Featured Artist : Once D’Art Miniatures

How a chance encounter lead to Aurelie Masselin discovering her talent.

Aurelie trained as a goldsmith & was a metalwork teacher in high school in France when she had to take maternity leave, Jean Claude Martin came in to take over her classes.  Some of you may remember Jean Claude who was a regular exhibitor at Kensington in the 90’s & beyond.  Jean Claude & Aurelie immediately became good friends & he introduced her to the world of miniatures.

So 14 years ago, when Jean Claude was looking for someone to take over his business, Aurelie was his natural choice. Aurelie continues to teach at High School, but she is lucky to have a workshop at home where she goes to work whenever she has time.

Aurelie wants to immerse the viewer into her tiny world without them realising, transporting them to a different universe in a single glance. Its not easy though, working on such a small scale means that essential parts of the job like welding become incredibly hard, as the joins have to be invisible.  Wiring up her complex chandeliers can also be a challenge.

One of her most technically difficult pieces was the crystal chandelier for the Château de Versailles, which has no fewer than 70 brazes and 130 crystals that she created in resin in the exact shapes of real crystals found on large chandeliers.

I’ve had the honor of working on some very fine home, mansion and castle reproduction projects with talented miniaturists who inevitably become friends. And it’s this special bond that I love – a family miniature world… I’m proud of the fact that everything is handmade, that each piece is unique and tells a story.

It is great to see how an older artisan, can hand his business on to a younger miniaturist when he decides to retire & trusting them to keep the spirit & skills of Once D’Art Miniatures alive for a new generation.

See more of Aurelie’s work HERE