Anke and I recently met Alexandrine Aimé, a ceramist who is decidedly out of the ordinary. It was clear from our first meeting during which we had an interesting and animated discussion, that we were dealing with an artist bursting with energy and projects, a real creative fireball.

Besides making highly original sculptures of caricatured people and animals as well as crockery, she still finds the time for a host of other activities. Everything seems to interest her, whether it’s sharing the poems she writes or the songs she composes with children at the Dieulefit nursery school, signing up for numerous courses on in-depth subjects, reading literary works and comic strips over and over again, and so on. “I’m a jack of all trades”, she says, but she omits to add that unlike many people who “embrace too much”, she follows through on her projects. “My head is full of ideas for new sculptures that I sometimes carry around with me for a long time. At the moment, for example, I’m seriously considering buying a piano so I can learn to play like I did with the flute. I have this thirst for more that is never satisfied, and at 56 I wonder if there won’t come a time when it’s too much.” Alexandrine’s ever enquiring mind and the constant desire to learn have led her among other things to study business and psychology, before gaining a diploma in ceramic arts and crafts, a move that has set her on the path she has happily pursued for over twenty years.

Alexandrine’s over-activity undoubtedly fuels her creativity. She gathers impressions from all sides, as evidenced by her ceramic sculptures, which are a genuine window on a world full of fun and fantasy. When I see her work she takes us back – at least that’s how I feel – to the years of our childhood, those of the Little Prince which still make us dream as adults. They may be exaggerated and bizarre, these sculpted characters with their graphic markings and unusual ornaments, but I’ve met them, they’ve spoken to me and I think I understand their language. Her animals, too, have the same evocative appeal. Who is the walker with a bright blue dog on a lead and whose bulging eyes implore the sky, or the pretty ballerina perched on her horse who seems to want to fly away? Alexandrine’s work abounds in poetic imagery that reminds me of the comic strips of my youth as well as the classic illustrations of my children’s books, in which my imagination loved to lose itself. In short, her art is full of dreams, humour, tenderness, irony and joy – everything that makes one want to enjoy life.

As usual, through a short questionnaire, I wanted to find out more about Alexandrine’s background and the reasons that led her to become a ceramist.

Question

When you were young, did you enjoy drawing and modelling?

Answer

The only thing I can remember was when I was at school. I’d modelled a fish in clay, which had caught the attention of my teachers and it had been exhibited, but nothing more… My parents, who married very young, moved around a lot taking me along with them. As a result, there was little time for a stable family life during which I would have been able to carry out activities that are normally those of children of my age, like drawing or playing with clay. I lived mainly in my imagination and became a keen observer of my new surroundings, noting all the differences, the shapes of things, the colours, the people and their behaviour. I also created a world of my own, a bubble in which I felt free and in which I invented lots and lots of stories… in final analyses that is exactly what I continue to do to this very day, sculpting characters and scenes that live in my head.

Question

You’ve done various things to earn a living and you’ve had different life experiences before becoming an artist. How and when did you decide to make pottery and become an artist?

Answer

First of all, the term artist and becoming one when I was young would have seemed unattainable and would never have entered my head. Of course, in that respect, my vision has changed or otherwise I would never have taken up ceramics. It’s true that I’ve done quite a few things before I reached this stage in my life, but my path has always been traced by an unquenchable curiosity and the need to invest myself in a host of activities that hold my attention. This is how one day I happened to enroll at the Maison de la Céramique in Dieulefit to take a course in throwing and modelling techniques. It was evident from the start that I had a facility for making earthenware. And I really enjoyed doing it! Then, in 1999, I was employed by a ceramist who had been looking for a pottery assistant. At his place I literally made hundreds and hundreds of pieces all the while perfecting my skills. In 2004, having submitted my sculptures, I was accepted by the Maison des Artistes and at the Dieulefit Biennial I sold all my works on show. That’s how I became an independent artist!

Question

It’s not easy to make a living from your art. How do you go about it?

Answer

As usual, I multiply myself. It’s indeed not always easy and it’s not in my nature to make concessions. When my sculptures started to be successful, I was approached by a wealthy investor who saw in my sculptures the possibility of making considerable profits. I’d already sold pieces to major collectors, but he was thinking much bigger. Why not reach out to the international market in the footsteps of Niki de Saint Phalle, Jeff Koons…? He had already drawn up a contract. All that was left for me to do was to sign. The project might never have led to anything, but it did imply losing my freedom and everything my work means to me, which is to express myself and be who I am. So, I refused. I have no regrets and I’m managing quite well as it is. I don’t dwell too much on taking risks and I like moving ahead. I’m well-equipped, I’ve got a nice studio, good stoves, and I share a gallery with Nadine Nacinovic in the rue du Bourg in Dieulefit. And that is how it is!

Question

Do you have any dream projects at the moment?

Answer

Yes, I have several, including a large sculpture, a really big one, of Adam and Eve, but I won’t say more about it!