Ceramist Simone Perrotte
In the garden, nighttime inaugurates a cycle of exhibitions which will punctuate the life of the Mira Stella boutique throughout the seasons.
In her workshop located in Colmar in Alsace, Simone Perrotte creates unique pieces using a very personal technique. From a spot of black slip thrown at random on the porcelain form, the designer reveals a fantastic bestiary of animals with feathers, hair and scales patiently engraved.
This summer, the ceramist traveled to Normandy to draw inspiration from the buzzing plant world of Sophie Bouilhet-Dumas' garden. From this meeting, she designed a set of unique pieces echoing the delicate work of Mira Stella jewelry.
Enhanced with gold, hydrangea flowers, climbing ipomoea, Japanese maples and wildlife bring simple shapes to life to beautify the everyday table.
From black and white to color
For around ten years, Simone Perrotte worked mainly in black and white, exploring in a very graphic way a bestiary engraved in the slip, which came to her randomly from the black spots poured onto the porcelain shapes. In 2012, during a master's degree at the Royal College of Art in London, the designer approached bold colors applied in patterns or solid areas.
Based in Colmar, Alsace since 2016, she explains: “Color is a new playground for me that I am making a little more of every day. I was touched by the landscapes and skies of the Vosges that we see in the distance, and I sought to restore these colorful atmospheres through more pictorial work, full of nuances, letting chance decide on unexpected hues thanks to the mixing of oxides. I also took pleasure in adding the shine of precious metals and light colors which enriched my palette.
“Invited to exhibit at Mira Stella, I went to this extraordinary garden, teeming and buzzing with life… I was inspired by this plant world to echo the delicate work of the jewelry designed by Sophie Bouilhet-Dumas. »
A slow and careful creation process
All of Simone Perrotte's creations are shaped, decorated by hand and fired in her workshop. Each piece is unique and comes to life through a slow and meticulous development process involving multiple firings. Depending on the shape chosen, the porcelain paste is first modeled (bowl), turned (vase) or stamped by hand (dish).
The black decorations are first engraved on the raw porcelain piece before it is fired for the first time at 960°C. The colored slips are then applied with a brush and fixed by further firing at 700°C. Then comes the application by dipping a transparent satin covering followed by a third cooking at 1280°C called “grand feu”. Finally, the precious metals, platinum and gold, are painted and fired in a “small fire” at 780°C. In the case of superpositions or certain juxtapositions of decorations, cooking over a low fire may be more numerous.
Simone Perrotte
A graduate of Ensaama Olivier de Serres in Paris in 1998, the Maison de la Céramique in Mulhouse in 2001, and a master's degree in ceramics at the Royal College of Art in London in 2012, Simone Perrotte has exhibited in numerous French salons and international and in several galleries, mainly in France and Switzerland. She also had the opportunity to work in Sweden, Austria, Korea and Japan. She lives and works in Colmar, in Alsace.
The Mira Stella Boutique
2, rue Guisarde 75006 Paris
Monday 2:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
+33 1 42 01 01 10.
