When and where is your work available to purchase?
There are two ways to purchase my work - either through my retailers who each stock their own particular collection of Eau Claire in limited quantities, or through my commissions which will be open on the 1st of every month with limited slots available.
How did you learn to work with resin and flowers?
Both areas have been learned by doing, and aided heavily through my arts education. Prior to Eau Claire I graduated from Sheridan College’s Textiles program, and from NSCAD with an interdisciplinary BFA. I’ve been working on Eau Claire Resin for 5 years now. It’s been a continual learning process. Figuring out proper drying techniques for flowers, resin procedure, amongst other techniques have all taken time with many mistakes along the way.
I own an Eau Claire Resin ashtray and am curious about care tips?
ECR ashtrays are intended for ashing and stubbing out purposes only and cannot tolerate any kind of sustained heat being applied to their surface. I suggest keeping your ECR item out of direct sun as this can fade colours over time.
What kind of resin do you use?
I use Art Resin.
Why is your work so limited?
There are a few reasons for this. One being that Eau Claire is half of my art practice, the other being that I’m also a florist at ifiori in Hamilton, ON. Through this career I’m able to source a lot of hard to find flowers and materials. Both areas of work really support each other in a beautiful way.
Will the flowers fade over time?
It’s not common but it’s possible for some slight fading in non-dyed bright flowers over time. It’s recommended not to keep your Eau Claire Resin items in direct sunlight.
What personal items can be included in a Level 2 commission piece?
Level 2 commissions can include locks of hair, teeth, animal whiskers or fur, ashes, or a single sentimental dried flower that can be used along with flowers from the Eau Claire dried flower collection. I’m open to requests for other things, feel free to ask!
Can you make me an object not currently listed in your offerings?
Unfortunately I am limited to moulds already in my collection as I do not make moulds myself. Custom work is limited to customization of flowers and contents only.
Where do you get your flowers?
Eau Claire requires a lot of time spent preparing and processing all of the flowers used in the work. Each flower needs to be sourced, dried and trimmed. Sourcing flowers means collecting the scraps or buying directly through my workplace, picking from my personal garden which is designed to supply many of my favourite seasonal small bloom ingredients. It also means walking through alleyways, pulling over to ditches, hiking through forests, raiding friends gardens and public spaces… you get the idea! I’m always collecting through different means all year long to ensure I have the widest and wildest array of flowers to choose from.
Why don’t you work with dried flowers provided by clients anymore?
When designing a piece I select flowers of varied sizes for each position in each object. The issue with using client provided flowers is that there are often little or no size differences in the items (ie. all rose petals of the same scale) or the flowers are air dried (which dulls the colour) which make it difficult for me to design a dynamic piece with ECR aesthetics and techniques. My Level 2 commissions allow for greater customization and potential use of a single client-provided flower alongside the ECR dried flower collection.