For artist Elise Dufour, ceramics parallel life with lessons on the ‘art of the accident’ BY SHELLEY CAMERON-McCARRON
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pening oneself to the universe can have a domino effect, in art and in life. Just ask Elise Dufour, a ceramic artist who recently moved to old town Lunenburg, N.S., where she practices her craft from a 150-yearold sea captain’s house. Dufour follows the practice of wabi-sabi, a Japanese philosophy embracing the celebration of perfect imperfections, where the “art of the accident” is seen as a creative opportunity. All her pieces are white and functional. “Ceramics has taught me the most precious lesson of life: to be open,” says Dufour, who came to ceramics less than three years ago,
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after retiring as vice-president of L’Oreal Canada and three decades in the corporate world. She trusted the universe as she followed a new career path — a long dormant passion — that saw her build a business and move from one Canadian coast to the other. Dufour and her husband Sidney Edelbroek, a screenwriter, moved from Montreal after her retirement to settle in White Rock, B.C. Forest fires there led them to think about relocating. They’d wintered previously in California, but COVID-19 changed that. They decided they wanted to be by the ocean, with fresher air, and moved to Lunenburg in January.
SUMMER 2022
Dufour saw Lunenburg’s famed harbour on a Nova Scotia Instagram advertisement. “I was mesmerized,” she recalls. “It was like Scandinavia in Canada. I’m just loving it here.” She says people have been open, gracious and welcoming, and from a creative standpoint, it’s a perfect environment. “There’s so much inspiration.” Dufour’s entry into ceramics started a few years ago while attending a pottery show in B.C. There, she met someone who became her ceramic mentor. Dufour set out to make a dining set and started posting her work and a snapshot of her life on Instagram.
PHOTO: SUBMITTED
Perfectly Imperfect
