Hi, I'm Cecilia Troy, artist and creator of Artified Living, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The name for my business popped into my head one night while I was plagued with insomnia. It was 1:27 am. I thought "That's it", I artify things. That is how I would describe my business and my brand. For me, its kind of a philosophy; the desire to uncover the beauty and purpose in objects which others have abandoned or discarded. The idea that "I can make something with that". To see the potential in otherwise old and irrelevant objects and reimagine them as art for your home and garden. I use many skills developed through my former career as a decorative painter and knowledge acquired through extensive research to create art or upcycle a variety of items with techniques such paint, gold leaf, assemblage, etc. My passions are painting, gardening and rummaging through places like thrift stores, salvage yards and flea markets.
I enjoy travelling and when I have the opportunity, the choice of which foreign city to visit is often decided based on my search for interesting flea markets. I have been fortunate to attend markets in France, Italy, Ireland and other european countries. They are always a highlight of my adventures. I remember a trip to Paris with 2 of my best friends in 2012. One night as we were walking back to our apartment in the Marais district we came across a large designer fabric sample book on the top of a trash pile. We were giddy with the possibilities as we rescued it from the trash. Back in the apartment, we took it apart and divided the samples between us. Sharing a Take Away meal with a bottle of wine and our found treasures was a wonderful ending to a glorious day. I still haven’t Artified the fabric samples which I returned home with but I do have a plan.
When I discovered a cast iron radiator in a salvage warehouse in Detroit Michigan, it had to come
home with me. I knew it would become a sheep sculpture and have a place of honour in my
garden.
One day I was inspired by a lovely vintage mannequin which was advertised for sale on my local Facebook Marketplace. It took a couple of years before I tackled the project, but finally completed her transformation last year. This was one of my more ambitious projects.
My goal for this Blog is to chronicle the steps of future transformations and offer inspiration for you to create your own Artified masterpieces. They will feature a variety of materials, styles, scale and objects. Each project will be photographed through the steps from beginning to end, with thorough instructions detailing how I take them from ordinary to Artified! Some projects which I am excited to complete are designed to use up collections I have acquired over the years, such as a large vintage button collection, vintage marbles, empty frames, vintage paint by numbers, etc. I have posted a few upcoming projects on my website.
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