Fleur Grenier Sculpture

Sculpture

www.fleurgrenier.co.uk Metttle Stuidios, Roundstone Bypass, Angmering, W. Sussex, BN16 4BD e-mail: design@fleurgrenier.co.uk

fleur grenier Having completed an M.A. At The Royal College of Art on the Jewellery and silversmithing course Fleur developed her practice designing and making sculptural functional pewter for the home, as well as her fine art pieces. It is important to her to create pieces that evoke interest, intrigue and a connection between the person using or looking at the work.

Her current series of sculptural work ‘Home’ started in 2019, exploring the word Home and what it means not only to us as humans but to the many insects, mammals, fish and more.

‘Home gives us a feeling of belonging no matter whom or what we are, whether it is a nest, house, habitat or ocean. It’s a place to feel safe, comfortable, connected or part of a community. A home provides space for an individual to shelter, sleep and eat in relative peace. For families, tribes or colonies it has the added opportunity to communicate and share knowledge. Whatever organism we may be, we all have a place where we feel comfortable – we know it as home.’

Fleur reflected on the wildlife around her or that she had seen; like whilst volunteering in the Peruvian Rainforest, the leaf cutter ants, in a long colourful line taking back the harvested leaves to their nest, the honey bee busy in its hive and the shore crab resting in its rock pool to name a few.

The literal interpretation but on a magnified scale draws you into the fine detail inviting you to look closer at the journey back or in their home, it is capturing the essence of what their home is to them and allowing the observer to bring that into their own home.

Fleurs skills and strengths lie in working with pewter as this is the medium she has used for over 25 years, she does also enjoy the challenge of working with different materials such concrete, glass and wood and explores combining it with the pewter then through experimentation and practice she has finds ways to resolve any issues so they work in a harmonious way.

In November 2014 Fleur was invited to The Worshipful Company of Pewterers to strike her mark at a touchmark ceremony. The Worshipful Company of Pewterers was established in 1478 to take control of the expanding pewter trade. On completing an apprenticeship, pewterers were required to register a ‘touchmark‘ to be stamped on their wares, which had to meet set standards of quality. The ceremony is now done for makers to register their marks so future generations can identify pewter pieces.

The ceremony involved stamping her name punch onto a pewter sheet in front of the court and the master.

Fleur now feels very honoured to have her mark alongside the many other pewtersmiths from the last 500 years and now uses this touchmark on all of her sculptures

HOME SERIES Home gives us a feeling of belonging no matter whom or what we are, whether it is a nest, house, habitat or ocean. It’s a place to feel safe, comfortable, connected or part of a community. A home provides space for an individual to shelter, sleep and eat in relative peace. For families, tribes or colonies it has the added opportunity to communicate and share knowledge. Whatever organism we may be, we all have a place where we feel comfortable – we know it as home.

Honey Bee The structured cells become home for the bee, all working together to create a harmonious colony of liquid gold.

Materials: Pewter, Coloured Cast Concrete, 24ct Gold Leaf and Glass Honey Bee by Elizabeth Welch

2021

SHORE CRAB Calmly nestling amongst the rocks and seaweed the shore crab makes the coastal rock pools its 'Home'.

Living so close to the beach in Littlehampton, it is always a big influence on my daily life whether it is space to think or literally such as this piece which developed from observing the shore crabs moving around the small rock pools when the tide was out. Creating a space for it to observe, feed and rest. Hiding amongst the seaweed, mussels and limpets.

Materials: Pewter, Coloured Cast Concrete 2019

Spinning Whirligigs The pond is the home of the whirligig beetle found in groups spiralling and gyrating on the pond, creating beautiful rippled patterns on the surface of the water. Constantly moving, but always aware of each other and their surroundings as they hunt their prey Materials: Pewter, cast concrete and Oak.

It was while revisiting some photographs of a past trip, where I had spent a month working on a conservation project in the amazon rainforest in Peru. I found a picture of a line of leaf cutter ants, carrying cut off leaves and petals back to their nest this picture became the inspiration for my ‘Home’ series.

Spiralling Leafcutter Ants and Marching Ants were inspired as I watched this line of ants marching back to their nest carrying brightly coloured petals and leaves as they fulfilled their task of farming collecting food to feed the rest of the colony.

This moving line dancing line of colour was beautiful to watch as they crossed the rainforest floor.

Materials: Pewter, coloured cast concrete and steel wire.

2020 and 2021

Winkle Island A section of the beach where I live in Littlehampton, W. Sussex is known as ‘winkle island’. It is a simple mound of shingle that is covered in winkles, each time the tide retreats 1000’s of these little molluscs make their way back to the island leaving a trail in the sand of the route they have taken. This piece has been designed and made to highlight the paths they have travelled to get back home.

Materials: Pewter, cast concrete and Oak 2019

New Life

New Life was created after observing the frogspawn develop in my garden pond protected and hidden by the beautiful bright yellow flowers and large scalloped leaves of the Marsh Marigold that was growing on the edge of the water.

In 2020 like most other people, I spent a lot of time at home or in my garden. This was actually a very creative time for me with my sculptural work, I had time to really observe and develop my pieces and New Life was the outcome of the many hours spent not only observing but working through technical challenges and making processes to create this final piece.

I commissioned Elizabeth Welch a glass lamp worker to make the frogspawn in glass, with I then modelled a shell to surround it to be cast in pewter. This helped the light to reflect back through the 202 glass creating that soft sparkle but also made the ripple of the water around the frogspawn that you see around the egg Materials: Pewter, steel, cast concrete and glass frogspawn made by Elizabeth Welch 2021

Glassblowing In 2016 I began to learn glassblowing and combining it with the pewter, it was such an exciting skill to learn as the it not only added an element of colour to the work but the fluidity of it as a material created a harmonious connection with the pewter.

Cephalopod The fluidity of the glass captured the movement of the octopus as it glides through the water.

Materials: Pewter and Handblown Glass 2017

MARIS Living very near to the beach this often has a big influence on my work. The Maris collection developed from a series of drawings of bladderack seaweed capturing the flowing line which it never loses whether it is lay on the beach or being carried by the waves.

Materials: Pewter and Handblown Glass 2019

LAVA Using the intensity of the lava as it slowly moves and envelops objects in its path. I used this as inspiratioin for my Lava series.

Making it unclear whether it is the pewter enveloping the glass or the glass flowing over the pewter.

Materials: Handblown glass and Pewter.

2018

Childhood Games This series was inspired by the games we play as a child and bringing them back to us as an adult to experience again.

Bilston Gallery, More Than Floral exhibition. Curated by Alison Milner 2011

Six-er The conker has a very tactile quality, even with the pointed spikes on the shell you want to pick them up and handle them. Every Autumn my workshop window lsill will have a few conkers added to it, still looking for the perfect winning one!

Materials: Pewter, Teak and Felt 30xm x35cm x 26cm 2012

DO YOU LIKE BUTTER? I loved as a child the way the buttercup would reflect a golden glow onto your chin as you held the flower underneath it. Do you like butter? This piece is designed so and adult or a child can stand in front of one of the flowers & when there face is near, the gold plate reflects a bright golden glow.

Materials: Pewter, Goldplate and Steel 2011

FIND THE FOUR LEAF LOVER. Always Looking for that elusive lucky four leafed clover! This interactive piece was made on a lightbox creating multiple dynamic sillouettes of the clover leaves using the positve and negative shapes.

Materials: Lightbox, Pewter and Steel 2011

TIME STANDS STILL The Dandelion Clock, gently blowing away the seeds to find out the time, not always the most accurate but certainly the most fun!

Materials: Pewter, Walnut, 3d Printed Plastic and Steel 2008

Rainforest Following a trip volunteering in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, I was so inspired by the wildlife and plants that I had seen I had to use the photos and drawing that I had done in my work. I wanted to bring the beauty that I had seen in the forest back for others to enjoy and appreciate.

Rainforest Light Inspired by the fungi on a branch with the morning dew I created this light to fill the room when lit with the silloette of each mushroom bringing the rainforest back into the room when lit.

Melted tin paste on the branches recreated the glistening dew as it captured the light.

Materials: Pewter, tinpaste, steel and walnut.

2006.

Lacewing Nest You can find the most beautiful things when you take time to look more closely.

Lifting a banana leaf I happen to come across this delicate structure a Lace wing nest.

Protected by the leaf gently moving in the breeze, its exact precision of where each stem was methodicallys placed.

Material: Pewter, Steel and Walnut.

2007