Have brush, will travel

It's almost four months that we last wrote on this blog, announcing the loss of our dear friend Pierre Lefumat.  And it's around this time, last year, that he was in our studio, offering a Master Class on imitation marble, to a wonderful group of people that will no doubt cherish this experience forever.  He will stay in our hearts, and in the hearts of all those persons he touched with his grace and his simplicity.

Pierre always had a positive attitude in life.  No matter what challenges he had to overcome, he would move on and he would reach out to others.  And he would encourage his friends to do likewise when they were faced with challenges.  In this regard, he was exceptional.

So, taking this as example, we move on and continue on our path.

This year, we find ourselves doing quite a bit of traveling for professional reasons.  The phrase "have brush, will travel" seems to correspond to us.  Since several months, we have had the opportunity to travel to Scotland for a very interesting project, which we will cover in our future blogs.  We also had the chance to travel to Finland, where I taught two one-week wood graining and imitation marble courses in June.  Trompe-l'oeil was also cover in the second week.  These were 2 intensive weeks for the students, as well as for me, the instructor.  But the enthusiasm of the students, who were eager to learn as much as possible, and their respect and kindness, made teaching these two classes a wonderful experience.  A big thanks to all of you, and to Riikka who organised this successful class for the second consecutive year!
In addition to various photos taken during our trip to Finland, we have included a short video - that's a first for us.  ENJOY!

Michel doing a demo on Vert de Mer (Sea Green Marble)

 Two one-week courses on wood graining,
imitation marble and trompe-l'oeil in Helsinki

Discovering local products, here Michel prepares his glaze using local Finnish beer

 Michel doing a demo on Feather Mahogany

 Michel checking a student's panel

Students gathered around to watch Michel's demo

 Finnish turpentine... so, how do you pronounce this...?


Oak panel by Michel

 Michel working on his Sea Green marble panel

Michel checking a student's work

Michel's completed Sea Green Marble (Vert de Mer)

Michel's trompe-l'oeil ornament over a grained background,
another subject taught in class

The birch tree, national symbol of Finland

Samba in Helsinki...!?!
In fact, it was during Helsinki's national day celebrations

The crooners...

Dancers parading in the streets of Helsinki