Who are you and what do you make?

My name is Autumn and I am a visual artist and farm hand. I make prints, paintings, murals, tattoos now and again, and graphic illustrations. When I’m not making art or digging in the dirt, I write poems, rock climb, and travel.

How did you start making art?

I started making art when I was old enough to hold a pencil. I was an inspired little mind who was encouraged by teachers and mentors to keep drawing. From my first preschool finger paintings of butterflies the teacher sent home to be framed to my kindergarten drawings of how I imagined Zimbabwe and the Arctic to be, people kept saying how great they were. Perhaps as a tiny anxious kid I was pretty susceptible to these sorts of praises. Momentary prizes from Remembrance Day drawing contests and consistent arts awards in school keep me pursuing the world of visual communication. Not to mention being somewhat obsessed with any form of expression be it drawing, writing or dancing. Sometimes I wonder if I’d have had that kind of encouragement behind me in the sciences, I would be somewhere else in life but, one will never know! Unfortunately, you kind of have to take all the sciences for a while and I was only interested in plants. And slept through math. Haha. Maybe it’s just in my nature.

How would you describe your work?

I would describe my art as detailed and emotional, at least the more successful works. I’ve always gotten lost in line work and often had to dial it back for applications in print. Though I like the chance in bigger works to have space to explore more detail, except budget always gets in the way of this exploration. I appreciate when I get the chance to spend a lot of time with a work or idea and really fully apply myself to the themes and subjects present. I’d like if my artwork could bring you into a perspective or reality a little shifted from your own, create immersive feelings that really drew me to the art world in the first place.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by concepts of home and freedom. I explore symbolism that describes certain places and chapters in my life and aspirations for the future. Even with commission work, I hope to connect to an aspect of the work that I can speak to personally. Otherwise, the work doesn’t feel authentic or worthwhile. My personal practice typically starts as paper collaged works or collected references both from my own albums or outside sources. I’ve had my grandmother’s National Geographic magazines around for some years now, cut up, glued together, and pinned to my walls. I’m inspired by plants of all kinds, houses and homey spaces, movement arts, and strong women.

What do you like most about being an artist?

What I like most about being an artist is the freedom to create your own life. I don’t fall into a typical career pathway with a strict schedule or routine so I have the ability to switch things up, drastically and often. I love that I can move locations, get side work to free up my creative flow, try something new, and jump country without a dramatic exit from some corporate job and responsibilities. I like that the expectations were low going in, like the starving artist trope has been with me from the very beginning so ever year when I make a liiiittle bit more from my art it feels like a win even though it isn’t much. I’ve also had the expectation from a young age that I will need to be frugal and adapt to this lifestyle because it is the one I chose. I read a lot of travelling on a shoestring books through my teens…

If someone likes your work and wants to see more, where can they go (besides the Museum GIft Shop, of course!)?

If you like my work and want to see more, follow my Instagram @autumnducharme. It acts as a sort of living portfolio. My website will be deactivated mid-January as it was too expensive to maintain. I also put up a few works for sale on Big Cartel that are always changing. This link is available through my instagram profile when I post new work. Keep an eye out for a Substack blog coming soon and subscribe to my inconsistent and well-spaced out newsletter or travel art mail via email: autumnducharme@hotmail.com.

Museum magents

The Huron County Museum Gift Shop is adding to its selection of products made by area artists and makers and we are pleased to now carry the work of Huron Candle Works. Hand-poured in Seaforth, the candles celebrate the elements of Huron County: Bluewater Shores, Silo, Sunset, and Woodland. If you would like to pick up some of these candles, the Gift Shop is open during regular Museum hours and does not require admission to come in to shop and to support local! Learn more about Huron Candle Works below!

Who are you and what do you make?

We are Huron Candle Works, a home-based, two-person adventure to create and make beautifully-scented candles in Seaforth, ON. We make candles with fine fragrances that take time to curate and make for all who love them. We are all about unique, small and local.

How did you start making candles?

We have always loved the smell of gently layered fragrances that speak to us and our love of nature and storytelling. This has been a journey of inspiration and discovery. Knowing we would be moving to Huron County, our path began last year in our small downtown Toronto condo with non-stop street cars adding a background sound track to our scent tests! We spent months curating fragrances for our first release of four candles. We had friends and family do many blind smell tests to help fine-tune our choices.

How would you describe your work?

Our candles are 100 per cent natural, clean-burning and sustainable soy wax. They burn long and clean and help to cleanse and gently scent the air in any room environment. They come in two sizes, 8 ounce clear or amber glass jars with screw-on metal lids, as well as four ounce metal tins, perfect for travel, study and a companion with a good book!

We both have artistic backgrounds. One of is a photographer and graphic designer, so the visual appearance of the labels is important from an aesthetic point of view and as a visual connection to elements found in Huron County. Our design aesthetic is like the land, simple, strong and memorable.

What inspires you?

For several years, we had been exploring Huron County as the place we would eventually move. Now here, we love the life, the people, the landscape, farming communities, and yes, even the winters!

The elements found throughout the county such as sunsets, golden fields, Lake Huron, woodlands, and rivers are just a few of the inspirations that we try to offer through scent. The sense of smell is such a visceral part of us all – and is our greatest challenge when trying to connect a representative scent with a physical thing. It has been fun to try to bottle the inspiration we feel into every candle with whom people can relate.

What do you like most about being a maker?

We are new to being makers and it has not been without a huge learning-curve and mistakes along the way! But as we see and hear from people who enjoy our candles, we still feel humbled and honoured. We are still at the early part of our journey and still feel it is a bit of a dream. A dream that brings us a smile and great satisfaction that we are connecting the land and people of the County to all who light up one of our Huron candles.

If someone likes your work and wants to see more, where can they find you (besides the Museum Gift Shop, of course!)?

We keep a small footprint. We are hyper local and want to keep it that way. We keep our social network tight, and can be found on Instagram at, @huroncandleworks where we have a fun and casual feed that is friendly, inclusive and interactive. We can also be found at our online store website, www.huroncandleworks.ca. As we slowly introduce new candles, checking in on the website will keep people current on what is being created.

In addition to a few local businesses, we can also be found at local community markets through the year. If you are out visiting a community market, please drop by and say, Hello!