From seaweed to fabric
- Violaine has a special connection to her raw material
- Seaweed allows her to explore many creative avenues
- She defines herself as a sustainable innovator
Violaine weaves the sea and its colours. Living in Bretagne, where tides mark the time, she picks seaweed as soon as the tide goes out, leaving them scattered accross the sand and in little rock pools. It’s a way the material returns to its origins. It’s a living thing, that inspires her to ask herself many questions. It opens her heart. Creating with seaweed allows her to merge the animal and plant kingdoms. Seven years spent in India influenced Violaine's textile techniques. She left with a hunger to use her acquired skills in an imaginative and sustainable way. It took her a long time to understand how. Working with seaweed brings her great joy, she likes to help the material naturally transform into different shapes by using her hands in a harmonious manner.
Interview
What do you love most about your profession?
It gives me joy. It makes me happy. Working with a living raw material, trying to make something new and innovative out of it, is special. It inspires me to research other materials and pursue a multidisciplinary approach. I’m very curious about my work.
Is your craft linked to your region?
Definitely. Seaweed, sand, rock pools, the sea are all intrinsic elements to the Bretagne landscape. While working seaweed, it floats in your hands. It keeps moving, like me.
Do you master any specific technique?
I’ve developed an expertise to enhance algae, using a natural dying process with the help of experts in vegetal coloration. I take algae from its natural state to use it for fine and living arts, haute couture, and scenography.
Is your craft considered in danger?
We’re living in a time of transition. It’s not that this kind of craft is disappearing but there is a need to innovate in order to strenghten it. Starting from traditional knowledge and developing new creative techniques.
Violaine Buet is a rising star: she began her career in 2016
Works
- Address: 12 Rue Redien,, 56400, Auray, France
- Hours: By appointment only
- Phone: +33 751603365
- Languages: French, English
Violaine Buet
- Address: 12 Rue Redien,, 56400, Auray, France
- Hours: By appointment only
- Phone: +33 751603365
- Languages: French, English
