artist briony douglas
Briony Douglas

Artist Briony Douglas’s Creative, Mood-Boosting Gift Ideas

Like a bracelet that'll make you smile as much as her teddy sculpture

There was a piece in Briony Douglas’s latest art show that she noticed people gravitated toward.

Lounging against a white gallery wall—a giant flower-filled car to its left, a display case filled with handbags made of candy to its right—the star of A Show With No Theme was a massive plush teddy bear, whose charming mien made it impossible not to smile back.

“People are loving the teddy bear,” says Douglas, a Toronto-based multidisciplinary creative who’s as well known for her exuberant photography as she is for her large-scale sculptures. “Usually with art, you can’t touch and interact with it. It’s creating such happiness with people—dogs, small children, it’s pretty neat to see.”

But surely there’s more to the stuffed toy than that, right? A statement on how capitalism steals childhoods, perhaps, or the existential dread millennials mask with their nostalgia fixation? The teddy is stuffed with pieces of paper where folks wrote the age their inner child died, maybe? Not quite, says Douglas.

“With a lot of my art, I do use it to make statements,” she says, nodding to her work as a mental health advocate. “With the giant teddy bear, and the giant car, I just wanted to make them,” she says.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Briony Douglas (@briony)

“Some of my art does have very deep meanings, and other times, I just felt like doing this, and I try to lead with that in my life,” explains Douglas. This, in a way, is an artist’s statement in itself, one you can see reflected in the joyful eclecticism of her recent show, which was a response to people telling her she needed to pick an artistic lane and stay in it. “I don’t have to do anything! It’s my life, and I’m only going to do it once, and I’m going to do the things I love,” says Douglas, who is as effervescent as her art. “It speaks to, ‘Don’t let people put you in a box.’”

But there is a golden thread that ties together all of Douglas’s work, whether it’s a life-size silver Porsche sculpture, a 10-foot pair of Barbie-pink cowboy boots, a banner proclaiming ‘Mom, I am a rich man’ (the famous Cher quote in response to her mother suggesting she find a wealthy husband) or the re-creation of Billie Eilish’s Vogue cover made out of 15,552 mini Pantone cards. “When I first started creating and shooting, I thought that everything had to be really sad. I thought I had to create my art through sadness. Then as I grew older and more into myself, my art became happier,” Douglas says. “It was just so much better to create art through happiness.”

As I grew older and more into myself, my art became happier. It was just so much better to create art through happiness.

In her own words, Douglas had “not the greatest childhood,” and—back to the teddy bear again!—much of her art is reclaiming that ground on her own terms. “A lot of my art is very childlike. As an adult you think you have to do very ‘adult’ things, but you don’t,” she says. “I can make bags with candy, I can make pasta pieces. It’s just fun.”

This capacity for joy made us think Douglas would be the perfect person to ask for creative, dopamine-boosting present ideas. And we were not wrong!

Here’s what Briony will be gifting this year

 

A joyful bracelet

lisa gozlan
Lisa Gozlan bracelet, $88, lisagozlan.com. Photo: Lisa Gozlan

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“This is a piece you can wear every day. Plus it just makes you smile!”

 

An art supplies kit

Artist’s Loft Deluxe Easel Set, $50, michaels.com. Photo: Michael’s

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“These are great for every artist in your life.”

 

An iPad Pro

Apple iPad Pro (11 inch), $999, amazon.ca. Photo: Apple

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“Being an illustrator, I know what an amazing tool this is, for everyone from beginners to advanced users. Being able to draw on the iPad is so much fun and an essential part of my day.”

 

Cute painter’s overalls

aritzia overalls
Aritzia overalls, $128, aritizia.com. Photo: Aritzia

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“Be fashionable while you work on your art!”

 

Sneakers from Makeway

nike
Jordan 5 retro sneakers, $175, similar styles at shopmakeway.co. Photo: Makeway

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“Any pair of sneakers from Makeway is a winner. It’s the best store in Canada, in my opinion, to get sneakers.”

 

An art gallery membership

AGO membership, $110, ago.ca. Photo: Art Gallery of Ontario

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“Checking out art whenever you want sounds like the coolest present to me! Also, the membership allows you early access to all the new shows.”

 

 

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