit elegantly somewhere, lost in thought, chances are my inner experience is very different. It will most likely look something like these image at any given moment in time.
What's your inner world like?
This pair of collage works is the digital Christmas piece I sent to friends in 2024. A person with inattentive ADHD traits can appear perfectly calm on the outside, but have a colourful chaos in their head at any time of the day or night.
While I may sit elegantly somewhere, lost in thought, chances are my inner experience is very different. It will most likely look something like these image at any given moment in time.
What's your inner world like?
Cover art for World Collage Day collage challenge
A cover art piece for a social media challenge by Hki Collage & Finna.fi, celebrating World Collage Day 2025
I came up with the concept and executed our side of the social media challenge, in cooperation with Finna's representative. The challenge was to use one or more public domain images we had preselected from Finna.fi.
This cover art combines the following images:
Sara by Eero Järnefelt / Järvenpää Art Museum
Mirror selfie by Matti Mäntynen / Helsinki City Museum
Mallard by Ferdinand von Wright / Finnish National Gallery
Colorful excerpt by Foto Roos / Helsinki City Museum
I came up with the concept and executed our side of the social media challenge, in cooperation with Finna's representative. The challenge was to use one or more public domain images we had preselected from Finna.fi.
This cover art combines the following images:
Sara by Eero Järnefelt / Järvenpää Art Museum
Mirror selfie by Matti Mäntynen / Helsinki City Museum
Mallard by Ferdinand von Wright / Finnish National Gallery
Colorful excerpt by Foto Roos / Helsinki City Museum
After Us, No-one
I'm quite obsessed with this photo! It was taken in the early 1930's somewhere in Helsinki.
To these two young ladies, the past, older people and their silly notions (and fashions) seem completely irrelevant, and NO-ONE after them will ever be as interesting as them.
Like a couple of my other pieces, this one also contains a semi-abstract element snapped from an evening gown - this time a drawing of a late 1900th century red dress. It goes so perfectly with a coffee delivery shop's (?) menu leaflet, from a small business that once seems to have existed on my neighbouring street.
This collage is also special to me because it is the first one I made for the new collage community I founded in February 2025 - Hki Collage, and our very first online challenge.
Original photograph by unknown, early 1930's. Helsinki City Museum via Finna.
To these two young ladies, the past, older people and their silly notions (and fashions) seem completely irrelevant, and NO-ONE after them will ever be as interesting as them.
Like a couple of my other pieces, this one also contains a semi-abstract element snapped from an evening gown - this time a drawing of a late 1900th century red dress. It goes so perfectly with a coffee delivery shop's (?) menu leaflet, from a small business that once seems to have existed on my neighbouring street.
This collage is also special to me because it is the first one I made for the new collage community I founded in February 2025 - Hki Collage, and our very first online challenge.
Original photograph by unknown, early 1930's. Helsinki City Museum via Finna.
Longer Days (2025)
Digital collage inspired by the longer days of January
January is not typically my favourite month. I love the togetherness of Christmas and quite enjoy the sparkling excitement of New Year's Eve. Come January, I often feel dull, bored, aimless and a bit blue.
So this January, I made myself this collage - to remind myself that the days ARE indeed getting longer now! And every day is a new opportunity to experience something beautiful.
January is not typically my favourite month. I love the togetherness of Christmas and quite enjoy the sparkling excitement of New Year's Eve. Come January, I often feel dull, bored, aimless and a bit blue.
So this January, I made myself this collage - to remind myself that the days ARE indeed getting longer now! And every day is a new opportunity to experience something beautiful.
Trying You On (2025)
Digital collage inspired by love in the time of consumer culture
I haven't been on the dating scene for 20+ years, but have been hearing about the current game with interest.
On 'the apps', one can swipe and chat and ghost and swipe some more, without much thought or investment. Kind of like holding a pair of pants in front of you at a mall, or quickly trying on a cute top, but then always moving on.
Speaking of pants by the way, the ones on the hanger in this piece are made of a photo of a red flower! I manipulated the public domain photograph for colour and cut it, and made some pretty cool pants, if I say so myself.
I am learning to see images beyond what they depict, as material, as a starting point. It is an exciting exercise!
I haven't been on the dating scene for 20+ years, but have been hearing about the current game with interest.
On 'the apps', one can swipe and chat and ghost and swipe some more, without much thought or investment. Kind of like holding a pair of pants in front of you at a mall, or quickly trying on a cute top, but then always moving on.
Speaking of pants by the way, the ones on the hanger in this piece are made of a photo of a red flower! I manipulated the public domain photograph for colour and cut it, and made some pretty cool pants, if I say so myself.
I am learning to see images beyond what they depict, as material, as a starting point. It is an exciting exercise!
Melancholics Anonymous
This piece was inspired by old Japanese art - its beauty and weightless melancholy. I find myself endlessly fascinated by this era of Japanese painting, and wanting to dive into it in my collage practise.
The name, Melancholics Anonymous, refers to both a melancholy minset and a longing for one's home country. After 14 years abroad, I am no stranger to either!
Lost track of some of the original images, but remember these:
Image of male dancer by Johnny Edgardo Guzman / Pexels
Landscape by Katsushika Hokusai ca 1831 / Art Institute of Chicago (digitally enhanced by Rawpixel)
The name, Melancholics Anonymous, refers to both a melancholy minset and a longing for one's home country. After 14 years abroad, I am no stranger to either!
Lost track of some of the original images, but remember these:
Image of male dancer by Johnny Edgardo Guzman / Pexels
Landscape by Katsushika Hokusai ca 1831 / Art Institute of Chicago (digitally enhanced by Rawpixel)
At Dawn
This piece was inspired by an online treasure trove I discovered of actor portraits in costume. This photo of the man and woman is from a play - maybe depicting actors cast as mother and son?
To confuse it a bit, I rebranded them as two lovers, wrapped in red blankets. Tenderness between an older woman and a younger lover is so absent from today's cultural imagery, that this image can appear somewhat alarming or off. This is by choice - to highlight how rare it is to see this kind of couple in the media.
Original photo: The Association for Swedish Literature in Finland CC BY 4.0
Colourful wallpaper scraps: Turku Museum Centre CC BY 4.0
To confuse it a bit, I rebranded them as two lovers, wrapped in red blankets. Tenderness between an older woman and a younger lover is so absent from today's cultural imagery, that this image can appear somewhat alarming or off. This is by choice - to highlight how rare it is to see this kind of couple in the media.
Original photo: The Association for Swedish Literature in Finland CC BY 4.0
Colourful wallpaper scraps: Turku Museum Centre CC BY 4.0
Midsummer Eve
One of the inspiration pieces I made for the World Collage Day 2025 challenge by Hki Collage and Finna.fi
This photo portrait haunted me for months until I thought to pair it with a fragment from Hokusai's Great Wave, which I find matches the wistful mood of the original photo perfectly!
In the background, I built a Finnish archipelago view from a landscape painting and a photo of two girls sitting on a sea cliff. In the right front corner, I added a mallard painted by Ferdinand von Wright at 8 years old.
Photo portrait: Bernhard Åström 1920 / The Society for Swedish Literature in Finland CC BY 4.0
The Great Wave painting by Hokusai / Metropolitan Museum of Art
Photo (girls): Nuoperi via Finna.fi
Landscape painting: Elin Danielson-Gambogi / Finnish National Gallery
Mallard by Ferdinand von Wright 1830 / Finnish National Gallery
This photo portrait haunted me for months until I thought to pair it with a fragment from Hokusai's Great Wave, which I find matches the wistful mood of the original photo perfectly!
In the background, I built a Finnish archipelago view from a landscape painting and a photo of two girls sitting on a sea cliff. In the right front corner, I added a mallard painted by Ferdinand von Wright at 8 years old.
Photo portrait: Bernhard Åström 1920 / The Society for Swedish Literature in Finland CC BY 4.0
The Great Wave painting by Hokusai / Metropolitan Museum of Art
Photo (girls): Nuoperi via Finna.fi
Landscape painting: Elin Danielson-Gambogi / Finnish National Gallery
Mallard by Ferdinand von Wright 1830 / Finnish National Gallery
Islands
I don't often play with abstract collage, so I went all out with this one! This is a prime example of my excitement with wallpaper scraps I've recently discovered online.
Wallpapers: Turku Museum Centre CC BY 4.0
Musical program excerpt from 1893: Finnish National Gallery
Wallpapers: Turku Museum Centre CC BY 4.0
Musical program excerpt from 1893: Finnish National Gallery
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