Emma Bruschi is a young french artist recognized for her work with straw. She brilliantly succeeds in combining rural craftsmanship with fashion, two worlds which influenced her childhood and shaped her style. The young woman tells us about her journey, her inspirations and her past and future projects...
Interview
Emma, can you tell us about your childhood ?
" I was born and raised in Marseille, to a Mediterranean father and a mountain mother. My childhood and my personality were built on these two heterogeneous universes; we lived in the city but we had a henhouse in our garden, I lived by the sea all year round and I spent a large part of my holidays on the family farm in Haute-Savoie, in a small village a stone's throw away fifteen kilometers from Annecy. I experienced wonderful rural moments there alongside my farmer grandparents as well as my cousins, my uncle and my aunt. "
Where does your creativity come from ?
" My mother and my grandmother passed on to me from a very young age the passion for creative hobbies of all kinds: sewing, knitting, painting... Although she is a lawyer, my mother is passionate about fashion and applied art, had co-founded a women's fashion boutique in Marseille where I accompanied her on weekends. "
What is your course ?
" Having been immersed in this very creative environment left no doubt about the studies I wanted to follow. I wanted to move towards studies in applied art, in fashion design, more specialized in manufacturing techniques than in styling. I first did a preparation in Fashion Design in Lyon, then the Bachelor Saint-Luc in Tournai in Belgium. Finally, I completed a master's degree at the Haute Ecole d'Art et de Design in Geneva, still specializing in fashion and accessories. At the start of my studies, I dabbled in everything but I had a penchant for patched, mended natural materials that recounted my childhood memories on the farm. "
How did your vocation for straw work come about ?
" Working with straw arrived in the second year of my master's degree at HEAD in Geneva. I began to be interested in harvest objects and then discovered bouquets woven from straw. These bouquets were made by farm workers at the end of the season to thank the hostess for welcoming them. In all cereal cultures, we find this ancestral ritual with other aesthetics. The material and the story immediately appealed to me because they evoked both my taste for creation and my love of the peasantry. I then set out to find artisans who could teach me their technique and thus be able to pass on the gesture. Luckily, I was studying in Switzerland, a country very rich in agricultural crafts. I discovered in particular the Ballenberg museum and especially the Musée de la Paille, Schweizer Stroh Museum, which supported me in my research; they directed me to specialized craftsmen who themselves taught me their know-how and lent me the tools. "
" The material and the story immediately appealed to me because they evoked both my taste for creation and my love of the peasantry."
Can you briefly explain to us the process of manufacturing and creating this material ?
" First of all, I harvest my own rye straw on my grandparents' Savoyard farm, now run by my uncle and aunt. Then, I select, cut and calibrate the stems which are split using a splitter. Then, with a sort of spinning wheel, the straw is strung together to obtain a “thread” which can then be woven in the same way as cotton or wool."
What are your sources of inspiration, and the Instagram accounts that you particularly like ?
" It’s the past that stimulates me the most! All ancient craft techniques are a source of inspiration. They constitute a real engine. Books and museums of old trades are all supports.
For Instagram, I like the accounts of the crafty_beggars of the Scottish artist Rachel Frost whose works are inspired by folk art, that of Veronica Main MBE - hat.plait - who makes straw hats, and the historian account artdelalaine. I also like skeltonjohn's collections and andrea.sham's neo-baroque food universe.
Agenda
Book
" Savoir et Faire - Objets et gestes d'autrefois" Ulmer éditions
(domestic craft techniques, popular art object, a collection of 10 unpublished objects)
Release scheduled for November
Residency
Maison Mode Méditerranée
Return from residency around the Boutis Provençal technique
↘ emmabruschi I Instagram @emma.bruschi
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