|| MEET THE ARTIST ||

 || ARTIST BIOGRAPHY ||

Miquela Raiche is a Canadian artist and designer. She graduated with distinction from the Visual Communications and Design Studies program in 2006, and spent the next decade working in home furnishing and interior design. In 2016, she moved to Northern California with her family and opened her online shop, Great Honour Goods.  

Following her move to California, she became fascinated by the region’s native plants and flowers. She began photographing local flower farms as a passion project, sharing the colorful images on social media. After an outpouring of support, she began to share more of her art, and sell it online.

During the lockdown in 2020, she was inspired to participate in an online challenge to create faces using foliage. After her first floral portrait—using only the items found beneath her feet—she knew she found a medium she loved. From Iris Apfel, Van Gogh and RuPaul to Beetlejuice, Andy Warhol and characters born out of her imagination, Raiche’s foliage creations give a second life to nature’s beauty. 

She has been featured by Domino magazine, ORIGIN magazine, The Interior Editor, Apartment Therapy and more. Her portrait work was most recently shared online by The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. 

 || ARTIST STATEMENT ||

For me, nature truly is the ultimate medium, full of fascinating shapes, sizes, colors and textures. A simple leaf might be the perfect lip shape, a rose petal the perfect eyelid and an acorn the most charming hair curl. It’s endless, really. There is so much to discover beneath our feet.

I aim to find the extraordinary in the ordinary—to stretch my creativity to make something from (what might be perceived as) nothing. I try to let nature lead the way with my creative process. Often times, one little found item will inspire an entire portrait or image. 

It’s a delicate process. I do not glue, tape or secure any part of my portraits or images. It’s simply nature balancing together. One breath too hard, and it can all disappear. This is both a practice in patience and a constant reminder that everything is temporary and change is inevitable.

After my portraits or flat lays are complete, my favorite part begins. I slowly take it apart, piece by piece, photographing each tiny movement to create a stop motion video. Watching my portraits come together (and apart), dancing across the page brings me so much joy. I really enjoy the entire creative process, and it has become just as important as the final product for me.

At the end of the day, my goal is to create playful, unique, and compelling pieces that, if I did my job right, bring a smile to your face!