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© BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
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© BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
© BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
© BENATIA/MOMBRINIE

Helen Green

  • Ceramicist
  • Montpellier, France
  • Master Artisan
Helen Green Ceramicist
Contact
French, English
Hours:
By appointment only
Phone:
+33 672011566
© BENATIA/MOMBRINIE

Casting dreams

  • • Helen is inspired by nature and history
  • • Her techniques have roots around the world
  • • Using local raw materials is important to her

Helen Green opened her workshop in Montpellier in 2015. Her ceramic objects are all handmade, earthenware, stoneware or porcelain, thrown directly on a potter's wheel, sculpted or slip cast. She shapes sculptural and sensual forms which can be functional, using natural and warm materials. She enjoys participating in local production and collaborative projects, finding links with objects and techniques which are centuries old. Initially trained as a fine artist, Helen quickly knew that a mastery of clay would allow her to create the objects she dreamed of. She also wanted to invest in mastering a material that was soft and natural and that was not ecologically abject. She finds clay all the more fascinating because it bears traces of humans since the dawn of humanity.

Read the full interview

Works

  • © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
  • © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
  • © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
  • © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
  • © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
Photo: © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
Ubu Varigated Trio bowls

This trio of round nested hand thrown porcelain bowls are elliptical in profile and glazed with raw materials. These materials include bamboo ash harvested directly from Helen Green’s studio garden, to create a white interior and a white cream and glistening brown exterior with drips and veil-like overlaps. With an off-centre, circular opening, these forms are nonetheless full, elegant, and agreeable to hold, inviting one to caress the smooth mineral surface.

Length 19.5 cm
Width 19.5 cm
Height 11 cm

Photo: © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
Ordinary Miracle Vessel

This tall stoneware pot has three feet and body-like curves. It is hand coiled and burnished without sigillata. The colours come from the smoke of burning wood, copper and seaweed during a 12-hour firing, and are fixed in the pores which close on cooling. The resulting surface is white with bold yet delicate trails of rich carbon-reduced black, smoky bluish-greys, scattered peach flushes, bright-green specks and a striking orange stripe down the back.

Length 30 cm
Width 30 cm
Height 30 cm

Photo: © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
Pentapods / Embrace

These three, surreal sky-blue and white porcelain objects, resemble small dancing creatures, with five legs each and a full anatomical heart shaped receptacle for a body. The assembled elements are cast from moulds of original sculptures. A close inspection reveals hands instead of feet and if turned upside down the objects become hearts with arms reaching out. This double feature represents the mercurial nature of the heart.

Length 24 cm
Width 24 cm
Height 15 cm

Photo: © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
Burgeon bottle and four tumblers

These four small hand thrown porcelain tumblers accompany a fine, very full-bodied, hand thrown porcelain bud-vase shaped bottle. They are glazed with raw materials, including bamboo ash harvested directly from Helen Green’s studio garden, to create a sleek satin white interior and white, cream and warm brown exterior with drips and veil-like overlaps. They are textured with the glistening smooth and mineral glaze, inviting one to caress the surface.

Length 20 cm
Width 20 cm
Height 20 cm

Photo: © BENATIA/MOMBRINIE
Venus vessel

This narrow-necked stoneware pot has three feet, with shapely curves and a gentle sway. It is hand coiled with impressed decorative markings and burnished to a satin finish. The colours come from wood, copper and seaweed during a 12-hour pit-firing and are fixed in the pores which close when cooling. The resulting surface is white with bold yet delicate trails of rich carbon-reduced black, smoky bluish-greys and scattered red flushes.

Length 30 cm
Width 30 cm
Height 40 cm

Enjoy an experience with Helen Green

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