Featured Artist Jean-Luc Godard

Artist Jean-Luc Godard blends man-made with nature by creating stunning lamps from natural materials and modern light sources. View more of his work by visiting his website.

 

 

My life has been dedicated to working with my hands.

 

 

As a young man, I spent hours in my woodshop creating furniture and honing my craft. Professionally, I was an electrical engineer, which also required creativity, albeit a much different kind. As time passed, I became interested in bringing the two together—the analytical perspective of an engineer and the creativity of an artist. Hence, Art of Lamp was born.

 

 

In 2014, I created my first lighted sculpture, my interpretation of a mushroom, whose shade was inspired by a nineteenth century wooden pail. Bit by bit my style evolved, developing more complex mushroom pieces and eventually branching out, if you’ll pardon the pun, to other botanical inspirations. I found great joy crafting the mushroom caps with a variety of media, including wood, metal, concrete and papier mâché. Some were huge—one even reached a height of over six feet—while others stood no higher than six inches.

 

 

As far as other plant sculptures, I wondered if I could create a flower made of wood. After many attempts, the “water lily” or “lotus” came to life using simple maple veneer for petals.

 

 

That collection led me to create another different type of work that was based on the study of grass in the wind or underwater. The “sea grass” collection was the outcome. Through the built-in light source inside the blades of grass and a lot of sensual curves, I believe I have captured the essence of the motion.

 

 

I also created a series of woodland flowers or fleur de bois which are both funky and delicate. Asian lilies and the mythical forest of the film Avatar inspired my Mars Bloom pieces. For me, strolling through the meadow behind my shop and observing the wonders of nature provides not only serenity, but artistic inspiration as well.

 

 

My latest creation is what I call light impressions. The way light travels through Lucite, especially when the surface has been carved, brings the piece to life in a way unlike any other piece that I’ve created.

 

 

I started with a fern design, coloring it by hand with alcohol paint/dye, then added other slide designs including a puff of a dandelion resembling a huge colorful firework, a stalk of humble meadow grass with clusters of seeds, as well as the moon and the earth.

 

 

What inspires me most is the artistic process itself. Taking an idea, thinking about it in many different ways, then trying different media and techniques to bring that idea to life. It doesn’t get any more exciting than that!

 

 

Growing up in France, I spent countless hours roaming the fields and forest on the outskirts of our village with my brother. We’d stop and examine a flower, studying the entire microcosm of life found on one sole plant. Those childhood days of wondering over the marvel of nature stay with me to this day and provide the foundation for me as an artist.

 

Artist Jean-Luc Godard invites you to follow him on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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