Wooden Wonders
Friday, February 13th, 2009
I discovered these intriguing and original creatures at the Souk Christmas show in Montreal last December. Made of exotic woods, they charmed me immediately and I knew I had to have them for my art toy collection. Plus I had some leftover birthday money to spend! Alexandre Lafleur, a former cartoonist, explained his concept: «They are ambiguous – they are forest sprites, animals, robots, whatever you want them to be. Wood is a living and incomparable medium. The infinite variety of textures, colors and patterns give a unique personality to each of my toys, even if they are produced in series.» Inspiration? «I love traditional Japanese art, comics by Tezuka (considered the father of the modern manga), sculptures by Henry Moore and Niki de Saint Phale, toys by Australian Nathan Jurevicius (of Scarytoy fame), classical Indian music, a hot cup of tea…»
Interested in getting a sprite for yourself? «I’ll be opening an Etsy shop soon but, in the meantime, you can e-mail me at kijemanito@yahoo.ca» Thanks, Alexandre, I have my «monkey» and my «caterpillar» right up there next to my Japanese wooden dolls!
