What to do in Magog? I'm taking advantage of my Mother-Daughter duo exhibition, "Avec toi", to introduce you to one of my great inspirations, my mother, Renee Powell.

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know that I have just left my profession as a speech therapist to devote myself full time to my small business, LE NID atelier.

The call to create on a daily basis was strong, and the love of entrepreneurship was growing. But another important point also weighed in the balance, that of being a model for my daughters, just as my own mother was.

Indeed, my mother is a great artist, she has been a great inspiration to me. I am super excited to present her to you today.

I'm taking advantage of our duo exhibition "Avec Toi" to tell you about it and even invite you to see our art side by side.

Current exhibition: Avec toi, at Marais de la Rivière aux Cerises, 69 ch. Roy Magog , until end of december 2022.

The Fascinating Process of Bronze Sculpture

My mother, Renee Powell, manipulates and interprets raw material. She likes to find rocks and bits of driftwood on the seashore that speak to her.

She brings them to her studio, turns them over and over, observes them, lets them say what they have to say. She lets the elements express themselves.

Then she continues to sculpt what nature had begun with sand, wind and water.

Most of the time, with bronze additions, she helps them become majestic, graceful birds.

It is with the lost wax technique that she creates these rock-bronze or wood-bronze birds.

A little more about the lost wax technique:
1. It is one of the oldest and most popular methods of creating bronze sculptures.
2. To begin, my mother sculpts a wax model.
3. This wax model is then used to create a mold, which is filled with molten bronze.
4. Once the bronze has cooled and hardened, the mold is broken to reveal the final sculpture.
5. Afterwards, my mother, has to rework the bronze to join it to the wood or rock and restore its color and shine.

My connection to my mother's art

I have always been fascinated by my mother's art. As a child, I would watch her work in her studio and marvel at the transformation of elements of nature into beautiful sculptures.

Her studio, is filled with special rocks.
Bits of driftwood soak in pools of water.
Large blocks of wax come to life on the corner of a table and await the next manipulations.
Imposing machines are not far away, always ready to rework the bronze.

And several small vials of unusual and slightly toxic products are filed in the top of the cabinets, for the patina, the final touch to add to the bronze to give it the desired hue.

This environment was inspiring. As I grew up, I began to experiment with art myself. I started with drawing, then painting, I also did some bronze at Concordia University in Fine Arts, and then came back... to my favorite medium, charcoal.

How my mother's art inspired my art

My mother made me understand that sometimes with less you have more. You don't have to translate everything with your work, you have to leave room for the viewer to complete it with their interpretation.

She also helped me to see that the materials themselves can guide us and give us ideas on what they could become.

Finally, she showed me how art is a great way to connect with people and build relationships.

Here are examples of my mother's art and my own art side by side

We have in common this love of nature and animals, this desire to create beauty by interpreting them in our own way.

Then, we distinguish ourselves in our techniques, she, more raw, on the fine line between the concrete and the abstract. Me, more in search of the detail of the end of my charcoals.

Thank you for inspiring me throughout my life

Thank you, Mom, for always being my biggest supporter and teaching me that art is so much more than the final product. It's about the journey, the process and most importantly, the passion.

Thank you for sharing your passion with me and inspiring me to follow my own dreams.

I am so grateful and so happy today to present this exhibition, "Avec Toi" which is a beautiful summary of what unites us and differentiates us in our artistic process.

I hope to pass on, in turn, to my daughters this same flame.


Come see our art side by side at the "Avec toi" exhibition at the Marais de la Rivière aux Cerises, (69 ch. Roy in Magog) and see how two different mediums can produce such beautiful and contrasting results!

To see the exhibition, click here
To follow Renée Powell
To see my complete collection