Name:  Dominique Dennery  

Medium:  I sculpt in clay and cast in cement, hydrostone or bronze.

Background:  I have studied under different master sculptors since 2007. I attended sculpting or casting programs at the Ottawa School of Art and the Sapumal Foundation (during my 2010-11 sabbatical), at different intervals between 1992 and 2012.

I am currently apprenticing with Rosemary Breault-Landry.

How long have you been a sculptor?  I have sculpted since 1992.

Why did you start sculpting?  It is only when I started playing with plasticine with my young child in the early nineties that I discovered I had a predilection for sculpting. It has since become a passion.

What inspires you?  Legends and folklore from all over the world, but particularly Haïti, my country of birth. Strong women characters and archetypes are a source of inspiration for my art and my life.

What is your favourite sculpture?  My most recent creation usually becomes my favorite… until the next one. Until quite recently, I made only waste molds, so many of my sculptures have no copies.

I regret parting with one sculpture, her name is Priestess, currently in a private collection in Sri Lanka. This haunting figure represents all my ancestors in one character.

Which sculptures will you be exhibiting at Dimensions 2013?  Three sculptures will be featured. My titles are usually in French, so bear with me: 1. Monstre ou Déesse (Medusa), 2. Imaginaire (Lion King) and 3. Erzulie-Sirène (Mermaid).

What will you be working on in the coming year?  Sculpting is a long, involved process, particularly when you create in clay, then do a cast, then pour into another medium before painting or applying patina. A labour of love! I have produced a maximum of 3 or 4 a year since I’ve been back from my sabbatical.

The next one will be a strong male dancer, all sinews and muscles, representing Icarus. I am also finishing a small angel, like the ones you find sculpted on the houses of the former slave traders in the large cities along the west coast of France. It will be called: In Memoriam. And, if time permits, cement masks for a Garden Show next spring.