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©Nicole Prin
©Nicole Prin
©Nicole Prin
©Antoine Plantevin
©Nicole Prin

Viviane Fontaine

  • Papermaker
  • Cerniat, Switzerland
  • Master Artisan
Viviane Fontaine Papermaker
©Martine Niquille

Papermaking for artistic creations

  • • Viviane is a papermaker and a paper artist
  • • She masters the Japanese paper making techniques
  • • She creates paper sculptures from scratch

A graduate of fine arts, Viviane’s passion for paper started as a self taught hobby at a time when no one was making paper in Switzerland. She went to France to learn techniques, making paper from rags and linen, until she discovered Japanese paper and wanted to learn more. With a bit of nerve and motivation she went to Japan and learned the traditional techniques by working with a local craftsman. She has since been to Japan numerous times in order to learn more about paper. Her craft is also her art, as she creates various artistic pieces from the paper she makes. Japanese paper has to be made in a precise way, but then Viviane's imagination takes over and she handcrafts mesmerising paper sculptures.

Read the full interview

Works

  • ©Carole Parodi
  • ©All rights reserved
  • ©All rights reserved
  • ©All rights reserved
Photo: ©Carole Parodi
View of the Niesen

This painting is inspired by a view of the Niesen mountain above Lake Thun. The pigments in the paper pulp were chosen in blue-black shades. The fibres of ferns and aspen leaves as well as the writing add a final touch.

Photo: ©All rights reserved
Sequences

This painting is made up of several linked panels. A metal line surrounded by paper wire runs through it like a lifeline. The paper has been embossed on different surfaces. The pencil is used to underline these reliefs.

Photo: ©All rights reserved
The perfume of flowers

This bowl is created with the fine part of the nettle, and silk mixed with kozo fibres. On the outside, the black ink-like stains are extracted after firing maple leaves. The flowers on the inside of the bowl are made from kozo fibres.

Photo: ©All rights reserved
Darkness

This painting is made with Japanese papers that hold more fibres. The pencil on the paper accentuates the spaces between these networks, creating branches and trunks. The material itself built this landscape, underlined by the geometric patterns made by the maple leaves.

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