Héliogravure au grain, Photogravure, Soft Ground Etching

Les grands Ateliers de France...

Passion, courage and some unconsciouness ? All the three probably !

Her atelier could be the last artisanal photogravure workplace in France. She started it at 23, after studying soft ground etching at the Ecole Estienne in Paris, and after being formed by an old specialist in artisanal photogravure.

She had not only to promote her new atlier, but also to convince her futur clients that this almost extinct craft came to life again through her hands. She works now with galleries, art book editors, even artists, photographers …

What is the « héliogravure au grain » ?

An old photomechanical process of the nineteenth century, which produces a reproduction, half way between photography and engraving, extremely subtle in the delicacy of the greys and the rendering of the motifs, stable and highly appreciated by the photographers.

Lithographer

This artisan works with his international artist clientele, creating black and white or colour lithographs : one passage per colour, usually three or four, but sometimes up to fifteen passages. A full week of printing on the pressing-machine, after a test on the hand-press, one colour after the other. Even complete books in lithograph, including the text …

His most precious possession : the collection of lithography stones. From small sizes up to 100 x 130 cm, very thick, of very hard sandstone.

They are not to be found anymore today, but happily they are re-usable during several generations. Once the printing has been made on the press, they are cleaned, repolished by erasing with sand the composition the artist has created directly on it – by pencil, tinting, stamping, at choice.

The original artwork has disappeared, no way to duplicate it again, and this is one of the values of the lithography,  with its quality of print !

For an artist printing, with 25 – 30 prints, or an order, up to 200 prints, each one being numbered, dated and signed by the artist …

Restorer of Graphic Artworks on Paper

Old drawings, from the 16th to the 20th century, French, Italian or Dutch … From engravings to a painted chinese paper of large size …. From the fan to the folding screen … From the simple reproduction (like the cover page of the « Illustration ») to the panoramic wall-paper …

She works restoring and preserving « everything made on paper », always respecting the artwork and its history – according to the rules of professional ethics of IFROA, the French Institute of Restoration of Artworks, where she studied and promoted in 1984. Because « if the client is always expecting a miracle, however the intention is not an exercise of virtuosity ».

Maître d’Art and Best Artisan of France : Engraver – Heraldist

He calls himself « an image mover ». He teaches engraving at the « Ecole Boulle » , in order to «  preserve a six thousand year old technique » - since the mesopotamian seals, engraved on a stone, rolled on earth to obtain the print.

A family activity : his father was engraver (national President of the Best Artisans of France), his grandfather too ; and the grandmother of this grandfather was giving work to engravers in her barometer manufactury …

He works only on precious metals, and essentially to make signet rings. A work of precision, of rigor, on round, and very small forms. In a communication with a long past, but full of future too : need of indentification, uniting to history, handing down a system of symbols … From the times of the crusads, where the heraldique illustrated the helmet protection myth, like the Lady’s scarf during the tournament. Up to the logo, its distant descendant, passing through the patrimonial images : artisans’ and peasants’arms…

He hopes to awake curiosity and interest for a contemporary approach to engraving, by personal creations, « available to everybody », like this small brass roller, engraved under a binocular magnifying glass, of pairs of miniature animals, the prints of which he fixed on china biscuit, for a double message : durability of the theme (passing on) and of the support (brass), fragility of art (china). 

Printer – Engraver

The atelier is proud of the delicacy of its ground etchings, its timbrages, its die stampings, its hot foilings, its high relief embossings …

The « fine stationnary », printed on its presses, emphasizes through its letter heads, business cards, winter- and holidays cards, invitation cards, the prestige of professions or well-known brands, of individuals or companies, of important Administrations, associations, or foundations…

Prestige, of course, but not only : the authenticity of the correspondences too, of official or legal acts and papers… The engraved printing is still one of the only techniques used against the copy or falsification attempts… 

Best Artisan of France – Embossing Engraver, Creation and Realization

As a heir to a craft which was one of the first to disseminate pictures and culture and which has traditionally authenticated official materials like coins, medals and seals, he is considered one of the most creative craftsmen of the young generation.

He has worked with the great names in Paris luxury goods, personalizing their communication tools. Today he has decided to use his old technique in the field of contemporary art creation. His coloured embossed etchings, his collection books and the search, with the fellow-artisans of his profession, for new ways of embossing, on new materials, give a good proof of his creativity….

Book Binder & Restorer for Decorated Leather Boxes for Books and Art Objects

This artisan artist examines the book in search of correspondences between the text, the illustrations, and the binding and/or the box which he is going to create with monochromatic effects, shadings, wax tints, prints, incisions, mosaics alterning produding and retracting…

The case used to protect the fragile or precious books until the fourties. Then the box, paper- or cloth made took over, even protecting a un-binded script, or a manuscript, in a cartboard folding. Later the binders improved the technique, by covering it with leather. This atelier has made its specialization out of it. He dresses his boxes with veal, calf-box, buffalo, lambskin or very light velvet kid…

He plays with the pouncing, which gives some velvetiness to the leather, with the defrosting to create ruptures. He can also incrust his decors with leather, tortoiseshell or ivory, even with half-precious or precious stones. In parallel with boxes for art-books, or for an unique book (like « The Letters to a Young Poet » by Rilke in calligraphies on a play of paper conceived by Brigitte Chardome, he creates boxes for collections :

of autographs, of letters, watches, spectacles, cuff links, and even for fashion pictures (up to 120 x80 cm !)…

He does not neglect for all that the restoration of ancient bindings.

The Friends of the Library of Alexandria have recently appealed to him to train book binders to the occidental techniques to help them to protect with other ways their heritage.