Glass Blowing Workshops "Baptism of fire"
Glass workshop – Photo credit : C.K. Mariot
Baptism of fire
2026
GLASS BLOWING INITIATION WORKSHOP
The Fondation d’entreprise Martell invites you to experience the art of glassblowing through their introductory workshop, the “Baptism of Fire.” Led by skilled glass craftsmen Valentin Rizzo and Gaëtan Oheix, this initiation session offers participants the opportunity to create their first glass pieces using traditional glassblowing techniques.
Objectives of the workshop :
– Discover the various tools used for glassblowing : ovens, cane, etc
– Learn about glass techniques
– Shape and blow simple shapes and glass pieces with a cane
Safety Instructions :
– Participants will be provided with safety overshoes to wear over flat, closed-toe shoes.
– We recommend wearing cotton clothes with a long-sleeved top
– Please bring a water bottle to stay hydrated throughout the session
– Please tie long hair
Two Wednesdays per month from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Dates and booking: Wecandoo
Session fee: €115 (adults only).
Maximum of 3 participants per session.
Valentin Rizzo is a passionate glass artist specializing in stained glass and glassblowing. Trained at Cerfav and with Jean-Pierre Bellion, he has developed expertise ranging from production to research and creation work for designers, notably at Fluid in Brittany. Valentin has collaborated with renowned artists and won the third national prize at the Prix Avenir Métiers d’art competition with his piece “Instant suspendu.” In addition, he is an international highline athlete (a balance sport involving slacklining at height), a discipline he has practiced for around ten years.
Gaëtan Oheix is a glass artist. Although his career initially took a scientific direction with studies at ENTPE and a master’s thesis on river renaturation, Gaëtan has been passionate about glassblowing since childhood. After a pivotal experience at Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert’s workshop, he decided to switch careers and obtained a CAP in glass and crystal arts, specializing in glassblowing at the Bayel glass workshop and CERFAV. There, he gained a solid technical and artistic foundation, exploring various glassworking methods. Currently, he is furthering his artistic development through the Créateur Verrier program, where he has completed several projects showcasing his creativity and mastery of glass techniques.
Extra Ordinary Program !
© Equipe « Almanach »
Conception graphique : Kiösk
Extra Ordinary Program !
November 2023
A fun and creative program to extend the family’s visit to the ALMANACH exhibition – Designers’ views on the resources of the Charentes region.
MIRADOR workshop
As a family, from 8 years old
→ Wednesday November 8 and 15 at 2 p.m.
Come meet the Almanac designers! Helped by Valentin Patis, Lola Carrel and equipped with maps, sketches, interviews, samples and photos, you will explore and investigate the terrain of Queen’s Island! Objective: create your own mini-mirador to better observe and appreciate the territory!
All children must be accompanied by a legal guardian.
Narrated visits every Wednesday and Saturday
→ 4 p.m. (1 hour)
Flash tours every Thursday
→ 6-7 p.m. (15 minutes)
National Architecture Days
View of the “Matières Vivantes” (Living Materials) at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal ©Nicolas Krief
National Architecture Days
Wool and Architecture
On the occasion of the National Architecture Days with the theme being ecological transition, the Foundation will host industrial designers Soufyane El Koraichi and Marlon Bagnou Beido, who share a common interest in developing new types of objects that provide solutions to issues related to thermal comfort, resource management, and overall energy consumption.
In conversation with Florence Wullai, a textile designer specialized in wool felting, currently in residence at the Foundation, they will present their project “Wool Wall,” recently exhibited at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal in Paris as part of “Matières Vivantes” (Living Materials). Together, they will explore the innovative potential of wool and bio-sourced insulation in architecture.
Saturday, October 14, 2023
2:00pm : “Wool Wall” Conference
Saturday October 14th and Sunday, October 15th, 2023
4:00pm : Guided tours of the Almanach exhibition (1 hour)
European Heritage Days
© Aurélien Mole
European Heritage Days
Saturday, September 16th and Sunday, September 17th, 2023
Saturday, September 16th
4:00pm Guided tour of the Almanach exhibition (1h00)
5:00pm Conference with the paleontologist, Jean-François Tournepiche.
« The lost world’s, understanding and anticipating ecological upheavals with dinosaurs and mammoths ».
He will address, among other things, the environmental and biological changes throughout ancient history to provide us with keys to understanding what is happening before our eyes and enable us to envision a more sustainable future.
Sunday, September 17th
2:00pm Conference with Olivier Raymond, Founder of Sanagi agency
« Trends and challenges for design(s) inspired by the living »
4:00pm Guided tour of the Almanach exhibition (1h00)
ALMANACH - Designers' views on the resources of the Charentes territory
Designers' views on the
resources of the Charentes territory
The Almanach exhibition is the inaugural research project of the Martell Corporate Foundation, which, after 5 years of existence, has become a platform for research and experimentation in art and design, as well as a space for raising awareness and life-oriented learning.
This experimental initiative, which takes the form ofan exhibition, residencies, meetings and a laboratory of living archives was born from a reflection on the way in which a foundation, located in a context that is both rural and industrial, prosperous and remote, can constitute itself as an agent of revitalization of its territory and activate new potential for transformation for the collective. An inventory of the resources and problems of the territory quickly became essential as a prerequisite for any action.
A team of designers was commissioned to carry out a survey with multiple local interlocutors (institutions, companies, professional networks and inhabitants of Charente and Charente-Maritime), in order to identify local, natural and industrial, material and intangible.
Led by Olivier Peyricot with Lola Carrel, Valentin Patis and Mathilde Pellé, the team established an investigation methodology before undertaking collection and analysis work.
The subjective panorama resulting from their observations unfolds at the 2nd level of the Martell Corporate Foundation and offers an immersion in the collected samples allowing to rediscover remarkable materials and neglected deposits, living techniques and forgotten know-how.
The subjective panorama resulting from their observations unfolds at the 2nd level of the Martell Corporate Foundation and offers an immersion in the collected samples allowing to rediscover remarkable materials and neglected deposits, living techniques and forgotten know-how. Objective: to build new imaginaries and chart new paths to build a resilient and equitable future.
© Team « Almanach »
Conception graphics : Kiösk
Dreaming the real Blue
Dreaming the real Blue
Mario D’souza
2018
This generous and luminous work is conceived by the artist as a gesture of welcome for the visitors of the panoramic terrace, this space out of time and suspended above the city.
The dominant colours of the fresco echo the history of indigo, used as a pigment on several continents: first yellow when leaving the dye baths, the fabrics gradually turn purple blue only when in contact with the air. Organic forms recall the natural world (plant pods, river delta or rivers, etc.) as well as some children’s games (hopscotch, labyrinths, elastic, etc.), making the link between man and his environment. They allow the joyful and luminous contamination of space.
Around, the yellow walls, curtains and chair make this space a familiar place where everyone can put their childhood memories as in the living room of a family member.
Shine a light
Shine a Light
Nathalie Talec
2018
This luminous and fantastical work welcomes visitors to the Foundation.
A unique creation resulting from the combination of several skills, Shine a Light is a monumental light sculpture inspired by ancient models of vases, objects that are both functional, ornamental and composite. Zoomorphic vases, consisting of a cylindrical basin and an end shaped like an animal or human head, real or fantastic, adorn this chandelier.
These precious objects, which bore witness to the taste of the dignitaries of antiquity for the pomp and luxury of dishes, had both a utilitarian and decorative function. The light sculpture is thus composed of an accumulation of forms and figures using both ceramic (present in the artist’s work for several years) and glass, a new material in the artist’s work.
A design-led investigation to map the transitions to come
A DESIGN-LED INVESTIGATION TO MAP THE TRANSITIONS TO COME
Since March, the Foundation has hosted a team of designers in Cognac tasked with initiating its first major project : the mapping local resources. Led by Olivier Peyricot*, the team is made up of designer-researchers Valentin Patis, Mathilde Pellé, Lola Carrel, and Ernesto Oroza.
Commissioned by the Foundation, they are conducting research and investigations with inhabitants of the Charentes and Charente-Maritime territories to identify and list local resources: natural and industrial, tangible and intangible. Whether it’s remarkable materials or neglected deposits, living techniques or forgotten know-how, the approach aims to create a problematized panoramic vision of the wealth of this territory.
This initiative aims to establish avenues for future work that can be taken up by future creators invited by the Foundation: selected for their approach combining creation and ecological transition, they will be invited to develop an experimentation in this local context.
The team of designers has met with multiple stakeholders (institutions, companies, individuals, professional networks) in order to create the most accurate image possible.
This approach will lead to an exhibition that will be open to the public from June 29th until December 2023 and will be accompanied by a program of conferences. Ultimately, this work will result in the design of an online tool listing all the research.
*Olivier Peyricot: researcher and designer. Previously Director of Research and Publications at the Cité du design and curator of the 10th St Etienne Design Biennale.