# Julie Liger-Belair
*Mixed-media collage artist, educator, creative guide*

Julie Liger-Belair is a Toronto-based visual artist who creates whimsical mixed-media works that blur the lines between dreams and reality. A graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design, where she studied printmaking, photography, illustration, and metal-smithing, Julie has spent over 20 years developing her distinctive collage practice that combines found Victorian photographs, Japanese paper, acrylic paint, and metal in handmade frames and assemblages.Early in her career, Julie began collecting cabinet cards and Victorian-era photographs, which became the launching point for her imagery and ideas. These antique portraits, with their serious and stern faces, provide an ironic counterpoint to the humor and levity she injects into her work. Her art explores fairy tales, legends, and the surreal worlds that help us make sense of our fears and surroundings—themes that have captivated her imagination since childhood.Julie's teaching philosophy centers on fearless experimentation and creative recycling. She loves "the act of recycling older work, allowing some of the images to show through and so starting a conversation between new ideas and older ideas." This approach helps students embrace the unexpected magic that happens when disparate elements come together, moving beyond perfectionism to discover the storytelling power of collage.Her work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions across Canada, the USA, and Europe, and included in art books, magazines, and literary publications. When she's not creating in her garage studio (sometimes visited by her husband, three kids, and little black dog Frida), Julie teaches workshops that encourage others to become collectors of fragments and stories, weaving them into new narratives through mixed-media exploration.You can find more of Julie's work at www.julieligerbelair.net and on Instagram @julie.liger.belair.

## Retreats led by Julie Liger-Belair

### Travel Artist Books Retreat with Artists Carla Sonheim and Julie Liger-Belair in Morocco
June 1 - 8, 2026 · Agadir, Morocco · $4,350
Instructors: Julie Liger-Belair, Carla Sonheim
[Details](https://uptrek.com/ai/content/retreat/travel-artist-books-retreat-artists-carla-sonheim-julie-liger-belair-morocco) · [Book on uptrek.com →](https://uptrek.com/retreat/travel-artist-books-retreat-artists-carla-sonheim-julie-liger-belair-morocco#book)

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**Last updated:** 2025-06-10