There are about thirty years, Eric Guay got up one morning with the certainty that he would find a job. Ideally a job he was going to love, unlike his past experiences. Is it luck or the decision not to give up that day? Still, the 19-year-old comes across a wholesaler for florists while hitchhiking on the road and the latter offers to hire him to help him make wreaths of branches.
“I realized that I liked it and that it was something innate to me. He told me to get by picking up some vines and at the end of the day I managed to make a large basket with ramifications, without any teaching. At that time, a lot of florists were taking it, but the following year, with free trade, sales plummeted. That said, I continued to make baskets and love it, but I do not live, “says the artist.
A material of character
The love of the earth and the plants encourages Eric Guay to become a landscaper while keeping his artistic fiber. He is inspired by what surrounds him to fashion objects, animals, people from an unusual plant: the dogwood, also called red Hart. This invasive native plant, whose stems turn red in the fall, thrills the founder of La Branche Artisanale.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Eric Guay’s amazing plant sculptures are made from red Hart branches.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
These decorative balls are filled with fairy lights to create a magical setting for Christmas.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Snowman or Easter bunny, Eric Guay’s sculptures are 100% ecological and last around ten years. He sprays linseed oil on these objects with the aim of feeding them about once a year.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Very nice gift idea for Valentine’s Day: a Cupid or a scarlet heart (as an example, $ 1000 and $ 750 per piece 5 feet high). “The color turns brown over time, but I offer red works for this occasion,” explains artist Eric Guay.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Is the character hidden or casually leaning against the tree? Eric Guay’s creations leave plenty of room for the imagination.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Hummingbirds, bats, dragonflies and other winged animals in flight enliven the gardens of La Branche Artisanale.
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“I really appreciate this material because it is flexible while having character. It is different from willow, whose stems are identical and straight. The Red Hart can be forked, angled, and I have to choose the branch based on its shape to fit what I want to do; it is flexible only at the time of picking. A lot of people also make driftwood pieces, but I’ve never seen one like mine in dogwood, ”says Eric Guay, who collects more than 5,000 branches a year on wasteland.
I go to people to find what amazes them, popular items that everyone loves.
Eric Guay, artist, La Branche Artisanale
Resident for four years in a busy street that connects Magog to Orford, the artist exhibits some of his pieces in his courtyard, to the delight of passers-by. “The cyclists shout at me: ‘It’s beautiful, thank you very much!’ I use a living material, which, in my opinion, makes it easier to convey expression to my pieces. The more expression I give, the deeper I go into people’s wonder. He adds that the sculpture must also reflect the emotional side of the client; so often, he goes home to see him in his element.
Connected to nature
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
“Each sculpture is personalized to match individual tastes. Some may want a deer about to frolic, eat, walk … “says the artist Eric Guay.
The unusual and personalized works of this artist also seduce businesses, municipalities and museums that control him special projects. “The Beaulne Museum in Coaticook has been hiring me for seven years to put decorative works in front of the building. People are animated by the scene of branch sculptures that they discover there, ”said Mr. Guay.
Captivating and monumental, or even charming and festive, the pieces of La Branche Artisanale are designed to blend into the decor and create surprise, a bit like a deer glimpsing in the woods. “We must be in harmony with nature, and I’ve realized, teaching my work occasionally, it is not obvious. However, it is important to respect the orientation of the branches so that the result is harmonious ”, explains the artist, whose ultimate dream would be to create a path on which one would see his works and which would end in a small kiosk where the ‘we would buy his creations.
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