Artist Transforms Driftwood Into Fantastical Sculptures That Look Like Spirits of Nature

Where you see a log, a rock, a piece of clay or a branch, Canadian artist Debra Bernier sees untapped potential.

While these earthly objects might not look like much to us, Bernier has a knack for turning these ordinary elements into something extraordinary.

Take her driftwood sculpture for example. Bernier turned an unsuspecting piece of wood into a beautiful female goddess-like figure made purely of earth’s elements.

“When I work with driftwood, I never start with a blank canvas,” she told Bored Panda.

“The wood tells a story and I try to think of its journey as I hold it in my hand. I extend or shorten the curves and contours that already exist into familiar shapes of animals or peoples’ faces.”

Nothing in nature is off-limits for Bernier. In the past, she’s used objects like seashells, stones, and parts of plants of trees in the forest to create inspiring maternal figures who invoke a connection to the elements that bind them together.

“The finished pieces are a reflection of not only my life, my family, and children, but of an eternal, sacred connection we all share with nature,” she says.