The Life and Design of Frédéric Le ShoeShoe
 The Life and Design of Frédéric Le ShoeShoeby Maria Schamis TurnerMontreal collage artist Maria Schamis Turner uses shape and color to play with and question visual conventions of human and animal forms, often venturing into the absurd. She has created a book of collage and text that tells the story of the fictional designer Frédéric Le ShoeShoe. The inspiration for the book occurred during Turner’s Solo Residency at Kolaj Institute in New Orleans, 29 April to 14 May 2024. During her Residency, Turner created a collage series of a Frédéric Le ShoeShoe fashion line–in the spirit of her nonsensical beast collages–that reflects the opulent architecture and burlesque sensibility of New Orleans. As well as creating the series, she created a persona, back story, and biography for the designer. She launched the self-published book at De Stiil Books in Montreal on 20 March 2025.  A writer and editor with an MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College, Maria Schamis Turner started exploring visual forms of self-expression after her father’s death in 2017. Unable to express her grief in words, Turner began working with mixed media including drawing, painting, and collage. She completed a two-week individual residency at Toronto Island’s Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts in 2019 and a two-week solo residency at Kolaj Institute in New Orleans in 2024. The Canadian indie-folk group Caution Horse recently commissioned her to create art for their upcoming EP. ABOUT THE BOOK Purchase the book in Canada HERE. To purchase the book from outside of Canada, contact the author directly HERE. |