How it all started...
Perhaps from growing up as latch-key kid and never having lived in a house of her own,
Lisa Elin's fascination for pre-war architecture came at a very early age.
Later on in life, inspiration came daily as she passed by beautiful historic buildings
while studying in downtown Montreal & working for the charming City of Westmount.
It was while working on Westmount's architectural archives that Lisa started carving miniature sculptures
of her favourite houses she dreamt of owning in full size!
Purely for her personal enjoyment, she concentrated solely on their front facades
where the buildings held the majority of their characterful details.
Lisa Elin's fascination for pre-war architecture came at a very early age.
Later on in life, inspiration came daily as she passed by beautiful historic buildings
while studying in downtown Montreal & working for the charming City of Westmount.
It was while working on Westmount's architectural archives that Lisa started carving miniature sculptures
of her favourite houses she dreamt of owning in full size!
Purely for her personal enjoyment, she concentrated solely on their front facades
where the buildings held the majority of their characterful details.
After showing her models at local artisan shows, clients began requesting their own houses
& those of their friends & family to be made as gifts; thus grew the idea to create pieces solely on commission.
Lisa's work has been featured in the "Westmount Experience", the "Montreal Gazette",
"Style at Home", "Montreal/Toronto/Vancouver Home" & "Old House Journal" magazines.
Contracts include everything from beloved childhood homes to historic family estates located overseas.
Demands have expanded to include public & commercial buildings such as
the Westmount Public Library, the McCord Museum, Maison Alcan, Avmor Headquarters,
and the Pointe Claire Cultural Centre @ Stewart Hall.
& those of their friends & family to be made as gifts; thus grew the idea to create pieces solely on commission.
Lisa's work has been featured in the "Westmount Experience", the "Montreal Gazette",
"Style at Home", "Montreal/Toronto/Vancouver Home" & "Old House Journal" magazines.
Contracts include everything from beloved childhood homes to historic family estates located overseas.
Demands have expanded to include public & commercial buildings such as
the Westmount Public Library, the McCord Museum, Maison Alcan, Avmor Headquarters,
and the Pointe Claire Cultural Centre @ Stewart Hall.
Starting from photographs, Lisa sculpts the minute architectural details from a solid block of wax.
Each brick and stone is individually carved, each roof tile set one after the other,
just as the real edifice was built. A mould is made from the wax master so that a plaster replica can be cast.
This casting is then hand-painted in several layers, resulting in realistic depth and texture.
Each brick and stone is individually carved, each roof tile set one after the other,
just as the real edifice was built. A mould is made from the wax master so that a plaster replica can be cast.
This casting is then hand-painted in several layers, resulting in realistic depth and texture.
After devoting recent years to raising her family, Lisa now has plans underway to expand Archytexture
to include numbered collections of smaller-scaled buildings,
special limited edition pieces & various miniatures of graphic & architectural details
for all her fellow enthusiasts of historic arts to enjoy!
to include numbered collections of smaller-scaled buildings,
special limited edition pieces & various miniatures of graphic & architectural details
for all her fellow enthusiasts of historic arts to enjoy!
