Marion Lebouteiller is a French jeweler based in Hampshire, England. She draws inspiration from her surroundings as well as from Japanese aesthetics and the wabi-sabi philosophy, which finds beauty in the imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. Her background as a sculptor in a bronze foundry deeply influences her approach to contemporary art jewelry. Lebouteiller has been experimenting with a sculptor’s wax, which she heats up, then twists and stretches to create beautiful striations. However, the wax cools down so fast that she has no time to think about design, so she simply lets her hands follow its natural movements, allowing the material to express its full potential. The result highlights the unpredictable nature of the warm wax as well as the spontaneity of the artist’s gestures and movements. Once cast in recycled silver or gold, the piece becomes hard and strong while looking soft and fragile.
All her creations are handmade, either one-offs or small series, using recycled precious metals and fully traceable stones sourced in respectful conditions as much for the miners as for the environment.
