Arts and crafts Dordogne

If you like bronze nude or horse sculptures, Pascal Peltier's boutique atelier is a must. After a self-taught career, he followed courses in various workshops, notably at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Douai and the ESSAT in Roubaix. He is passionate about the beauty of the human body, its planes, rhythms and curves, which he brings to life thanks to a rare skill: art casting. Not only does he create his own sculptures, he also immortalizes them in bronze using the lost-wax casting technique.

At the end of a road, in a dense forest like many in Périgord, Laurent Merchant carries out fine pottery, table ceramics, decorative ceramics and sculptures. It shapes steamers. These are steam cookers of a particular kind: unlike traditional steam cookers, it retains the best in food. Thanks to the central fireplace and the absence of holes in the bottom, this cooking mode allows the cooking broth to be kept in distilled water, all flavours and nutritional values of food.

Passionate about birds, Eric Gérard became a sculptor and painter of animals. A new vocation in which he has found a beautiful love affair with woodworking. His favourite subjects are birds, especially woodcocks, which he carves from every angle! Each piece is unique, but if a work is already sold, you can place an order according to your preferences. Green woodpecker, wood pigeon, owl, kingfisher are part of his beautiful bestiary carved and painted with great finesse.

Bertrand Deguilhem, the son of the Bahamian member of parliament Pascal Deguilhem, does not have his father's passion for politics. He, what he likes are the stained glass windows. What was just a hobby he practiced in his studio in Bordeaux soon became his profession after he taught in a master verrier in Nontron. He works on glass and lead in the basement of his studio - a former restaurant he has transformed - whether it be for creations or restorations of monuments such as churches or chapels. 

With Ema Geval, there's nothing old-fashioned about stained glass! On the contrary, it takes on a thousand and one appearances and forms, from the most poetic to the most unusual. Trained as a visual artist, Ema has lived in the Dordogne since 2004, and exhibits her creations in the beautiful village of St-Amand-de-Coly, opposite the tobacco kiln. She also offers workshops, subject to booking, where participants can not only learn her technique, but also create a work in its own right and take it home with them. A great activity to plan during your stay!

Olivier Picquart, a woodcarver by training, discovered one day, through a friend, the fossil ivory of a Siberian mammoth. He made a pendant out of it and quickly developed a passion for this material. In his workshop he creates jewelry and sculptures. As a reminder to the men of prehistoric times who carved objects out of bone or mammoth ivory. In his store, he also exhibits knives, leather goods, ceramic objects... from other craftsmen that he has selected. And he likes to explain his know-how!