Colours and shapes,

Breakfast bowl, artisanal ceramic bowl

The artisanal bowl, in the ceramic workshop, is an important object. This is the first object on which I experimented. My movements became precise and I came to understand the clay medium with each bowl, turn after turn, because to make bowls, it means to turn, turn, and turn again to master the right shape.
The bowl is the turner’s exercise par excellence, from his awkward beginnings to the confirmation of his craftsmanship.

The handmade bowl

The choice of the clay, the work on the shape, the texture, the colour of the enamels…

the ceramic bowl marks the sensibility of the craftsman and affirms his or her style. Looking at my collections and my succession of limited series, one can see the fruit of my research and my experiments.
Enamels can be matt, shiny or satiny, bright or with soft colors.
I like the fineness of a porcelain shape or the strength that graces sandstone, to develop hollow patterns or scrubbed enamel.
The door is open to imagination.

Finally, the bowl is the base from which come a range of original dishes and other table pieces,
everyday objects that we take pleasure looking at,
holding, salad bowls and pitchers, plates and dishes or cheese strainers and sprouting jars …

The clay

Stoneware

I use stoneware from saint Amand en Puisaye. This clay is very supple and easy to turn. Its color is dark grey and lightens on drying. The first firing  is at 1000 °,
at this “bisque ware” stage the clay becomes pink.
The enameling comes next and a second bake between 1260 and 1280 ° produces the final object.

Porcelain

As for the sandstone, there are several quarries and suppliers of terre de porcelaine in France.

I use several kinds of porcelain from Limoges.
In general, I work with a white-bluish paste.

I do a first clay firing at 1000 °, then the enameling, by dipping or with a brush, and finally a last firing at 1260 °.
The colours applied are so thin that white clay is revealed, in general in bright and shimmering colours.