Smile cast in plaster
The statue of a smiling boy, and later of a smiling girl, appeared in the spring fête of Finnish schools in the early 1950's, introduced by the Centre for School Clubs. A pupil elected by a vote of the class received a while statue to take home. It was a kind of a prize for the pupil's glad, vigorous and helpful attitude towards his or her schoolmates during the school year. This tradition still lives on in Finnish schools. The statues are manufactured at Reetta Kauranen's foundry in Porvoo, from where tens of thousands of smiling girl and boy statues have come out. Reetta Kauranen, from Porvoo, received the casting moulds from Italian Ernesto Magi in 1985.
Last modified
02.02.2012
Tanja Peisala