Artists Feature

Olivia Renaud – Contributor

Using hand papermaking and painting to create a colourful and vibrant paper quilt, I explore themes of grief, yearning and love through quotes and deeply personal symbolism. This piece is inspired by a previous work titled “Teyta’s Quilt,” a pomegranate-based paper quilt created as a tribute to my late grandmother. Using a low-waste approach to my work, I reuse discarded materials as a parallel to how I repurpose my grief into art. My work is inspired by nature, saturated colours and most importantly, the people I love and have loved. I experience a sense of duty and devotion to papermaking, a craft that has existed for millennia. There is something powerful about breaking down materials to create something new, something beautiful and universal. I seek to share my knowledge of this craft and showcase the boundless possibilities of what can be done with handmade paper. My art’s purpose is to bring comfort to whoever may view my works, to cope with the inevitable, and to express my love to others, as well as my gratitude for being alive.

Image courtesy of Olivia Renaud