Born in 1973 at 'the End of the World' (Finisterre, France). I've always been fascinated by the Middle Ages. For a long time, this interest showed itself only in my choice of books. I discovered calligraphy almost by chance 30 years ago in a workshop with Keith & Amanda Adams and became immediately addicted. Since then, I have regularly attended courses given by Keith & Amanda and other professional calligraphers such as Klaus Peter Schäffel or Laurent Rébéna. Once I achieved a certain level (and encouraged by my teachers), I decided to share my passion and created my company. Since 15 years, I teach calligraphy in France and foreign countries.
Through my continuing studies and my personal work, I have mastered at least one version of the main historical scripts from Antiquity to the Renaissance: Uncial, Rustica, Carolingian, Gothic, Littera Antiqua, and Cancellaresca, and modern XX Century scripts such as Neuland, and Art Nouveau styles. I also indulge myself with other, less well-known (and less legible) scripts like Luxeuil Minuscule, and Insular Majuscule and Minuscule. Though my preference is for pure text, I have studied the decoration and illumination which accompany each historical style, and I admit to a weakness for Celtic knotwork interlace and filigree penwork.
I love to read and find most of my texts in the books on my shelves. I give great importance to the words themselves and try as far as possible to write them out in the original, using translations only when the original language does not use the Roman Alphabet. Most of my work is modern even if produced using techniques known for centuries but I also copy medieval manuscripts or create works that look medieval. In my work I try to achieve harmony between the composition and the text. The choice of the script and layout often comes directly from my feeling when reading the text. As long as the composition reflects the spirit of the text, legibility is not a criterion: the aesthetic emotion aroused by the composition takes the place of the one engendered by the reading. Thus, I like to practice abstruseness by the use of illegible and old scripts or by playing with colours or superimposition. The tools and materials I use are the ones used by medieval scribes but also new ones that technology has brought us and which yield work made to last for centuries.