HandicraftKnow-how

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Know-how

The Art of Petrification

An ancestral and absolutely unique know-how

That family-run atelier, uses thermo-mineral springs to create artworks out of calcite. The craftsman gives the calcium matter an artistic shape without sculpting it by means of 2 techniques : encrustation on mould and crystallization.

Encrustation on mould

The technique of encrustation allows the making of a calcium artwork using a mould.

Completing time: between 6 and 14 months

A matrix is created out of which we make a cast to obtain a negative mould of it. That mould is placed under the Fountain water so that the calcite crystals fill it up. The craftsman’s know-how, as he daily handles the moulds, allows him to obtain a perfect cohesion and homogeneity of the crystals with one another. Once that process is achieved, we take the mould off the low-relief, which neither gets reworked nor polished. That technique allows the craftsman to obtain extremely fine details.

Some examples of encrustations on moulds

Country man

Dimensions : 12 x 16.5 cm

84,00 €

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Country dance in Auvergne

Dimensions : 29.5 x 23.5 cm

228,00 €

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Worship of Cupid

Dimensions : 35 x 41 cm

450,00 €

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The spirits of the arts

Dimensions : 33.5 x 17 cm

200,00 €

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Cameos

Dimensions : 19.5 x 19.5 cm

230,00 €

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Tree-frog

Dimensions : 14.5 x 12 x 3.5 cm

175,00 €

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Crystallization

The crystallization technique allows the calcium coating of any item by splashing it.

Completing time: between 3 and 6 months

An item is placed directly onto the petrifying ladders and put into contact with mineral waters which entirely coat it entirely with calcite crystals. The item gets stuck into that calcium deposit, it became crystallized. The craftsman keeps a daily close watch over that deposit for it to be even. The specific position dedicated for those items under the petrifying ladder water allows the craftsman to obtain a deposit the crystals of which reflect light and gives those items a glittering aspect.

Some examples of crystallizations

Owl

Dimensions : 7 x 7 x 8 cm

19,00 €

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Apple

Dimensions : ⌀28 / H 28 cm

450,00 €

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“Qui s’y frotte s’y pique”

Dimensions : 14 x 21 x 14 cm

450,00 €

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Pear

Dimensions : ⌀25cm / H 50 cm

450,00 €

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Ball vase

Dimensions : ⌀15 cm / H 17 cm

80,00 €

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Frog

Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 5.5 cm

19,00 €

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Official recognition of the know-how: UNESCO, EPV, E&D awards

The Atelier is registred on the UNESCO Inventory of Immaterial Heritage for the singularity of its know-how. The Atelier is also registered on the French Inventory of Rare Handicrafts : Inventaire des Métiers d’Art Rares en France.

In 2009, the awarding of the « Living Heritage Company » state label : Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant introduced the Atelier into the excellent network of French firms famous for their technically advanced manufacturing process and their fulfillment of the promised unique piece. That label EPV confirms the state acknowledgement of both the rare know-how held by the Atelier and the craftsman’s innovating ability through new making concepts.

The Fontaines Pétrifiantes de Saint-Nectaire belong to the network of business tourism sites (Entreprise et découverte). Indeed visitors are led into a thorough visit allowing them to discover the manufacturing workshop, so that they understand the entire production process.

Eric Papon, Master Craftsman in Petrification

Personifying the 7th generation of the Atelier’s craftsmen, Eric Papon is the only holder on earth of the secrets of that unique know-how. The petrification craftsmanship is not practised anywhere else. His perfect knowledge of the physical-chemical phenomenon he has acquired through his long-lasting experience, allows him to master and accompany the calcium deposit to create artworks. His unknown know-how allows the creation of calcite artworks. In 2013, Eric Papon was awarded the State title of Master Craftsman in Petrification, acknowledging his know-how, his skills and his personal involvement in valorizing the art of Petrification.

Experimenting around the calcium carbonates

Calcium matter, a boundless potential of creation…

By carrying out research and project development in his workshop, the Craftsman experiments new techniques and comprehends the calcium deposit onto new shapes, new materials. Thus he conceives new fields of applications. The Atelier turns now towards made-to-measure projects to create original artworks and meet the current trends of home design and decoration.

Artistic collaborating between artists and order to the Fontaines Pétrifiantes

Designers or professional artists who appreciate the exceptional quality of calcium artworks may appeal to the craftsman’s skills for their artistic projects.

01 Jun. 2023

Creations

Aven, Romain Langlois, artist

Resulting from a close collaboration with sculptor Romain Langlois. Aven, allying bronze with calcite is the unedited and original lightening of a tree-shaped subterranean cavity.

31 May. 2023

Creations

Lusus, Thibault Huguet, designer

Lusus Naturæ is the Latin for « Nature's game ». That wood-patterned calcite vase, made with Thibault Huguet, a young designer from Brussels, is an unedited creation in the art of petrification.

31 May. 2023

Creations

Tallest encrustation ever made

Eric Papon has taken up a new technical challenge: the reproduction of a 2-meter-tall tree trunk. Find out about the making secrets of the tallest calcium creation ever made.

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