Marie-Josée Leroux was a teacher, a screenprinter, an actress, and a singer-songwriter before she found her real artistic calling—carving stone. Here, Leroux details her evolution as an artist and the source of her inspiration.

Tell us how you got started as an artist.

It became clear when I was fifteen years old. The results of a personality test with one hundred questions I answered when I was this age mentioned that it would be the best profession to choose for me! I explored many mediums before finding the right one: stone. I need to create, it is a necessity. As an adventure into my inner self.

What do you love best about the medium/media you work in?

Carving stone was a revelation to me. Stone has a vibration and it is strong enough to endure the passage of millenniums. Knowing that I am mortal, that our civilization will die one day, my work on stone becomes a testimony through time of our human reality and my humble presence.

What is your greatest source of inspiration for your work?

Archetypes! “We are not of today, neither yesterday, we are of a great age,” said Carl Jung. I like to dive into my unconscious and meet strange beings, god and goddesses coming from our human history.

What strategy or practice helps you run your art business efficiently?

Although it is hard to share time between the creating processes and business needs, as I become savage when I create, I try to divide my time between both as marketing is important to be able to live off my art.