Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Marie's Saturday Life Class

  

 

From Saturday 5 March, Marie Boquet starts het Life Classes again.
Open for starters, from 2 - 5 pm

Tariff 35€ per session for members and 40€ for non-members.
Please confirm your participation to Marie:

marieboquet@hotmail.com

06 86 85 66 09

 

Tuesday, 22 February 2022

The Hangar New Years' Reception on 20 February

 


Last Sunday (20 February 2022) we could finally raise a glass on a happy and creative new Hangar year! Many were not able to make it- but around 50 enthusiastic members listened to Ina's speech, with the plans of the Hangar Board and had a first very convivial get-together in a while, with beautiful bubbles and nibbles!


For those who missed it - here's a short version of the speech!

Ina: "Due to covid we have our NY reception four weeks later.
How wonderful that so many of you have come today. I have very good news to announce:

In September 2021 the Hangar started with 100 members and today we have come to 135, so we are heading in the right direction!

The past few weeks the Board has made plans for the coming year. We are going to hold a contest for all Hangar-members, starting by the end of February and the subject will be “The Elements”.
For all participants we will organise an exhibition in the beautiful “Centre Culturel” in Theoule sur Mer from 17 to 29 July 2022. A catalogue will be made with all the works.

For April/May we are planning a museum trip and we want to start again with Cafe Culture.

In June/July a few full-day drawing trips to a beautiful village will be organised , so get your pencils and folding-chair ready by then!

Our yearly trip will be an Autumn trip in the weekend from Friday 23 September to Sunday 25 September 2022. It will probably be to Les Alpilles, a distance no longer than 300km anyhow.

You will soon receive a mail to subscribe to our trip.

Now I wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year, with lots of love, friendship, joy and creativity!"

Good news, isn't it, all of the above?! Also, the classes are filling, the weather improves and you may have noticed that the Hangar building is pretty clean! More about that in the March-Newsletter...

It looks like we survived the crisis!

The HANGAR Art Contest

As our Hangar President Ina Carels announced last Sunday during the New Years' Reception, we will organise another 

HANGAR CONTEST

All Hangar members are invited to participate and the contest starts today!


First of all: the theme will be  ELEMENTS
A very broad subject that you can interpret it in any way you like!
The classic Earth, Wood, Fire & Metal, or the weather: Temperature, Air Pressure, Wind &  Humidity, or how about the chemical elements of the Periodic table, or the Elements of Botany (Darwin) - There are plenty possibilities!

Some Essentials:

  • Hangar Members-only (new members will pay 60€ in this period!)
  • Maximum artwork height, width and depth: 80 cm
  • End date: last week of April
  • Jury Vote and publication of the Top 10.on social media
  • Public Vote and announcement of the winner In May
  • A Catalogue will be produced
  • We will finish with a  quality Exhibition of all works

More details will follow soon, in the meantime you can start thinking, designing and imagining!

Thursday, 17 February 2022

NEWS FLASH: A Hangar Baby is born!

Happy News Flash:

It doesn't happen very often -and it is certainly a long time ago- but on Monday 15 February, one of our members, Heather Patrone from Nelly’s oil class gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! 

 

Maxence Olivier River Patrone arrived, weighing 3,4kg. 

Mother and baby are both doing well.


On behalf of our members, congratulations to the happy little family!!

Sunday, 6 February 2022

Meet Katy des Fontaines

 defiler vers le bas pour la version française

Katy works in the Hangar as ceramics teacher. In this post she introduces herself, her vision, inspiration and ways of creating!
 
My name is Katy des Fontaines, I am married and I have two big boys and two grandchildren.
I was born in Belgium and I spent my childhood all over the world with my parents and my 4 brothers and sisters. Amongst others we lived in Africa which may well be what has the most marked my inspiration.
I discovered ceramics for the first time at the age of 18 during a summer internship and I have always remained faithful to my passion for
clay and shapes.
Meetings with potters and ceramists, internships and training and above all, the practice allowed me to acquire the skills that I have today and the pleasure of sharing with my students.

I started teaching sculpture ceramics in Bangkok within the community of expatriates in 2012 until 2014 when we went to live in Dubai. And there it is, in this environment that we imagine hostile to authenticity, that
I was able to attend the most beautiful workshops to improve my knowledge and provide creative workshops for members of this broad community of budding ceramicists.
Yadawei, Al Jalila, Oka ceramics studios from Dubai taught me everything I was missing and offered me opportunities for exhibition, running orkshops, and especially to be immersed in the Dubai ceramics community.

On our return to France in July 2020, I had the chance to meet Marina at the Hangar, she was able to reach out to me and open the doors of a workshop which brings together artists from all disciplines. They had to approach ceramics and today it is with great pleasure that I host the Friday morning lessons at the Hangar.

My students at the Hangar and at my home are all beginners, we manage to create essentially utilitarian pieces but also decorative. Our field of action is limited to a technique appropriate to the space we have in the Hangar. The pieces take shape, they are then decorated with engobes or metal oxydes. They are first fired at 950 degrees then, they are covered with a transparent enamel that reveals the colors during a second firing in the kiln at 1240 degrees. The process is long, patience is required, drying times must be respected but our determination is there and clayis our ally.
My relationship with clay is an addiction. Clay is a natural element so sensual, so flexible and at the same time so stimulating when you want it to take shape.



Patience is the key to understanding this capricious element. Humility is also essential for a successful play. Inventiveness, to transform this clay loaf into a useful or decorative piece, must be accompanied by delicacy, subtlety and firmness. The clay is, however, very tolerant and allows you to make mistakes, it is malleable and receptive to your demands as long as its humidity allows it, but when it is dry, it no longer allows any action.
My inspiration for sculpture pieces is intimately linked to my childhood in Africa. The woman, and especially her elegance, is naturally my favorite terrain. For useful pieces, shaped on the wheel or by hand, I essentially direct myself towards what makes it possible to be used harmoniously and trigger a feeling of return to the authentic.

==============================

Je m'appelle Katy des Fontaines, je suis mariée et j'ai deux grands garçons et deux petits enfants. Je suis née en Belgique et j'ai passé mon enfance aux quatre coins du monde avec mes parents et mes 4 frères et soeurs, de pays en pays, y compris en Afrique qui est peut être bien ce qui a le plus marqué mon inspiration.

J'ai découvert la céramique pour la première fois à l'âge de 18 ans lors d’un stage d'été et je suis, depuis, toujours restée fidèle à ma passion pour l'argile et les formes. Bien entendu, la vie vous rattrape, les études, les enfants, le travail. Et quelque part, derrière, dans ta tête, c'est l'argile, les formes, les couleurs qui vous tiennent . Vient alors un jour où tout bascule et je peux enfin consacrer tout mon temps à la
céramique. Les rencontres avec des potiers et des céramistes, les stages et formations et surtout, la pratique, m’ont permis d'acquérir les compétences que j’ai aujourd’hui et le plaisir de partager avec mes élèves.

J’ai commencé à enseigner la sculpture céramique à Bangkok au sein de la communauté d'expatriés en 2012 jusqu’en 2014 lorsque nous sommes partis vivre à Dubaï. Et c’est là, dans ce milieu que l’on imagine hostile à l'authenticité, que j’ai pu fréquenter les plus beaux ateliers pour y améliorer mes connaissances et dispenser des ateliers créatifs aux membres de cette large communauté de céramistes en herbe. Les studios Yadawei, Al Jalila, Oka ceramics de Dubaï m’ont enseigné tout ce qui me manquait et offert des opportunités d’exposition, d’animation d’ateliers, et surtout d'être immergée au sein de la communauté des céramistes de Dubaï.



Depuis notre retour en France en Juillet 2020, j’ai eu la chance de rencontrer Marina au Hangar, elle a su me tendre la main et m'ouvrir les portes d’un atelier qui rassemble des artistes de toutes disciplines. Il leur fallait approcher la céramique et c’est avec grand plaisir que j’anime aujourd’hui le cours du vendredi matin au Hangar.

Mes élèves au Hangar et à mon domicile sont toutes débutantes, et, pas à pas, nous arrivons à créer des pièces essentiellement utilitaires mais aussi décoratives. Notre champ d’action se limite à une technique appropriée à l’espace dont nous disposons au Hangar. Les pièces prennent forme, elles sont ensuite décorées aux engobes ou oxydes métalliques. Elles passent dans un premier four à 950 degrés puis, elles sont couvertes d’un émail transparent qui révèle les couleurs lors d’un deuxième passage au four à
1240 degrés. Le processus est long, la patience est de rigueur, les temps de séchage doivent être respectés mais notre détermination est là et l’argile et notre alliée.
Ma relation avec l’argile est une addiction. L’argile est un élément naturel si sensuel, si flexible et en
même temps si stimulant lorsque vous voulez lui faire prendre forme.

La patience est la clef pour appréhender cet élément capricieux. L'humilité est également de rigueur pour réussir sa pièce. L'inventivité, pour transformer ce pain d’argile en pièce utile ou décorative, doit s’accompagner de délicatesse, subtilité, fermeté. La terre est, cependant, très tolérante et vous donne droit à l'erreur, elle est malléable et réceptive à vos exigences tant que son taux d'humidité le permet, mais lorsqu’elle se fige, elle ne permet plus aucune action.

Mon inspiration pour les pièces de sculpture est intimement liée à mon enfance en Afrique. La femme, et surtout son elegance , est naturellemet mon terrain de predilection. Pour les pièces utilitaires façonnées au tour ou à la main, je me dirige essentiellement vers ce qui permet d'être utilisé harmonieusement et déclencher un sentiment de retour à l'authentique.