Hailing from Quebec City, Myriam is a full-time freelance artist with a passion for pattern and product design. An accomplished illustrator, Myriam has worked with some big-name brands, so it's surprising to hear that her creative journey actually started with studying sculpture.
“I trained as a sculptor during my bachelor's and master's studies, first studying in Canada and Finland. I spent the first seven years of my artistic practice working on large sculptural installations in public spaces. When I was on maternity with my first son, the challenges of working on large-scale public artworks was bringing me more anxiety than joy, and so I knew my practice would slowly drift towards something else, although I did not know what.”
L: Mural design for Bref pop up store (2018), R: Myriam wearing clothing she designed in collaboration with Howl Studio
Myriam started playing around with paper as a creative outlet, which then led her to the work she produces today.
“My background as a sculptor is still very much here and infuses my current process. The need to work with my two hands is at the core of my artistic practice, so every one of my illustration projects starts with scissors, colourful paper and a playful collage session. I think it shows in my final illustrations, which is important for me. Making things with paper is what fuels my creativity and gets new ideas flowing.”
Once the sketching and collage sessions are done, Myriam takes to Adobe Illustrator, where she converts her designs into vectors for digital formatting.
“I sometimes listen to music, but podcasts are my number 1 go-to while I work, as well as watching The Office when I am in the colour-choosing phase of the project.”
With vibrant colours and an almost minimalistic style, Myriam's work has a sense of freshness that resembles that of Scandinavian influence.
“I'd say my biggest influence on what I do now is the time I spent in Finland. My two years there made me discover Finnish and Scandinavian designs and textiles, which still inspire my illustration work today.”
From Quebec to Montreal, to Helsinki, to Vienna and back, Myriam has called many places home. Living in such beautiful cities surrounded by different cultures, it's easy to see how Myriam keeps so motivated to create.
“While living in Vienna for the last four years, I found immense inspiration in the beautiful architecture and pastel buildings around me. Same thing when I was in Copenhagen earlier this spring. Strolling around beautiful cities always brings me renewed creative energy!”
Lagom Design launched its first collaboration with Myriam earlier this year, with another collection coming very soon! If you want to see the beautiful designs Myriam created for us, you can view them here. Thank you, Myriam, for being part of the Lagom family and giving us an insight into your artistic process!