Discover straw marquetry during a pop-up sale in Bellême
By Rémi DormeauPublished on
Le Perche
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They are all from Paris and found their paradise in the Perche, about twenty years ago.
They are “Les accourues”, a name that this group of friends came up with themselves. "For the people of Perche, we will always remain the Parisiennes, the rushes", laughs Mireille Mardero, resident of Pouvrai (Orne), and who is one of the four who is at the origin of the project.
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The rushed will exhibit at a temporary sale, in Bellême (Orne), from November 1 to 7. They will offer different universes. Their achievements? Vintage designer furniture, designer bags and costume jewellery, objects from elsewhere thanks to their journalist friend who has traveled a lot. And for Mireille Mardero, straw marquetry.
"A crazy job"
The latter, after having been a mural painter for many years, embarked on straw marquetry 10 years ago, after being trained by a specialist friend .
Straw marquetry is the art of adorning surfaces (woodwork, furniture, screens, boxes, etc.) with wisps of straw. “We use rye straw for its qualities of shine and robustness. The straw is first split lengthwise and then flattened,” she says.
Once smoothed, it becomes flexible and can be worked "I buy my strands of rye straw from a specialized farmer in Burgundy, I work them and glue them on metal supports to make pots, totems , tables, or paintings”, she explains about this 17th century art that fell into oblivion, then came back to the fore thanks to the Lison de Caunes workshop in Paris. “For the past ten years, the great decorators have once again shown enthusiasm,” she explains.
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For Mireille Mardero and her friends, this will be the first exhibition. The marquetry expert will also offer creations specially made for this event, such as bracelets, in order to offer accessible prices for all audiences.
Because straw marquetry remains an art that is paid for at a high price and is often sold to luxury decorators. “The material is already a little expensive, but it is above all the working time that is enormous. It's crazy work," she said.
Thanks to this exhibition, she of course hopes to “show as many people as possible her unique creations but also why not meet people, make partnerships”, she concludes.
The history of straw marquetry
Straw, a material that has always been used from Latin America to China for multiple uses, wheat straw, rye or oats, abundant and inexpensive, would have appeared in marquetry in Europe in the 17th century. But it was in the 18th century that this art saw its golden age in France. Its trade is flourishing, the objects of extreme refinement. Alas, everything passed, all weary, and at the end of the 19th century, straw marquetry was held in low esteem. Three pioneers of Art Deco brought it out of oblivion in the years 1925-1930: Paul Poiret, André Groult and Jean-Michel Frank. The interiors of the latter are so expensive that it puts, it seems, "Paris on the straw". If the sun remains its great enemy, the material is not very fragile. Like the tools, his work in inlaying the pattern, and not in superposition, has evolved little. Bouquets of flowers and animated scenes gave way to abstract decorations, metal was added to wood, color replaced the natural shade of the material. It was Lison de Caunes, granddaughter of decorator André Groult, who revived this technique used by her grandfather in the 2000s.
Practical:
Exhibition from November 1 to 7, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. 7 ramp from the castle to Bellême. Contact: 06.07.66.66.31.
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