Delphine Lescuyer

Anis et Céladon

Mosaic maker

©Samantha Guillon

©Delphine Lescuyer

©Samantha Guillon

Piecing it together

Delphine is a self-taught mosaic artist
Her work integrates upcycling of abandoned objects
She founded Anis & Celadon in 2011

Delphine Lescuyer is a mosaic artist based near Paris. A graduate in drama, she first worked in theatre and then as a schoolteacher for 12 years. Mosaic art appeared later in her life. One day, she found an old cast iron table stand and had to make a tabletop for it. It was the beginning of a new adventure. She experimented with many different artistic mediums, until she founded her mosaic studio and workshop in 2011, Anis & Celadon, a reference to two coordinated colours. Influenced by artists like Niki de Saint-Phalle or Odorico, Delphine designs and creates original decorative mosaics for many purposes: tabletops, mirrors, wall or floor coverings. Through her work she translates what touches her, the poetry of certain moments. Flowers are very present in her work, as well as faces, lines and movement.

Interview

©Samantha Guillon

©Samantha Guillon

Would you define your creative process as innovative?: I rely on a traditional technical basis, but I have an aesthetic language and a self-taught approach. Having not been trained gives me a certain freedom, I am mainly guided by my sensitivity. It is not a desire to innovate, but an instinctiveness that opens up the field of possibilities.
What do you enjoy most about making mosaics?: I love my work so much that I could talk about it for hours. But what I like most about it is its symbolism: creating harmony with heterogeneous fragments that reveal themselves in contact with each other.
Is there an unforgettable moment in your professional life?: Once at a trade fair three elderly gentlemen came to see my work. They looked at it closely, smiled, touched it, nodded, liked it, but didn't seem to want to buy it. I discovered that they had worked with the great mosaicist Odorico. They saw his legacy in my work, his influence, and they were happy about that.
Do mosaics have a long history with France?: Yes. Mosaic work, as and where I practice it, is linked to a decorative, utilitarian and architectural heritage. Decorative mosaic has always adorned and protected certain places such as floors, walls, cafés, butcher and fishmonger shops, public baths, halls of buildings… and in all types of architecture.

Delphine Lescuyer is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2011