Lot 89
PATRICK AMIOT
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Patrick Amiot was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1960. At 16 he entered the boat-selling business like his father, making his specialty in windsurfing boards and equipment. Inspired by an art course he took in CEGEP, Amiot decided to try his hand at caricature sculpture. He soon realized that he may stand a chance at succeeding in the arts.
Disillusioned with his life in Montreal, Amiot moved to Vancouver at the age of 21, where rented a studio to create his clay sculptures and supported himself by working at a local bakery. He sold his clay pieces at Circle Craft Cooperative for $15 or $20 a piece. His work quickly became sought after and he was able to quit his bakery job and devote full time to sculpting and exhibiting at regular art galleries. Amiot exhibits at Grace Gallery and at North Park Gallery in Victoria.
In 1997, Amiot and his wife, sculptor Brigitte Laurent, sold most all of their belongings, left behind their artists' loft in Montreal, and drove across America in a motor home with their two young girls. They settled in Sebastopol, California, but soon found that Northern California didn’t have the market for their ceramics. Finding themselves in financial difficulties, Amiot, on a whim, decided to build a sculpture of a fisherman from an old rowboat he had bought at a flea market, and displayed it on his front lawn. The public response was so positive that he began filling his neighbors’ lawns with his works. Within eight months, Amiot had his first commission, and sold his first piece.
Besides being environmentally friendly, Amiot and Laurent's sculptures play an immense part in raising money for community schools. Amiot has recently joined forces with Renga Arts to create a showcase for exemplary works made of salvaged materials. Amiot lives with his family in Sebastopol, California.