Lyon 1st. Modern day ceramicist
Based in the Village des Créateurs, Nicolas David combines craftsmanship and modernity by matching ceramics with a 3D printer.
Slowly, the large metal arm precisely transmits the same spiral, pouring out a thin layer of additional clay with each pass. Hands covered with earth, apron wrapped around his waist, Nicolas David observes, with a watchful eye and a crooked smile, the vase he has imagined taking shape in front of him. “It’s a porcelain piece, once fired it will be very white, he explains. It’s a rather delicate stage: you have to be very precise, manage the viscosity of the material, rectify the faults. It’s very rare to get it right the first time! »
Several steps were necessary before arriving there, from the paper drawing to the 3D design through the preparation of the earth, until the machine – a 3D printer made in the United States – took over to give life in the imagination of man. And the work will continue after the ” climb “ creation with manual finishes, drying and firing phases in the large oven located at the back of the workshop.
Invitation to travel
Nicolas David is a ceramist like no other. Installed since January in premises in the Village des Créateurs rue Leynaud (he spent a few months in the passage Thiaffait), the potter mixes artisanal gestures and new technologies. A means, he says, of freeing oneself from formal constraints. “I like having my hands in the ground while being able to conceptualize the piece upstream. »
Baptized Tygre (a nod to Lyon), his workshop should soon offer training as well as a range of useful objects, such as this earthenware pot with a water reserve in its double wall. But the emerald-eyed craftsman also creates artistic ceramics in his name. “In this ultra-brutal world, my goal is to make pieces that invite meditation, a bit like landscapes. We don’t always have the opportunity to have Mont Blanc or the sea in front of us…”
A way for Nicolas David to give meaning to his days, he who changed paths for a long time, from his business school to his retraining in humanitarian work. “When I worked in Haiti, I met artists in a situation of total misery who managed to be happy and fulfilled”, he says. A bright memory that he treasures in mind, convinced that “beautiful things help you feel better”.
The Red Cross of Nicolas
“I claim to be a resident of the slopes of the Croix-Rousse rather than a Lyonnais, launches Nicolas David. What I like about this neighborhood is its working class, political and artistic history. » A little anecdote: the creator trained in traditional ceramics in Cica Gomez’s workshop located just next door, rue de l’Abbé-Rozier.
19 rue René-Leynaud, Lyon 1uh. Artistic piece from around €40 to €1,000.