Emilie Grace Lavoie is an artist, curator, and member of the 3E Collective, and cultural worker originally from Edmundston, NB, the traditional unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik people. 

Lavoie holds a college diploma in fashion design (2011) from LaSalle College, a bachelor’s degree in visual arts (2016) from the Université de Moncton, and a Master of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design (2018).

Lavoie's works have been featured in various exhibitions in Canada and internationally. Her creations are part of several private and public collections, including the New Brunswick Art Bank (collectionArtNB) and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery collection.

In 2017, she was awarded the silver medal at the VIIIe Jeux de la Francophonie in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in the Sculpture and Installation category, representing Canada-New Brunswick. In 2024, Lavoie was invited by the Embassy of France in Canada to participate in the Festival Refaire le Monde in Paris as part of the Francophonie Summit.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what sparked your interest in sculpture/textile.

My primary interest is in textiles and sewing, particularly by hand, which was one of my favourite activities as a child. Growing up, I was inspired by my mother, who sewed a lot, and my father, who made a living from his craft. I myself spent a lot of time working on various projects. This interest naturally led me to study fashion design, which I completed in 2011 at LaSalle College.

However, at the end of my program, I was hesitant to pursue a career in this field. The reality of the job involves working mainly on a computer, whereas what really motivated me was direct contact with the material, manual creation, and making patterns by hand.

A few years later, in 2013, I began a Bachelor of Visual Arts degree at the University of Moncton. I enrolled in ceramics, initially because the photography course was full, and I fell in love with the process of this medium. Despite the difference in materials, there are similarities with clothing design: I work with slabs of clay in the same way that one shapes a piece of fabric, giving them a sculptural dimension.

During my master's studies, I was encouraged to explore textiles further as a sculptural material, and I began to incorporate this material into my ceramic sculptures and, in turn, to transform it into ceramics. I have a sensitivity for three-dimensional work and material research (studio-based practice), which now occupies a central place in my artistic practice.

What is your creative process from idea to finished piece? Can you walk us through how a piece comes to life? 

I would say that my creative process is rooted in continuous research. In the sense that one project leads me to the next. When I work on a series of pieces, I approach my creation as a collection. I like to read theoretical works to feed my imagination. I also like to start a project when I am in residence or in an environment different from my own. I start by making mini sketches. I also observe objects, natural places, and my environment with particular attention. I also collect objects that I leave lying around on my worktable. When I start, I always intend to push my material creation and include new ways of working with clay, testing the integration of several pieces, or playing with sizes. Lately, I have also been experimenting with new ways of incorporating glazes and applying them to my pieces. With each collection, I explore a new perspective related to the environment and my relationship with the place where I live. 

How do you handle challenges or unexpected issues that arise during the creative process?

I think I'm getting the hang of it, with time. Ceramic is a unique material that changes state throughout the process. I often compare this material to a garden that requires care and time. It is also said that clay has a memory, so it can move in the kiln during firing and react differently during glazing, depending on the atmosphere in the kiln, the other minerals present in the surrounding glazes, etc. Once, I had an explosion in the kiln a few days before an exhibition installation, so I had to react quickly and find a solution in a hurry. It is this aspect of loss of control that I have learned to appreciate and incorporate into my thinking. 

Can you describe a piece [or series] you're particularly proud of and why?

I would say that the work Symbiose, which I created for my mid-term thesis project, is a striking example. I built this work directly on the floor of the gas furnace platform, with the intention of making it the largest piece I had ever built in a single block. And then I intended to destroy it afterwards. The work itself may be a literal representation of the seabed, but in reality, it was a way for me to challenge myself for a few months, push my limits, build this large piece, and feel the physical consequences on my body. I also used recycled clay for construction, mixing clay bases with different elasticities that lose different percentages of water and can then crack. After the first firing, the work survived but had a small visible crack on the side.

During the final firing, the workshop technician noticed that my work was no longer visible in the kiln, which meant that it had warped. The next day, when it came out of the kiln, I was supposed to exhibit it in a gallery. To our great surprise (and my great relief), its deformation was a very satisfying moment in the sense that I was reading Jane Benneth's Vibrant Matter at the time, which deals with “Think Power”, the possibility for objects to show signs of aliveness. This moment confirmed that my piece was alive and, therefore, its loss of control was significant. I became aware of certain connections I share with matter, with my work in the studio, the way it inhabits me, and is transmitted to the material. My studio has become an ecology.

How have your training and experiences contributed to your creativity and innovation in your artistic practice?

I believe that what has helped me most in my academic and professional career has been my interactions with professors who are passionate about creation, research, and ecology (I am thinking of my ceramics professor, Gerry Collins, and the artist Diane LeBlanc, whose valuable advice and kindness were decisive in my early days and remain a source of inspiration). I also learned a great deal from my interactions with my peers at university, the other artists I worked with, and my reading and research, which has deepened over time and continues to stimulate and motivate me. In addition, at exhibition openings, the comments of community members and the diversity of viewpoints were very valuable to me.

Describe what you are most proud of in your career.

I think what I am most proud of so far is that, despite the circumstances, I have continued to practice and focus on my career as an artist, to get involved and devote time to it, as I also need to understand the world in which I live. 

What would your dream project look like?

My dream project is more like the dream life of an artist, which would be to spend all my days making ceramics and experimenting, going to bed thinking about my project, and waking up with it on my mind. I don't know what the project itself would look like after a few months, but that's my ultimate dream. To see where creativity would take me. 

What advice would you give to emerging artists?

Listen to your intuition, keep working, trust the process, stay curious, and keep learning.