Meeting + Interview with Albane Trolle

Brutal. went to meet the ceramist Albane Trollé in her studio in Lille. Since then, she has changed workshops for a larger space. Let's discover his universe through an interview.

After a baccalaureate in Applied Arts at ESAAT, in Roubaix, I followed a BTS in Ceramic Arts, at Olivier de Serres, in Paris. Then, I went through different workshops before doing an internship with a ceramist in Amsterdam for a year and a half. When I returned to France, I set up my first workshop in 2007.

I learned a lot from Jeroen Bechtold, the ceramist who hosted me in Amsterdam. He taught me his porcelain casting technique, which I used for a long time. Before concentrating on filming, a technique that I learned mostly on my own.

I don't remember my first play exactly. Above all, I remember all the ones I fantasized or missed. There are so many stages where anything can happen. It is also this frustration that drives creation.

I work exclusively with utility pieces. It's very important for me, the relationship between the object and the body. Each piece is unique. Even if it is serial. I draw a lot of inspiration from natural and mineral colors. The pattern must be provided by the material, the light. I work a lot with ashes, so that each enamel bath brings different surprises.

Plates are made to be filled. They must above all sublimate the dish, especially when I work with chefs.

The parts are first turned, then deformed and polished. So that each piece is unique and bears the imprint of the hand, of the gesture. I don't draw models, I go directly through prototypes, which evolve. And who assemble in a collection.

I love the moment when I deform these small shapes, well turned, well aligned on their boards. Have each bowl in the palm of your hand, and stretch the material. See the room come to life. Stop and take the time to look at it, readjust it, find its balance.

I miss porcelain, by its touch and its plasticity. But I only work with stoneware, which is perfect for utility. I find it more interesting, in interaction with the glazes, in my opinion. I chose the sandstone of St Amand, the closest geographically to my workshop. It is a bit dull and sandy, it brings out the colors well.

Huge question! I listen to a lot of music while I work. Gestures find their rhythms more naturally. Raw materials of all types, patinated by time, are a great source of inspiration. Ferns, too... I grew up next to the sea, I spent a lot of time, picking up and playing with whatever the sea leaves after the tide. I have kept a fine collection of them, which accompanies me to the workshop.

I recommend to all my students Le Livre du Potier, by Bernard Leach, of course. There is also Océane Madeleine's book, D'Argile et de feu.

Scotland and more Scotland.