Forest + Fauna

About Forest + Fauna

Forest + Fauna is a collection of artfully-handcrafted wood pieces and gives back to Canadian wildlife and lands with every purchase.

The artist, Michelle duQuesnay, takes pride in focusing on sustainability, local resourcing, and supporting local businesses.

Michelle is a full-time sculptor, woodworker, and photographer, and the artist behind Forest + Fauna. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and currently resides on a small homestead in Elora.

Michelle’s creative process yields pieces that take the shape of textural explorations, airy lines, and fluid curves.

Materials

Michelle uses sustainably-sourced wood, focusing primarily on reclaimed or salvaged materials. She uses native species to help promote awareness of the value of local forests and tree species. Additionally, Forest + Fauna is an Ontario Wood Partner, committed to supporting local and sustainably grown wood (FSC-Certified).

Michelle is starting to work primarily with ash that was harvested from her backyard woodlot that had been devastated by the invasive Emerald Ash Beetle.

Wood finishes are truly all-natural, free from plastics or petroleum by-products, making Forest + Fauna products ecologically sustainable.

Nothing goes to waste in Michelle’s creative process. Off-cuts from one project often form the basis of the next piece.

Process

Michelle uses a mix of traditional and modern carving techniques to create different effects that are combined with the natural variations that come with working with wood.

Her range of work includes pieces that are decorative, functional, semi-functional, and wearable.