New Techniques
Stone, Glass, Wood, Thread
Stained glass, turning, marquetry, weaving, tufting, pottery, stone carving, basketry, router, wood carving, and cyanotype: That’s what it’s all about. All of it, and all of it. In “profusion,” because organized clutter seems to characterize me, one might say :)
For over 10 years, I’ve been folding. First paper, then metal.
Before that, there was embroidery, woven ribbon, drawing, cut-out and arranged cardboard, and some failed painting.
After that, there were a few white pencil drawings on black paper for the LOVE exhibition.
Now, there was the desire to learn, to experiment with other materials. Ancestral, centuries-old, original techniques. Techniques for sculpting wood, shaping clay, assembling wire, melting lead, bending branches. During these last few mutant and medical years, I needed to keep my hands busy.
They wanted to touch, slide, twist, type, hold. But not to tap on a keyboard to question AI. NO. They’ve never done that and don’t want to do it.
They wanted to touch matter, fragile and powerful, living and evolving. They wanted to feel. To recall the collective memory.
To thank Mother Nature for what she offers: clay, earth, sedimentary rock, tree trunks, cotton, wool: living materials, perpetually mutating.
Rock is formed by sedimentary accumulation: the chisel can cut the stone, remove the material, sculpt it. Relief appears, the void brings fullness.
Thus, cut stone is born.
Erosion transforms the mass into fine, accumulated dust, which merges with water and forms mud. This mud was the first material worked by humans. From the soft and slippery modeling clay, firing creates a waterproof, robust, and unalterable texture. Ceramics are born.
From these shifting soils, silica accumulates and shelters. This sand, heated to high temperatures, will offer man a poetic discovery: a transparent material, lighter to the eye than a cloud but thicker than a sheet of silk. (wooow, proud of that phrase, I say ;) Thus was born glass.
From our spiritual buildings, we will harness the light so that esoteric atmospheres will captivate the crowds.
From the fertility of the earth’s mass, the first seeds, the first pits, germinated.
Magic of the living, the shrub rises, the tree grows. Roots and branches, beyond the treetops and here below. A living material, full of sap, resistant to rain, vulnerable to fire. Willow, Hazel, Chestnut, Elm: as many species as there are, as many first names. Beings with grandiose phenomena, even the shyness of their treetops, interconnected networks, and above all, a chemistry vital to humans: absorption of CO2 and release of oxygen. Thanks to them, the air is viable, the soil is a foundation, and their cycle is pollination. Its veiny flesh is a white gold that can be sculpted, turned, sliced, rounded, polished, and waxed. Its finest limbs weave, roll, and intertwine. Thank you, marvelous beings, for lending me a little of your divine matter. Thank you, Wood and branches.
And then, between these protectors, pillars of wildlife, roof of life, the fields and peaceful beasts. Cotton ball, wool fur: Harvested, cut, washed, woven, dyed: the thread/wool/rope material will become the future networks of weaving, accumulation, and knotting.
A meticulously arranged canvas.
Fauna, Flora, Elements: everything is there. (Only the human element will be missing: animal, however. Wool will rub shoulders with hair.)
Everything that makes us up, everything that makes up our world, because according to my belief: everything is linked and interconnected.
Forgetting the element that cannot be captured, free as air: water. The element that is everywhere, around us, within us, the one that circulates, that passes, passes again, visits, flees: in an eternal and infinite cycle.
I wanted to grasp all these elements, to encounter them. Humbly. Passionately. With patience, distance, and love.
Meeting them gave me deep and beautiful emotions, filled with serenity and gratitude: to be able to learn, discover, and unlock some secrets.
The approach begins at the origins, and is universal because it spans all continents. However, practice once again allows me to utilize essential elements in my work: pleasure, the joy of doing, and of being at the same time.
It is with awareness that I have had the opportunity to learn these few techniques that I want to share here because their forms and stories will be found in future creations already prepared in my mind.
4 upcoming series. On canvas or wall, on paper, on weave, and in volume.
See you soon.
Creations featured in the photos, created by my hands with love and passion: (in random order)
-Round rug made of organic wool; tufting technique. (rainbow and black)
-Rectangular weave of cotton thread. (rainbow and black)
-2 Makramé pendant lights in off-white cotton.
-Peasant wicker basket. (Chestnut and wicker)
-Sedimentary rock with sculpted heart. (white-grey)
-Tiffany stained glass: The Guardian Eye and the Sun (Transparent Rainbow)
-Fir hexagon worked with a router.
-Chimera “sea lion-poodle” wand rest in glazed earthenware
-Cyanotype. (blue photosensitive print)
-Mushrooms. (Botanical and Mycological Study with the SHNPR). In glazed stoneware.
-Grandma’s farm in white earthenware.
-Small rainbow pot in earthenware.
-Yony and Vagera. Vulva and penis. In earthenware.
-Piece of turned and oiled wood. Walnut wood.
-Bowl of turned and waxed wood. Ash wood.
-Turned pieces. Psychomagic. “Metastases shut up”.
-Marquetry. Bee. Various wood species. (coming soon)
-Tureens in stoneware, slip, and enamel. -Wood sculpture (coming soon).
-Cork curtain. “Improvised” technique and recycling
-Bonus (unrelated, but a bit of it nonetheless): Collecting plastic and colored waste.
(Note: I’ve been making myself laugh a lot in these last few published articles by writing so much… In this era where the TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook tunnels offer fast pics and videos to consume endlessly, without hunger or end…. Who’s reading? Honestly, what… two of you are going to read? It’s not a big deal, siblings, thank you for your interest in my passion…! Even my parents stopped reading or listening to what I say a while ago… but don’t worry, it’s okay now ^^)
P.S.: As I write these lines, I’m at my grandmother’s, and I learned less than a month ago that my cancer remission was confirmed! I still want to stay focused on the vegetable garden, taking care of my grandma, repainting my balcony, and other constructive stuff, but 2025 will be, between two clown, tantra, surfing, and traditional dance workshops, the year I return to work, earn a living, find outlets, and create… Here we go again…
Be ready, baby!
Next date: Solo show at the Mathgoth gallery / Paris / 2026? Mystery and bubble gum.
“Don’t get your stomach pumped during the broth class.”
Big up, Chrysanthemum.