Our joyous celebration of flowers by French artist Cécile Daladier. We are showcasing a collection of Cecile’s ceramic Pique-Fleurs, that are inspired by Robert Schumann’s poetic ensemble ‘Einsame Blumen’. Schuman’s subtle and poetic music vocabulary resonates with Cecile’s relationship to flowers, clay and nature.

Cécile Daladier’s hand-formed vessels are wood-fired in her home-made kiln and smoked with fallen leaves, herbs and dried grasses gathered from her garden. Multiple openings and punctured holes characterize her vessel forms, called pique-fleurs, an ancient French tradition. The creation and arrangement of these holes explore her desire to give each flower its own space and to offer a new way of looking at the natural world. Cecile believes her vases are only complete by the placing of the picked flowers.

“I like to gather various small bouquets from the garden and bring them inside. These collections are like memories of and witnesses to the outside world. With these pickings, I create vases that allow people to make small, indoor gardens in their homes.”

Cecile’s artistic practice focuses on the rhythm in nature, plants and water. The interaction between humans and the landscape. By shifting focus to the individual flower, its placement and composition. She creates her vessels in re-sponse to the nature around her. Each collection echos the change in season.

“Ceramics is a medium that brings together water, earth and plants on a very small scale—a few flowers, a little water, in a little enamelled earth, can move us.”