Philippe Faraut is not an artist that I found. He’s an artist that found me. Literally. During the winter before last he came into the restaurant where I work and asked my boss to talk to me about sitting for him. I was a little apprehensive at first. I had no idea who this guy was so I was a little nervous about going to his house for whatever reason. But my boss had worked with him and assured me that he was really cool so I agreed.
Faraut was formally trained in the arts of woodcarving and furniture construction in his homeland of France, but eventually settled on recreating the human head in clay (or sometimes bronze stone). I had been recruited for a sculpture for Faraut’s second sculpting instruction book: Mastering Portraiture: Advanced Analyses of the Face Sculpted in Clay. This book is dedicated to demonstrating the effects that age and race have on facial features, and how to capture them in clay (Faraut is also an expert in forensic reconstruction). He works as part of a team with his wife Charisse who helps with everything from book writing & finances to artistic decisions.
For the next few weeks I spent a couple hours at a time at the Faraut household in the attic studio while Philippe worked away (it was far too cold to work in the larger studio in a separate building on the property). I would sit while he told me stories about his work, which includes portrait sculpting from several different materials. We’d chat about town happenings and everyday kinds of things, and every once in a while Charisse would come in and admire/study/critique the sculpture. All the while Norah Jones sang in the background. I was pretty much in love with the place. After the session, he would set up the lights and snap some pictures so that he could work on the piece while I wasn’t there and then we’d decide when I should come back.
"Dormancy"
Just looking at Philippe’s work I was impressed with the detail and skill that can be seen in his pieces. He is an amazingly talented individual who not only creates clay sculptures and writes books, but also teaches sculpting across the country as well as out of his family's home and even runs forensic workshops for federal agents to learn about reconstuction.
Being a part of the process made everything seem that much more incredible. Seeing the work being made, being welcomed into the home, getting to know the artist and his family was an amazing experience.
Faraut’s work space will be open to the public on October 3rd & 4th as part of the Naples Open Studio Trail this year. So if anyone finds themselves in the area it’s well worth the trip! There will be a ton of other great artists throughout Naples & Honeoye, NY opening up their studios and people are free to walk through, see demos, chat with the artists, etc. Pretty sweet.
This one's me! "Tangled Roots"
That is such an amazing experience! That sculpture is gorgeous, by the way. I am an art teacher looking to share the work of famous artists with my students to bring a focus on careers in fine arts and what artists are doing with their work. Thank you for sharing your story.
ReplyDelete-Mary