Mike Seymour
2026 Fallingwater + Touchstone Artist-in-Residence
THE INSPIRATION
In 2026, Canadian artist Mike Seymour was selected for the inaugural Fallingwater + Touchstone Artist Residency, a collaboration bringing together architecture, landscape, and craft.
Seymour spent one week at Fallingwater exploring the house and surrounding landscape, followed by two weeks creating in the ceramics and blacksmithing studios at Touchstone Center for Crafts. The residency resulted in three sculptural ceramic chandeliers created specifically for Fallingwater during the landmark’s 90th anniversary year.
The finished pieces were installed at Fallingwater in August and remained on view through September 2026.
Learn about the Fallingwater + Touchstone Residency
From Fallingwater to Touchstone
Seymour approached Fallingwater not simply as a building, but as a place shaped by architecture, landscape, materials, light, and water.
Among his inspirations was the polished sandstone floor found throughout the house and the way its surface reflects light much like the river below. Seymour translated those textures into thin sheets of ceramic, formed and fired to create undulating surfaces.
Rhododendron leaves found throughout the surrounding landscape provided another point of departure. Individual ceramic forms were assembled into petal-like structures, allowing light to move across their surfaces and creating a connection between the chandeliers, the house, and the landscape that inspired them.
The residency also led Seymour to develop a wood-fired variation of his Paean series of chandeliers, exploring a process made possible through his time at Touchstone.
A Residency Between Two Places
The Fallingwater + Touchstone Artist Residency gave Seymour the opportunity to move between research and making.
His time at Fallingwater allowed him to study the architecture and landscape firsthand before moving into Touchstone’s studios to experiment with materials and processes. Working across ceramics and metal, Seymour developed the ideas and components that would ultimately return to Fallingwater as finished pieces.
The residency brought together two places in the Laurel Highlands through a shared exploration of craft, architecture, and creative practice.
About Mike Seymour
Mike Seymour is a Canadian artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia, whose practice bridges craft, architecture, and design.
Working across ceramics, metal, glass, and industrial processes, Seymour explores material, light, and place through both hands-on making and collaboration. He studied architecture at the University of Manitoba and has exhibited internationally, including in Milan.
The Fallingwater + Touchstone Artist Residency offered Seymour an opportunity to bring his architectural background and craft practice together in a site-specific body of work.
Now at Touchstone
Following their installation at Fallingwater, Seymour’s chandeliers are now on view at Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington.
The pieces are available for purchase. For information about availability and pricing, please contact Mike Seymour directly.
Please note that Touchstone’s Farmington site is currently open to visitors by appointment only.
2027 Fallingwater + Touchstone Artist Residency
The Fallingwater + Touchstone Artist Residency continues in 2027, offering another artist the opportunity to explore the connections between craft, architecture, landscape, and place.
Applications open November 1 and close November 30, 2026.