Earlier this month I had the pleasure of a surprise trip to Switzerland! I went over for about a week and loved it – I didn’t know what I was in for but it was beautiful. We went to Yverdon-les-Bains, stayed in Geneva for a few days, went to Montreux to see the Castle of Chillon – it was a wonderful trip. One thing I noticed while there was that there were incredible artisan shops with terrific pieces in them. While I didn’t see Joelle Bellenot’s work while there – I did some digging when I got home and fell in love.
Joelle has worked in Geneva and is now in Vevey, which we also went through on our trip. She works in terracotta she says because it is both art and applied art, which is an interesting way to think about it.
While I’m not sure how great Google Translate is – it tells me that her use of blue is to create a relationship to the sea and her use of spherical, vessel shapes is indicative of “the parent” – take that for what it is.
I love non-solid vessels. I have no idea why.
This is one of the only pieces on her site that I found made of metal.I love how regular a grid it looks to be on.
The ones above and below are my favorites. They look like piles of grapes or beads. The colors are wonderful. Since 2005, Joelle has taught at The School of Applied Arts in Vevey – I wish we’d gotten off the train there!
Look at that color! It looks like a bowl made of peas!
Tags: 3D, artists, ceramic, materials, metal, nature, Switzerland, vessels