Francois Guillemin of West Windsor has designed new welcome signs for Hopewell Borough. As an artist, Guillemin is known as le Corbeau, the owner of Firedance Studio at 56 Railroad Place, Hopewell. His spacious gallery showcases his jewelry, sculpture, lighting, and furniture creations, and his expertise as a metalworker is used for projects like ornamental gates, railings, kitchen hoods, lighting, and architectural elements.
Le Corbeau created five new “Welcome to Hopewell Borough” signs for a contemporary rendition of the traditional welcome sign. After several preliminary sketches were approved by Borough Council, he approached the project as both artist and metal craftsman, choosing the Borough’s historic train station as the central image, then utilizing a combination of metal fabrication methods to realize his vision. The result is an assembly of both large and some very small pieces of steel, layered together for a puzzle-piece effect when viewed up close.
“The signs were deemed iconic upon arrival,” said Michele Hovan, the borough administrator in a press release. “The artist captured the essence of Hopewell Borough expertly with the design and the craftsmanship is second to none.”
Le Corbeau’s most recent artistic commission was Tree of Remembrance, a 10-foot-tall steel and bronze sculpture installed last fall in University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro’s Wellness Garden.
