A fairly traditional path for an artist. I spent my childhood in a sculpture and painting studio. After finishing school, I trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where I specialized in textile design. Disillusioned by the industrial approach, I turned to working with textiles by hand—after a ten-year detour through fashion and illustration. Today, I have my own studio where I create bespoke textile pieces for unique projects.
Elo de la Ruë du Can
Elo de la Ruë du Can
Textile artist
Elo de la Ruë du Can creates hand-painted textiles as unique works of art.
Blending painting and design, she envisions bespoke décors for interior architecture,
where every brushstroke and every shade tells a delicate story,
at the crossroads of art and craftsmanship.
Watercolor and ceramics are disciplines of patience, accident, and chance, as much as
they are of skill and mastery.
Could you tell us about your background?
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
My primary source of inspiration is color. I pay close attention to light, details, and macro textures in nature. Impressionist painting and the Italian primitives also deeply nourish my imagination.
How did you come to develop such a distinctive artistic technique?
In the end, I’m as much a painter as I am a designer. I sought to merge the two and to transform textile into painting. I adapted a technique once mastered only by the Japanese: brush dyeing. From there, I explored material solutions that would be accessible in Europe.
You often mention watercolor and ceramics
to illustrate your creative process. Could you tell us more about that?
Watercolor and ceramics are disciplines of patience, accident, and chance, as much as of skill.
It requires great mastery to let the material flow freely. Dyeing resembles watercolor in the way color spreads rapidly, and ceramics because, until the very end, each step can damage the piece.
There is something akin to walking a tightrope—just like in those two disciplines.
What potential applications do your hand-painted silks
have in architecture and interior design?
They have the same applications as traditional textiles, with one major difference:
the pattern is created specifically for the form—whether for a particular seat, a light fixture, lightweight partitions,
cushions, headboards, and so on.
What would be your dream project?
Thank you for that question—I absolutely love it. My dream project would be a singular, obsessive one: to transform an entire room into a painting that you can live in and move through. Of course, all the surfaces and textiles would be hand-painted. If it were the interior of a boat, that would be magnificent. Or an old space adorned with wooden paneling.
How did you meet Anne-Sophie Latil, and why did you decide to join Collection Latil?
We met seven years ago through a mutual acquaintance, at the very beginning of Collection Latil. Our conversation felt natural and effortless. I was happy and honored to join the collection and to work alongside such remarkable artisans.
Which artist or craftsperson from Collection Latil
would you like to collaborate with?
That’s a really tough question! The talents represented by Collection Latil are exceptional.
If I had to choose, I would make a list of complementary skills such as:
Atelier Montex, Florence Girette, Maison Leleu, Robert Four, MTX, Véronèse.
At this very moment, we are developing a pair of large lamps made of ceramic, silk,
and brass with Sonja de Monchy and her exquisite enamels. Stay tuned.
Photo credits: ©Franck Juery