Art and Style, Artists and Makers / 31 Jan 2020

Frances Palmer: Sculpting Beauty

A visit to artist Frances Palmer’s private studio and garden in Weston is like traveling to another world, one that transcends time and place. In the summer months, Palmer has a veritable Eden where she grows row upon row of flowers—dahlias, in particular—specifically for cutting and arranging, while the exquisite pottery she designs, sculpts, and fires on site is meant to be used regularly, not just for special occasions. In this world, everyday acts are elevated and presented with grace and purpose. Nothing is hand’s off, nothing too precious. This artful melding of form and function is viewed regularly by Palmer’s some 60,000-plus Instagram fans (@francespalmer), who have come to rely on her understated elegance for inspiration. “I love the fleetingness of the flowers with the permanence of the ceramics,” says Palmer of the still-life compositions she creates and then photographs. The photos have a charm that recalls a masterful Dutch still-life painting. Beyond the ceramic and porcelain pieces she creates by hand, Palmer has collaborated with a fourth- and fifth-generation manufacturer in Stoke-on-Trent, England, to create Cirrus, an everyday collection of creamware that was named after its finish, which she describes as light and airy as a cloud. Since Palmer threw the originals for the Cirrus collection, the maker’s hand is still evident in each piece, despite the larger scale production. “All the shapes have a provenance that has interested me,” the artist says. Each piece coordinates, but none match: the dinner plate is evocative of a Korean celadon plate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the salad plate references the Song dynasty; Japanese stoneware inspired the dessert plate; and soup and salad bowls are reminiscent of her favorites at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. What’s next for Palmer? Back at home, she has just added a…

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Art and Style, Artists and Makers / 31 Dec 2019

Dumais Made: Slab Happy

It isn’t every day that you get to reset your GPS, take a path you missed the first time around—and find out you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. That’s what happened to lighting designer Charlie Dumais when, in 2014, he rediscovered pottery—in large part thanks to his now-husband, interior designer Kevin Dumais. Charlie had taken a pottery class at Pratt Institute, where he earned a degree in interior design in 2004. Soon after they started dating, Kevin wisely gave Charlie the gift of studio time, and his path became clear from there. “I’ve always been intrigued by hand building, by slab pottery,” he says. “I love being able to plan it out.” Soon, he was making one-of-a-kind lamps, “a little rugged, with texture. I like them to feel architectural,” he says. At first, most were rectilinear, and then gradually he added curves, built a cylinder, and using an old Danish rolling pin, created a waffle-like texture. In time, candleholders, trays, and vases joined the mix. Fast forward: the couple married, bought a house in Litchfield, Connecticut, turned their garage into a studio, and in 2017, launched Dumais Made. That year, Charlie created four signature lamps: the Litchfield, the Washington, the New Preston, and the Juliette. They launched a 1stdibs storefront in January 2018, and by fall were filling custom orders. And last spring, the couple opened a studio in a refurbished factory in Bantam, Connecticut. Both men still hold down day jobs (Kevin owns Dumais Interior Design, and Charlie is a principal at BOLD lighting design). They spend three days a week in Manhattan and four in Connecticut, working in a spacious studio that’s filled with natural light and uncommonly neat. There’s the clay side, with Charlie’s tools, tables, sink, kiln, and shelving (“I finally got a slab press,”…

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Art and Style, Artists and Makers / 17 Dec 2019

Melissa Glorieux: Aster B.

To bring both beauty and meaning to the holidays, Melissa Glorieux heads into the woods.