Francine Delmotte

Glass fuser

©Francine Delmotte

Looking for light reflections

Francine studied pottery at the Academy of Fine Arts
She likes to play with light and curved shapes
Thanks to their fine structure, her objects have translucent walls

Francine Delmotte specialises in the technique of pâte de verre (literally “glass paste”), which is an ancient casting technique that has been used since Egyptian times. The glass is ground into a fine powder, to which a binder is added to create a paste that is introduced into a mould and fused by firing. After annealing, the object is finished by cold working processes. “What I do is not a job but the pursuit of the pleasure of creating,” explains Francine. “I shape objects in glass paste with translucent walls. To this I add a choice of shapes and colours that play with light, whether natural or artificial. I accept a few cracks and uneven edges, which add an impression of fragility. Always curved in shape, my pieces often resemble utilitarian objects that have stood the test of time.”

Interview

©Francine Delmotte

©Francine Delmotte

Why did you start this craft?: In 1993 I enrolled at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi, in Belgium, where I started working with clay, followed by earthenware and porcelain. A few years later I discovered glass paste. It felt like discovering magic, that excitement has never left me!
When did you open your own studio?: My workshop was opened for clay work when I acquired a potter's wheel in 1999. At that time I did not have a kiln at home and the firings were done at the Academy. In 2006, when I started working with glass paste, an electric kiln was added to the equipment.
How is your profession linked to the territory?: I come from a region with a long tradition of glassmaking and whose craftsmen have spread their know-how all over the world. Moreover, the region has also specialised in utilitarian and decorative pottery.
What inspires your work?: Shadows and light, cold and ice, cracks on the surface – my objects are inspired by utilitarian objects, even though they themselves are not. The search for breaks and ruptures is part of my work: each creation offers its share of surprises after firing, when it is removed from the mould.

Francine Delmotte is an expert artisan she began her career in 2003