Article content For 17 years, Montreal artist Mimi Gravel has been turning children’s drawings and paintings into beautiful collages for families to cherish forever. Her work has consistently been popular — “I’ve always had collages to make,” she said — but inquiries have skyrocketed recently following a post from a popular Instagram account and, subsequently, a request from Jerry Seinfeld’s daughter, who surprised her mother with one of Gravel’s creations. “Seinfeld — imagine,” Gravel said.
“I was excited, you know, I grew up watching his show and always loved his humour about everyday life, random stuff, nothing. Brilliant.” Gravel was first inspired by the artwork of her two young sons.
With access to her studio — quality paper, canvases, paint — it wasn’t long before their creations piled up. “One day I had the idea of ..
. basically recycling all these papers with the scribbles,” Gravel said. “I made a collage and I had, I guess, a eureka moment.
” She knew that other parents cherished their children’s drawings too — “the way kids see the world is really unique and fantastic” — but that children don’t usually take their creations with them when they’re ready to move out of the family home. “Inevitably, all these precious drawings will find their way to their recycling bin,” Gravel said. “So I kind of knew right then and there that it was .
.. a cool idea — and I guess I was right.
” Artist Mimi Gravel with one o.