Bronze and wax

My sculptures are miniatures... but, they are scale models. However small they may be, they are alive! Embodied souls, just waiting to move. That  is their strength!

I was born in Ottawa in 1964 and grew up in Aylmer, Quebec. After three years of study in journalism and photojournalism at Algonquin College in Ottawa and a BA in French Studies at the University of Montreal, I subsequently prepared a master's degree in history while waiting to give birth to my second daughter. Meanwhile, I also devoted myself to photography classes, theatrical performance and art history at the University of Montréal. Recipient of a scholarship in Italian language issued by the University of Montreal, I completed my studies in Florence, Italy.

So, why sculpture?  Because it was there.

I was twelve when I touched raw clay for the first time. I was already familiar with baked clay as well as bronze, tin, aluminum and stone sculptures. I was privileged to grow up surrounded by art. I loved to feel my fingers discovering the texture of forms. In high school, my art teacher encouraged me to exhibit a particular sculpture which he thought was outstanding. I did, but the school withdrew its permission on the grounds that the subject was "inappropriate", claiming that the sculpture depicted too much nudity. This was in  1976 and the Grey Nuns ran the school. Finally, I was allowed to exhibit an African mask, echoing my childhood years spent in Senegal from 1971-72.

A nude and a mask were the only witnesses to this first foray.

At the time, writing (poetry, prose, short stories) was the true outlet for my creativity. In 1986, on St-Jean-Baptiste day at La Maison du Citoyen in Gatineau (the city hall complex) I recited , alongside poets Naim Kattam and Lucien Francoeur, a satirical and controversial piece I wrote entitled "His Name was Mohammed". In 1986, Marc Audette, well-known photographer and co-founder of the "Boite Noire" art center, presented a series of works that included a number of my texts. That same year, I assisted Marc in the creation and making of accessories for the shooting of "Sixtine", another visual event. In 1991, I learned through Alain Laframboise, one of my art history professor, that these two events had been presented in other locations in North America, Europe and Japan. I had been living in Montreal for three years and was far removed from my life in the Outaouais area. It is at this moment that I met François Ismert, a producer at CBC Radio, with whom I wrote a dozen texts, which I recorded under the direction of Wajdi Mouawad.  Among these, "Dakar-Louga", and "Riz Tomaté" were to be broadcast nationally on the daily program called "Fragments".

At this particular time in my life I was active on all fronts... studies, writing, theatre, travel, photography, song writing and... I met my husband. I was also very involved in the management of my husband’s cabinet making business. Since that time, I have also become a finishing carpenter.  I was  involved directly in the production side of the business.

In 1999, I fortunaltely met the singer-song-writer Rioux. Together, we wrote more than a dozen songs. This adventure lead to the joint management of Rioux the artist and the artistic direction of the album by the same name, "Rioux", which was launched on a very sad day, September 11, 2001.

August 2002. I discover the works of Antoine Bourdelle at the Musée de Québec. I am deeply moved by what I see. I can’t understand or comprehend the extent of the emotion running through me. May 2003, while playing with my daughters, I suddenly realize that I need to sculpt again. In my head, I had been sculpting for 27 years. I simply had not committed myself to it.

After that, things moved rapidly. The materials I use are clay, wax and paper pulp. Of the first 16 pieces that were cast in bronze at the Fonderie d'Art d'Inverness in 2007, seven sculptures have won prizes in several competitions. The most important of these was the 2009 first prize for sculpture, awarded by the international Academy of Fine arts of Quebec. In 2011, I was given the title of Academician by the Quebec Academy of Fine Arts for my work in wax.  The same year, I won the First Grand Prize of the Jury in the Symposium of Gatineau.

Since 2008 I have operated a visual arts workshop (LaPiscine), first located at 2050 Dandurand street, Loft 412, in Montreal which hosts artists from Canada, France and Cuba. Sine 2010, I have also shared a sculpture project with the Cuban sculptor Wilfredo  Fernández González at the Comunidad Artistica Los Mamoncillos in the Baconao Park. This project is headed by the Provincial Council of Fine Arts in Santiago de Cuba. Our exhibition "Humanidad : el principio " was presented in 2012, in l'Atelier Brick, Le Belgo, in Montreal, Canada. In 2014, our exhibition "Humanidad - En sintonia " was presented at the Universal Art Gallery, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. We belong to the permanent exhibition at the Gallery "Puente del Arte", as well as that of the"Comunidad Artistica " Los Mamoncillos, Verraco, Santiago de Cuba.

We are presently working on the third installment of the project.  It will be presented in 2019 at the Universal Art Gallery, Santiago de Cuba.