Opening 15 March 2025, 2-4pm, Introductions at 2:30pm
Everyone is welcome, there is an elevator on site, admission is always free
About the Artist
Denise Violette-Michaud is a textile and ceramic artist who lives and works in Drummond, New Brunswick. Denise grew up surrounded by fabric as her mother was a furniture upholsterer, and she has continued to be drawn to textiles; their textures, colours, and patterns. They are part of her DNA, her artistic medium of choice, and it is by working with them that she forages the link between art and craft.
Denise explores her emotions and the intensity of life through creation; it is a vital need for her. By transforming and incorporating objects with a previous life, she weaves their history into a new existance.
In Her Own Words: The Story Behind Petite Forêt
“In 2019, I took part in an artistic residency at Fundy National Park, where I was able to contemplate the beneficial effects of nature, which led me into a state of reflection. From these reflections, I created a sculpture whose theme is the tree that heals over time.
In the course of this creation, I discovered a fascination for the work of representing trees and plants through the use and transformation of textiles. I dye them, tear them, sew them, burn them, glue them, cut them, embroider them; the means are infinite, it’s a work that takes me into innovative terrain and offers me more and more interesting technical possibilities.
Recycling fabric is an asset in the creative process and in my research. I give them a new life, the result becoming the main material in the creation of my three-dimensional works.
Exploring certain techniques, I use fabrics to create illusory tree trunks that refer to the trees I see on my walks in the forest. I look for textures and colours given by natural elements; rust, leaves, rotting elements of nature, different earths; I compose 3D works with fabrics modified by these dyes. I also work with clay, which allows me other 3D possibilities.
The research and the path I’ve been able to pursue in creation continue to nourish my desire to continue on my path.
My horticulture training has only scratched the surface of this plant world. A new sense of urgency has arisen: I want to learn more about plant biodiversity and the importance of trees in my life.
The Petite Forêt installation of tree trunks made of recycled fabrics highlights the importance of biodiversity. It’s the result of my observations of the clear-cutting of our natural mixed forests, which have been replaced with monoculture softwood plantations, creating homogenous secondary forests that are less rich in biodiversity. The habitat of natural forest flora, birds and animals has been degraded and the use of herbicides is commonplace. When I travel along some of the roads in our province, I notice this sense of relentlessness and I am saddened by the lack of respect that the forestry industry has for the environment.”
– Denise Violette-Michaud
