My name is Véronique Sunatori, I am a multidisciplinary visual artist, maker and fabricator, living and working in Tkaronto, Canada. In my work as an artist, I create sculptures, installations and multimedia artworks that have been presented in institutions across Canada, Japan and the US. After studying Visual Art at CEGEP, Bachelors and Masters levels, I have worked in the creative art field my whole life.

I come from Gatineau (QC) by a Québécois mother and Japanese-born father. My parents have always been very logic and science-driven; they have backgrounds in mathematics and engineering. Growing up, my father was an inventor by profession. He was always devising new designs for things like spice racks, magnetic pens, and bird feeders, for example. He would collect old bottle caps or containers to assemble in order to fashion prototypes for his ideas that he would go on to patent. He holds that spirit to this day, and that resourceful mindset runs through me today.

I’d like to think that I got my skills from my Obaachan, who was a talented maker herself. She would create beautiful Turushibina hanging textile dolls by the hundreds. She taught me origami and showed me how she sewed and crafted her work. I have great respect for her and handicraft as a whole, and consider my work an ode to traditional craft practices.

The Japanese term 勿体無い “mottainai” is an expression used to convey regret, guilt, or sorrow for something not reaching its full potential. And, it often implies a desire to make the most out of its future. This sentiment is core to my practice as a maker in our economic & climate crises.

My studio space is built from reused materials: its glass blocks were sourced from a demolished barn, then used in an artwork—to finally finding its place embedded as a window in my wall; to the pottery wheel that belonged to a now-cancelled university program and is now a key instrument in my work space.

This commitment to reuse doesn’t stop at the studio itself—it’s deeply embedded in the work I produce and the objects I bring new life to. The wares I make often incorporate objects that have inspired their creation or refresh their purpose: salvaged lamp bases are renewed with custom ceramics parts, or handed down mason jars repurposed to become ceramic birdfeeders.

My creative approach is enriched by a diverse set of skills that allow me to bring this ethos to life in various forms. I often turn to different lineages of folk crafts traditions and draw from motifs inspired by natural elements like fossils and flora. My wide range of interests and skills allow me to explore making in a variety of traditions: my primary practice is ceramics, where claywork serves as my foundation; I’ve practiced fabric work since childhood and of late I am exploring natural dyes and traditional Shibori tying & masking techniques; I sew, knit, crochet clothing and tapestries; woodworking offers its own qualities and possibilities!

Because my work spans many forms, traditions and materials, the process itself becomes my central focus. The breadth of my work is vast and for this, I prioritize the creative process over establishing a production line. In this way, I prefer to create unique one-off pieces or small editions of multiples. The one-of-a-kind pieces from Mottainai are made with love, care and thoughtful consideration.