CRAFSTMANSHIP
All of Hélène Lentiez’s pieces are made of stoneware — a noble, dense, and enduring material. She creates her own glazes from raw minerals and natural oxides, giving each piece a singular identity. Every tone and texture is born from a unique blend, the result of experimentation and a constant dialogue with the material.
She explores various hand-building techniques but works primarily with slabs and modeling. Each piece is shaped slowly, with patience and precision. The slab technique came naturally, echoing her earlier craft as a framer — tracing, cutting, assembling — but here, the gesture brings matter to life. Shape becomes volume, space, and movement, where the rigor of the hand meets the freedom of instinct.
THE DIALOGUE WITH HEAT
Once assembled, the pieces dry gently before their first firing. Hélène then prepares her glazes and applies color by brush or chromograph, depending on the desired effect. The pieces return to the kiln for a second firing, between 1260 and 1275 °C, where the depth of tones and surface play begin to emerge.
Sometimes, when the result doesn’t yet meet her vision, a third firing refines the harmony of contrasts. Each firing lasts several hours — followed by a patient wait for the kiln to cool below 100 °C before it can be opened. This moment of discovery is always charged with tension and wonder — that instant when the clay reveals its secret, and transformation becomes magic.
