I’m a Toronto-based, francophone paper artist, designer, and arts educator, who combines traditional paper craft techniques and a modern design aesthetic to create 100% paper still lifes, props, large-scale installations, and custom pieces for private collections. My work features everyday items hyperrealistically replicated in paper. I live for the double-take, and love when people question whether what they’re seeing is real or made from paper. I’m fascinated by the visceral power of nostalgia, and the emotional connection we have to old objects, especially those associated with our childhood. While exploring themes related to home and everyday life, I like to use retro candy, vintage toys, and antiquated household items as inspiration for my still life work. My aim is to elicit within the viewer a shared experience of being emotionally transported to a moment in time through the objects that hold meaning for us. I use paper because it’s the perfect nostalgic medium: It’s our first creative material and despite technological advances, continues to be used throughout our life cycle as a medium to inform, educate and delight us. Conscious of the use of materials in my practice, both from an environmental and waste-reduction perspective, I use paper scraps, paper strips, recycled junk mail, and other discarded paper in my work, whenever possible. Also, I've just started making my own handmade paper, from leftover paper scraps from over 10 years worth of paper projects! I deliver adult/youth paper art workshops in schools and libraries, in both English and French. See a sample of my work on Instagram @freshcutpaperstudio
