Marie-Hélène Leblond

A self-taught ceramic artist since 2010, Marie-Hélène Leblond explores clay as living memory—an ancestral link between the hand, human history, and the elements. In recent years, as part of her search for meaning, her creations have turned toward a contemporary expression of the wabi-sabi aesthetic. Stoneware, collected clays, or raku reflect her experiences, her long sea crossings, and her mourning. She has collaborated with several museums (Caen, Ger, Rouen) and has exhibited her pieces in galleries, fairs, and markets throughout France.

In the JARRE collection, only two or three jars come into being each year, shaped by her emotions and life experiences. These vase-sculptures, with thin walls patiently built from small coils of clay, become vehicles for meditation. Through her personally-developed technique, the form rises in attentive listening—in dialogue between her sensations and the earth’s responses. Slowly smoothed by the accretion of these contemplative gestures, the jars take shape: little by little, the form encloses emptiness, becoming a vessel for emotion, while the outer surface rises as a territory of expression within the material
Collected clay, delicate imprints, discarded materials, or nails gathered after a fire ceremony on the island of Aurigny—all become symbols welcomed by the jar in its journey of creation. The primal fire, in transforming the clay, exposes tension, exalts irregularity, and sanctifies the work. Through smoke-firing, it generates a natural vibration that the artist allows to unfold freely.
Each jar is thus a testimony. Born from chaos, it contains emptiness—and upon its skin, marked by emotion and by fire, it reveals the spirit of the one who contemplates it.