La Saint-Affricaine exhibits its ceramic creations and offers workshops for everyone.
Birdhouses, little pigs, Caracas or even masks… Sophie Caizergues runs ceramic workshops for children and adults. The exhibition at the Saint-Affricain Yves Courderc intercommunal media library shows the result of a year of these workshops, i.e. around a hundred pieces, until June 21. Sophie Caizergues created her association, Creartive Association, and trained with Sylvie Gravellard, a ceramist in Saint-Maurice-de-Sorgues, with whom she shares the oven. The Sainte-Affricaine ceramist specifies: “This is the second year that I have led ceramic workshops at the Maison d’enseignement populaire. Two for adults, Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and one for 5-13 year olds on Wednesday. from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. In addition, thanks to the municipality’s culture tickets, the prices are very advantageous. Everything is provided, the land, the tools and the enamel.
A well-being
Either Sophie Caizergues suggests themes (the garden (watering troughs and birds), colocynth, animals from a hollowed ball or even masks), or people, children and adults, arrive at the workshop with their own ideas . “My desire, through this activity, is to bring well-being to people, of course to bring out their artistic abilities and to reconnect them to reality via the tactile side”. She continues: “People relax, settle down. It’s really this state that I want to convey.” She heard in September “I’m useless, you’re wasting your time with me…” then when the object is finished “I can’t believe I did that”.
Two types of cooking
Sophie Caizergues offers two types of cooking, either in an electric oven or using the Japanese raku technique. The latter consists of firing the enameled piece at 980° in a steel tub then immersing it in a basin filled with wood shavings and closed with a lid. The chips ignite, causing thermal shock and shattering of the enamel. The carbon sneaks into the cracks and creates black lines.
Earthenware
“I use two kinds of clay, sandstone clay for the bowls, the figures… and earthenware clay. The latter is finer because it contains less chamotte (tiny pebbles). It is fired at low temperature and is comes in an infinite variety of colors, pink, blue, green… The downside: it does not tolerate frost well.”
Workshops this summer
Do children experience itchy fingertips? It is time ! Sophie Caizergues is offering workshops for children this summer every Monday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and also courses for adults (dates to come). In the works, courses for children and adults together (parents or grandparents). In the same place, at the Popular Education House. A beautiful transmission.
