Migneault Louise

Article by Rose Desnoyer
The Seeker, 13 November, 2015

Some people don't easily fit on one page and Louise Mignault is one of these people. Good for you Louise. It's a good story.

Louise Mignault's first canvas was the human face; first her own and then her friends. She loved makeup. This strong interest led to an uncommon career as makeup artist. She embellished the face, aged it, distorted it into some imaginary creature or marked it with wounds, scars or burns. Hundreds of actors would benefit from the artistic attention Louise invested, as would another to a painting or sculpture.

Louise worked her art in over 80 productions. She loved the magic of filmography.

Based in Montreal where she was born and attended school she perfected her talent as a makeup artist and leader of a team of artists in projects such as the Quebec series Les Filles de Caleb, Muséricorde, Elvis Gratton, Lance et compte and in English, films such as Quest for Fire, The Immortal, My Bloody Valentine, Death Race and many more. She is forever part of the credits that make movies such a powerful art form. (. .. The reason that this film is amazing is the actors and their costume design. Every, actor was completely physically reinvented. The Ulam were given the prominent gnarled brown and ape-like front teeth, the Wagabu looked like ferocious animals, and the lvaka, who were simply covered with ash-based body paint, looked all the more unique for the humanness when compared to the rest. But the most remarkable thing about the costume design is that it in no way took away from the actors' ability to portray complex emotions through facial expressions. The proverbial monkey mask did not in any way detract from this ability, which essentially was the vehicle for the more poignant narrative points, but in fact enhanced them .... critique by David Calbert).

It is not surprising Louise's creativity led her to write and direct a short movie: "42DD" The title is very revealing. She also wrote the screenplays for The Cottage, The Fall Effect and The Year After ... all stories, waiting for the right producer to bring them to the screen.

Where does all this creativity come from? Her Mom dreamt of the arts but the strong influence in the household was Dad, an engineer who saw life in a practical way. He invested a great deal to encourage his girl to have a solid d career as a secretary. Louise learned to type, a skill she appreciates to this day, but after a few months in training, she dropped out. To use her words, Louise had bigger dreams. She decided to further her love of make up and develop the skills. She bought books and materials and made her way into the uncharted world of film. The work proved to be both exciting and physically demanding, but to this day, she would say to anyone: "To be happy, take the risk ... follow your voice".

Today, Louise lives on a hobby farm with her husband on the outskirts of Cornwall. Once again, she has taken a risk to challenge the pressures of our ever consumer-driven society. She is passionate about attaining a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally. She is mindful of all the social traps that surround us and searches for ways to incorporate them into her art.

As a visual artist, she expresses herself through Batik. A couple of years ago, she was invited by Elaine Arkwright to attend a Batik class and it proved to be an excellent fit. Louise quickly mastered the process. She is developing a body of work based on the Omo people of Ethiopia. Her images, some 4' x 3', capture your attention by the expressions, the patterns and the textured designs.

Recognized for her ability to steer a project to the very end, Louise was "voluntold" into the Board two years ago and graciously accepted. She spearheads the FA Calendar project with vigour and skill and last summer, under her leadership: Focus-Art presented itself-for a first time at Ribfest.

When asked, how she would like to be remembered by her colleagues and friends. Louise replied: "As a kind person with a sense of humor".