Meeting + interview with Dorothée Juilliard
Brutal. went to meet the ceramist Dorothée Juilliard in her Paris studio. Recently, Dorothée moved to Marseille. Let's discover his universe through an interview.
What is your background and your training to get to ceramics?
I have had my hands in the ground since I was little, I started around 6 years old in a leisure center, then I stopped when I was a teenager, as often when at this age, ceramics are outdated! It was when I got back into it after my law studies, in a Parisian studio, as a hobby, that the click happened. I discovered the lathe technique which literally swayed me and turned my initial plans for avocado upside down.
Are you self-taught or did you learn from someone else?
With this experience in this 1st workshop in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, I wanted to make it my profession. I went to Arts et Techniques Céramiques to prepare a turning CAP. My teachers, Christophe Bonnard and Grégoire Scalabre, gave me access to a professional level that enchanted me. The discovery of enamel manufacturing techniques was also a revelation.
Do you remember your first play?
A series of small pink cups! With very thin handles. They are with my parents in their country house, and I find them with the same emotion every time I come there!
How would you define your job?
I like to go according to my desires. I try a technique, I come back to another, I like this coming and going and it is the discoveries of shapes, enamels, that make me vibrate. I only do small series because I like change!
Nevertheless, I like clean shapes and I constantly pursue the development of my enamels. I like deep colors and for that I often superimpose two glazes. The results can be amazing!
What is your creative and manufacturing process?
I think of a piece, I sketch a sketch in a notebook that never leaves me. Then comes the manufacturing, often 3 or 4 prototypes that vary in size. The earth shrinks during cooking, you always have to think of the model bigger than the final result.
What is your favorite technique? Your favorite moment in the process?
At the moment I really like the lathe, I like to make cups with nice curves. my favorite moment is turning: the still damp piece is "turned" to create a foot and its final shape. I'm amazed every time how much the foot I create for a cup totally changes its look! I also like this stage of drying, called "leather", the clay is beautiful and soft like velvet.
What is your favorite material? What do you like about him?
I like chamotte sandstone soils. The chamotte are small grains of sand or stone in the ground, of different sizes between 0.2 and 3mm. I like this particular grain which gives relief and a raw side to the piece.
What inspires you outside of ceramics?
Interior decoration. I am often inspired by pieces that are created in wood, iron, glass... and I like to imagine them in a ceramic version!
Can you tell us about one or more books on ceramics or something else?
My book often opened in the studio is Marc Uzan's book on ceramic glazes. This is my guide for my enamel research!
What are your last significant trips or your travel desires?
Sri Lanka. I discovered a wonderful pottery tradition there, all their dishes are in terracotta, I loved all these curry dishes simmering on the fire in very raw and blackened clay pots. The potters were very welcoming and the manual wheel, turned with the foot, is no small feat!
