Cécile Mestelan

Ceramicist

©Emmy Martens

©Nima Izadi

©Emmy Martens

Tints in clay

Cécile was introduced to ceramics by chance
A residency in Portugal unleashed a passion
She seeks to bring a deeper experience to her objects

Cécile Mestelan playfully says that destiny brought ceramics to her – she had never considered the craft during her time at Biarritz Fine Art School. However, fate entered into play when she met a Portuguese student at the ECAL in Switzerland and he encouraged her to apply for a residency at Vista Alegre, Portugal’s prestigious porcelain brand. They married and today have three children. “I am grateful to my husband and the artisans who planted my first ceramic seeds.” Cécile opened her space in Lisbon after a successful crowdfunding campaign to buy a kiln. She brings French elegance to her work but also a deeper spiritual world of imagination connected with the universe. “I am not the sole producer, the final piece is a collaboration between the elements and my hands.”

Interview

©Emmy Martens

What lessons have you learnt from being a ceramicist?: To value patience. I’m impatient to achieve things and we have everything immediately nowadays but I learnt that this is not possible with ceramics. You need to wait through the firing process of the piece before opening the kiln and this wait is rewarding.
Could you describe a special aspect of your pieces?: All my work is made with tinted clay. I love to know that the colour is not a cover so if you break it you will see the same colour inside. My pieces are more than functional, each object is the result of a personal process tied to an idea with meaning.
Are the manual techniques an important feature of your work?: Yes. I’m a self-taught ceramicist except for moulding which I learnt from four highly skilled artisans at Vista Alegre. I like to feel the clay so I work mostly with hand built techniques – such as coil or slab – but will use the wheel and slip casting if needed.
Does the rich ceramic environment in Portugal inspire you?: Indeed, Portugal is well known for its ceramics but I also find inspiration from art. I discovered the colour, geometry and structure in Augustin Lesage’s paintings at the Art Brut Museum in Lausanne. If I could live in a painting, it would be one of his.

Cécile Mestelan is a master artisan: she began her career in 2014 and she started teaching in 2016