The setting is enchanting. The welcome is warm. A common observation among the workshops making up the pottery village of La Borne. Dominique Garret is no exception to the rule, he who settled almost 40 years ago in the town of Berry. With his companion Roz Herrin, they work, they turn, they cook, they decorate their pots, dishes, works to exhibit them and offer them for sale. A unique passion and know-how.
A passion, that of a young student at the International Center for Training in Arts and Ceramics (CNIFOP) in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye. The young Dominique discovered filming through his brother, “who gave lessons in a center in Corrèze, I visited him and he took me on a lathe, I found it very pleasant”, he recalls. After a 9-month internship with the master potter Owen Watson then the CNIFOP, head for Cher and the village of La Borne. "When you start learning the trade, you hear about La Borne immediately".
He finds a workshop, in which three people worked. The attraction is immediate. For the job first: “I said to myself, if this is pottery, it's really great! ". For the city and the region then: “it's a strong country, it's very interesting for tourism with the vineyards, the castles… I like cycling here! ". And the tourists pay it back, with an ever-increasing number of visitors, especially when the weather is nice. Hence the interest of being open “almost all the time: to live in La Borne, you have to be open! ".
The unique know-how is because the techniques fluctuate according to the potters. "We don't do the same work at all, my method is different from that of my neighbours", specifies the ceramist. In his workshop, he juggles between cooking with gas, salt and wood. For results with different shades and multiple contrasts. The coating to add color, called engobe, decorates the whole: the bluish effect of cobalt for his gas works, a white porcelain border for other pots. The salt will give an “orange peel” effect.
The finished creations are exhibited directly at the workshop of Dominique Garet and Roz Herrin in their recently renovated barn, and some also at the Center Céramique Contemporaine. “We have a very important community community,” he explains. The exchanges are indeed numerous, with the Center first, and also between the 70 members of the Association of Ceramists of La Borne. Among other things, they are renewing the Grands Feux festival during which fans will observe the cooking at the start of the week and discover the result at the end of the week.
Dominique Garet is proud of his profession, of sharing the secrets of a discipline which was declining at one time. Today, "it's a profession that pleases, and which is becoming more feminized", he rejoices. Ovens are getting smaller and fashionable pieces are getting smaller too. Doing this job requires a lot more precision than you might think. The potter / ceramist must also be a tightrope walker and above all, it's a shame, not to be clumsy.
Workshop address:
Garet Dominique Workshop – Herrin Roz
La Borne – 18250 Henrichemont
(0) 2 48 26 75 23
https://www.laborne.org/fr/dominique-garet/
Dates to remember at La Borne:
Grands Feux (October 26 to November 2, 2019): conferences, screenings, courses, demonstrations...
More information on www.laborne.org
