Artistic education
Support for school projects
The French Ministry of Education has made it a priority to set up Artistic and Cultural Education Projects that encourage direct contact with works of art and artists.
It was with this in mind that teachers approached me so that their pupils could visit my studio-gallery and work together on artistic projects based on chosen themes. I really enjoyed these interactive exchanges, which led to the creation of collective works in the secondary schools of Pons (Charente-Maritime) and Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine), on the themes of “Deconnection” and “Nature is at home” respectively.
In a spirit of transmission, my large studio is also open to trainees from the Ecoles de Beaux Arts; these encounters give rise to mutually beneficial relationships between the ‘young confirmed sculptor’ that I am (after 22 years of practice) and younger generations motivated by an artistic vocation.
Recent projects
Artistic design of the reception hall at the Lycée Jean-Baptiste Le Taillandier (Fougères)
The aim of the project was to create a landscaped and artistic setting for the reception area and the outside of the entrance, which are currently unattractive and even depressing. It is intended to be permanent.
The first ideas to make it more welcoming very often mentioned the reintroduction of nature into this space in order to feel better: to feel good; to offer a space for relaxation; to surprise visitors with an atmosphere that brings back life, plants and wildlife to our school.
We also wanted to showcase the expertise of our students, their skills and their creative abilities in landscaping. They came up with the project as a group. Very quickly, a shared ambition and a strong sense of cohesion emerged.
Artistic expression project at Lycée de Pons
When site-specific art makes sense and gives you an extraordinary experience…
I welcomed students from the Lycée de Pons and their Finnish, Swedish and Flemish pen pals to my studio in the citadel at Château d’Oléron. I then accompanied them for a week for an artistic expression project on the theme of ‘Deconnexion’.
Their creation symbolises a bubble of disconnection (Faraday cage effect) to reconnect with nature and the people around them. The students have called it ‘The DIGlooT’. They ask visitors inside: “How do you feel without WIFI?
