Roland Daraspe

Silversmith

From boilerman to silversmith

Roland was named Master of Art in 2002
He creates tableware and decorative objects in silver
He won the Prix Liliane Bettencourt pour l'intelligence de la main in 2006

Roland Daraspe first trained as a boilermaker and later as a naval aviation mechanic. One day he started to create jewellery from horseshoe nails “and I realised that I could create. That was the trigger”. He started to make metal boxes that he presented at various exhibitions in France. One day, while exhibiting his work, a woman approached him and told him he should present his work at the Elysée palace, the home of the French president, which was at the time François Mitterrand. Roland thought it was a practical joke, but he did actually go on to present his work there, which led to him making ceremonial gifts for the Elysée palace for ten years.

Where

Interview

Where do you find inspiration?: That's a big question. When I create I am limited, since I don’t make sculptures, I make beautiful functional silver objects. But I create in my own way. It's mostly my eye that will decide if I like it or not. Being both designer and maker, when I create something it’s also about how I make it, what techniques I use to shape the metal.
What techniques do you use?: The shaping is done by hammering, and then there’s brazing, using a flame to join together different elements. These are ancient techniques. Since I wasn’t formally trained I am not restricted to any particular methods, I can do as I like, but for me it was simplest to use these traditional techniques. I don’t want to complicate life!
Do you make your own tools?: Yes, I make tools from boxwood, a very hard wood that allows me to shape objects. I also make tools in epoxy resin that is very hard, combining it with wood and different things. I don’t like making tools out of steel because it takes a long time. Making wooden tools quickly works well enough.
What do you like most about what you do?: Making different things. Always creating, because I’m a creator and I am always saying to myself “I have an idea”. Then there are also customer orders. So it changes constantly, that's what's interesting. It's not a routine at all.

Roland Daraspe is a master artisan: he began his career in 1975 and he started teaching in 1990