Hello! I’m Sylvie —

For over a decade, I’ve cultivated a dynamic practice that weaves together community-engaged art-making, impactful event execution, creative facilitation, and grassroots organizing.

ART

As a mixed media artist, my creative work explores the myriad of relationships we have with the contemporary natural world. From the transience of reflections on water to the complexity of memories of the land we hold from childhood, I explore these connections through a fluid and organic aesthetic characterized by vibrant and colourful compositions.

As a professional creative facilitator, I design and deliver high-quality, arts-based wellness workshops, events, and retreats for non-profits, professional teams, and private groups. My approach fosters creativity, connection, and well-being through engaging and accessible art experiences.

Beyond workshops, I also share my expertise through guest lectures and courses at universities and colleges. I speak on a range of topics essential for social impact and community building, including entrepreneurship for social impact, community-engaged art-making, pitch writing, facilitation, grassroots organizing, partnership management, and resource development.

As an environmentalist, I collaborate with communities to create ecologically conscious murals, installations, and events. These projects are designed to foster an understanding of the Earth as an extension of ourselves, inviting us to live in reciprocity with the natural world. Through art, I aim to inspire radical connection and collective healing for our planet.

Organizations I’ve worked with

My community collaborators, colleagues, and friends

My core values

What informs my approach to making and being in the world. (a.k.a. what would make us a good fit for working together)

COLLECTIVE WELLNESS

I prioritize the health and well-being of myself, others and the environment. I primarily use natural, or upcycled materials in my work and consider longevity at every step in my creative process. I believe that art has the power to promote radical connection, reflection, and healing.

CO-CREATION

I create alongside nature and communities, inviting them to participate actively in the genesis of work. I believe that we learn best when we engage with one another and build on each other’s ideas and creations. I invite collaborations from people of all different ages, backgrounds and experiences.

CONTINUOUS GROWTH + LEARNING

My process is experimental and iterative in nature—allowing meaning to seed, bud, and ripen over time until it is ready to be harvested. I share works-in-progress, and I am transparent about my creative processes. I believe that it is okay to share ideas without having opinions fully-formed. I aim to create brave spaces for sharing and experimenting.

Testimonials

Statements attesting to my values upheld in practice

Often found brainstorming and bringing BIG ideas to fruition, outside of my work I love cycling, hiking, reading self-help books, and making ephemeral sculptures out of natural found objects.

Follow my journey @sylvietheartist.

  • She’s a graduate! 🎓

✅ Master of Arts in Art Education — complete!

After 2.5 years, I’m proud to share that I’ve completed my Master of Arts in Art Education, with a research focus in sustainable art-making. I’m officially a #CUGrad and #CUAlumni!

This degree is more than a piece of paper. It represents a time of deep transition in my life.

I moved out on my own. I established my own routines and work/life balance. I scaled work I love, and I deepened commitments to myself.

Along the way, I experienced a lot of loss — of friends and family I thought would be in my life for years to come. That’s been really hard, but I still carry them with me.

The weight of this moment isn’t lost on me. I’m the first in my family to earn a master’s degree. A hundred years ago, this path might not have even been within my ancestors’ realm of possibility, and yet, here I am—steeped in the grit, tenacity, and care they gifted me.

This part of my education journey was made possible through the generous support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Concordia University, who helped fund my studies. 🙏🏻 If you’re considering graduate studies or applying for scholarships, I’d be more than happy to share my experience.

I’ve always pursued education with one goal: to bring knowledge back to community. Today, I get to do exactly that in my ongoing work with @thestarfishca and in the Scarborough creative community, and for that, I’m so so grateful.

With love and gratitude 💜🫶🏻✨
  • 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. ✨

We don’t just inherit the struggles of those who came before us. 
We inherit their patience, resilience and hope. 
The quiet strength that carried them forward, 
and the wisdom beneath it all. 
Gifts. 

I first created this piece for my mom’s birthday in 2023. Since then, I’ve returned to it again, and again. Adding flowing flecks of gold, pink and purple.

Each layer is a reminder that…
- My ancestors are always with me.
- I am not alone. 
- Sometimes the most powerful thing is community.

This piece is dedicated to the mentors in my life who’ve held myself and my work with such tenderness, as I continue to grow. Thank you. 💗

🖼️ “Wisdom flows through generations” will be featured at a @fora.nfc event later this month that’s dedicated to uniting generations to create a better, more equitable future for all. 

With gratitude 💗
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#ArtAsAffirmation #WatercolourArt #MixedMediaArt
  • May flowers came early this year 🌼

Had the pleasure of leading an intergenerational Planting Seeds of Possibility workshop earlier this month at Scarborough Historical Museum. The program centred on themes of wellness, healing, and home. Participants chatted about the importance of recognizing our interconnectedness, as beings a part of a larger ecosystem. Together, we co-created this beautiful installation. ✨

A huge thanks to co-facilitator @franniepotts for taking the lead on priming and varnishing these pieces, and to Scarborough community members for bringing such open hearts to the creation process.

May our seeds of intention inspire hope and conversation beyond this blooming season. 

#PlantingSeedsOfPossibility #CommunityArt #PublicArt #CommunityCollaboration #IntergenerationalWorkshop #Scarborough #Art #ScarboroughArt #EcoArt #CoCreation #ArtTogether
  • Hey, BC! 👋🏻 Thanks for being ✨

Feeling incredibly grateful to have spent time on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Chi’yakmesh people of Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Nation for the second annual Youth Changemakers Summit with @thestarfishca earlier this week.

Last year, I attended as a delegate. This year, I had the surreal honour of helping host as the new Co-Executive Director of Operations & Administration.

So much of our work is rooted in the land and our connection to nature. Having the chance to reground outdoors, build community, and finally meet the incredible team I work with every day online was truly special. 🌿✨

Leaving this experience feeling deeply NOURISHED, inspired and excited for what’s to come. 💞 🌊
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#YECSummit #YouthLeadership #EnvironmentalLeadership #LandBasedLearning #CommunityBuilding #Changemakers #TheStarfishCanada
  • with spring nearly upon us, I am looking forward to spending more time outdoors, embracing the sun, and stretching my arms out over seeded fields with the wind ☀️🌬️

#tb to this beautiful series I created during my environmental art residency in Blönduós, Iceland last June.

Where Land, Meets Water, Meets Sky is a collection of five mixed media pieces that explore how the “feeling” of a place shifts and transforms over time, just like the ever-changing weather. Inspired by my first week in Iceland, where I spent a lot of time in my room, gazing across the Blanda River due to stormy weather, this series builds on my earlier mixed media exploration of place, Impressions of Place (2020), where I used color, shape, and line to abstractly represent the essence of a place.

Each piece began with a loose impression of the landscape outside my window. As the days passed, I added more marks based on my memories and writing from each day, creating a palimpsest of a week spent in Iceland. The works grow increasingly abstract over time, reflecting the fluidity of place and memory.

🌊🌅🌱

#EnvironmentalArt #MixedMediaArt #IcelandArt #ArtAndNature #NatureArt #ImpressionsofPlace #LandArt #NaturalPigments #Abstract #Landscape #OutsideTheWindow
  • Earlier this week marked the end of a significant chapter of my life. I submitted my master’s thesis on sustainable art-making for publication. 🙈📝

These grey pages hold a poem I wrote in the early days of my thesis proposal—a reflection on why I felt compelled to research in the first place.

For me, (re)searching is a way of making sense of myself in relation to the world. Self-study and (re)search-creation, in particular, are practices meant to be shared, embodied, and acted upon.

While my thesis won’t be publicly available for a few months, I hope this poem invites you to reflect on what (re)search means to you—especially now, as we set intentions for the new year.

Perhaps (re)search can be a practice of returning to yourself and discovering what has been within you all along. 

#poetry #poem #greypages #academia #thesis #masters #milestone #writing #researchcreation #selfstudy #reflection