Author Archives: Jessica Beauchemin

About Jessica Beauchemin

"to link the nuances of creation to the precision of the handwork"

Jessica Beauchemin: Collection Bestiaire and A Sense of Time

2 Replies

 

Ms. Beauchemin writes in French. English speakers may read a translation in the first comment.

Bestiaire I - Dasyatis sephen

Bestiaire I – Dasyatis sephen, 2011
Medium: Black Ebony, Movingui Veneer, Stingray polished and non polished
Finish: Linseed Oil and Beeswax
Techniques: Bending, Sculpture, Marquetry
Dimensions: 26 x 10.5 x 3 cm
Photographer: Nicolas Chentrier

Bestiaire II - Alcedo atthis

Bestiaire II – Alcedo atthis, 2011
Medium: Black Ebony, Black Ebony and Tinted Sycamore Veneers, Kingfisher Feathers
Finish: Beeswax
Techniques: Bending, Sculpture, Marquetry
Dimensions: 30.5 x 9 x 4.5 cm
Photographer: Nicolas Chentrier

Bestiaire III - Pinctada

Bestiaire III – Pinctada, 2011
Medium: Black Ebony, Bleached Anegre Veneer, Mother of pearl
Finish: Beeswax
Techniques: Bending, Sculpture, Marquetry
Dimensions: 20.5 x 10.5 x 7 cm
Photographer: Nicolas Chentrier

La recherche et le dépassement font partie intégrante de mon travail de création. À l’automne 2011, j’ai eu la chance de réaliser un projet de recherche dont l’objectif était d’apprendre à travailler trois matériaux traditionnels d’origine animale – le galuchat, les plumes et la nacre. Ce projet m’a permis de maîtriser et d’intégrer ces matières à mes créations. Au final, j’ai créé le triptyque Bestiaire, une collection de trois ornements de coiffure sculpturaux : Bestiaire I – Dasyatis sephen; Bestiaire II – Alcedo atthis et Bestiaire III – Pinctada.

À travers ce projet, j’ai pris conscience de l’importance du temps dans ma démarche artistique. À une époque où le temps est calculé en efficacité et en rentabilité, mon travail de création, axé sur le détail, la précision et la minutie, se veut un éloge du temps. Plus une pièce exige de moi temps, application et précision, plus j’ai l’impression de respecter la matière et d’être en harmonie avec mon art. À l’image des artistes et artisans d’une autre époque, je souhaite valoriser le geste et le temps associé à sa maitrise.

Je veux poursuivre dans cette voie, en prenant le temps d’explorer de nouvelles matières en association avec le bois. Je souhaite également développer l’aspect sculptural de mes pièces; créer des œuvres indépendantes dont on oublie la fonction.

À suivre… dans quelque temps…

कंघी

To explore or purchase these museum pieces of modern art, please visit the web site of Jessica Beauchemin

How I stumbled upon hair ornaments…

2 Replies

By Jessica Beauchemin:

I stumbled upon hair ornaments by chance, and to this day, I am still moved by this surprising story…

Following studies in Artistic Cabinet-Making and work in a small shop, very soon I felt the need to make woodworking my own, to develop a more personal approach to my trade. With this in mind, I started looking for the perfect medium, the element that would become the focus of my practice.

Through my research, I came across a wonderful book: Le Peigne dans le Monde by Robert Bollé (“Combs of the World”). Mr Bollé comes from a family of comb makers from Oyonnax, former “comb capital of the world.”

Following the two Great Wars, comb popularity declined. Thus, in  1946, Robert’s father Georges Bollé made the first nylon pair of glasses in the world. In 1978, Robert Bollé took over his father’s business. Even though they were now making only glasses, Bollé went around the world and methodically collected anything that was called a comb. He gathered an exceptional collection, most of which is kept today at the Musée du Peigne et de la Plasturgie d’Oyonnax. That is how Robert Bollé came to write this book, and this is how I discovered hair ornaments. This discovery was more than crucial in my young career.

From that moment on, I directed my experimentations primarily on hair ornaments, which offered me a richness in conceptual, aesthetical and technical possibilities. About a year later, during a professional trip to France, I had the great pleasure to visit the Comb Museum in Oyonnax. This was an exceptional event for me.

Following this visit, the Museum curators acquired three of my hair ornaments.

That is how, only a few years after launching myself in comb-making, I had the great honour to enter the collection that had inspired it all…

Of course, I alone cannot claim to revamp sophisticated hair ornaments. Rather, I wish to keep a tradition alive, and to bring a personal interpretation to this mythical accessory. I chose exception and rarity for the love of the material and know-how…

My first hair ornaments experimentations…