Les Argonautes Abstract Sculptures

Paper mache "Les Argonautes" Artist: JS. Ferlay Vallauris Workshop "Les Argonautes", Vallauris: Isabelle Ferlay (1917-?) And Frédérique Bourguet (1925-1997) Isabelle Ferlay and Frédérique Bourguet founded their ceramic workshop in Vallauris in 1953, which they named "Les Argonautes", in reference to the famous Greek epic. Isabelle studied painting at the Fine Arts school of Lyon in 1940, then she attended the Fine Arts in Marseille. Finally, she finished her artistic training in Montpellier, at the Fontcarade national school, where she learned ceramics. Françoise dit Frédérique Bourguet studied at the Beaux-Arts in Montpellier until 1945 and it was in Sèvres, in Françoise Bizette's studio, that she trained in the art of ceramics. She created her first workshop in Paris in 1945, which she shared with Valentine Schlegel until 1951. The two women ceramicists then practiced modeling technique. It was in 1953 that she met Isabelle Ferlay and together, they decided to set up a workshop in Vallauris. They produce shaped pieces, sometimes molded, made of earthenware, enamelled in bright colors. In the 1970s they made stoneware cooked over a wood fire. Some ceramists frequented their workshop, notably the very talented Jacques Innocenti and François Raty.