When West Windsor artist Francois Guillemin was a child he nicknamed himself “Le Corbeau” (The Crow). Perhaps it was a prophetic choice given that these clever and adaptable birds may not be unlike the artist who must balance his creative vision with the need to make a living.##M:[more]##
Guillemin is one of nearly 30 area artists currently exhibiting at the West Windsor Arts Council show and sale at RMJM Hillier headquarters on Alexander Road. The arts council is gearing up to turn the Princeton Junction firehouse into an arts center and is kicking off its capital campaign with an event featuring photography, ceramics, assemblage, bronze, and more. The free exhibit, open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., will be capped off by Cabin Fever Cabaret, on Saturday, February 23, featuring music, food, and a silent auction. Artwork may be previewed at www.westwindsorarts.org beginning Sunday, February 10. Tickets to the cabaret cost $50, $75, and $150.
A sculptor and metal decorative arts designer, Guillemin opened his new 15,”000 square foot Firedance Studio and showroom in Hopewell Borough last October. The studio took seven years to complete since Guillemin did much of the construction himself. But now there, he is able to expand on his 30 years of wide ranging work, which includes sculpture, art jewelry and furniture, and architectural lighting and metalwork (such as gates and railings). He and his four employees also run a full service metalwork fabrication facility for architects, designers, and other artists. He accepts personal and commercial commissions for both residential or institutional use. He has worked with architects Michael Graves and Robert Hillier, and his private client list (about which he is discrete) has a number of high-profile names. He won the competition to design and execute the tree grates for the new public library plaza in Princeton Borough.
The commissions and the fabrication jobs help pay the bills. But with his new showroom Guillemin now wants to turn more attention to his original art. “Everything you look at, everything you touch, everything you interact with has been designed by an artist. I want to be able to design concepts and offer them to the community as a resource. But what holds every artist back is the need to make a living”, he says. Without the need for a day job, “there would be a lot more great art in the world.”
Guillemin was born in Houston. His parents, both natives of France, moved to Texas when his father, Dr. Roger Guillemin, joined the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine. When Guillemin was five they moved back to France and then five years later to California. On both sides of the ocean young Guillemin’s interest in art was encouraged by his family. His father, (who at age 84 is interim president of the Salk Institute in La Jolla California) is also an artist and his mother is a musician. Guillemin’s five sisters have all been involved in the arts — his sister Kiki Kalor is a Las Vegas entertainer.
Guillemin began his college career as a forestry major at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. But he says, “All I ever took was art classes and I ended up teaching a jewelry class.” So that was the end of forestry school.
The next stop was San Diego State where he majored in art and then on to the Johnson Atelier (when it was still on Alexander Road) in 1976 to study and work in metal. Along the way he met his wife, Irene, a nurse at Princeton House. Their three sons have all grown up and attended school in West Windsor. Omar is a recent graduate of Champlain College in Vermont, Sebastien is a junior at Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island, and Kieran is a high school junior.
Twenty-two years ago Guillemin’s sudden departure from the Atelier and the necessity to start his own studio on his property in West Windsor began “with a bang.” He has always held an interest in firearms, so to celebrate July 4, Guillemin decided to fire a cannon he forged at the atelier. Previous firings had used relatively harmless objects like corncobs but this time he used a real cannonball he found on the atelier property. The cannonball went through the bathroom wall of a house about a mile away and exploded the toilet.
Ten days later number one son Omar was born on Bastille Day.
Although the journey has been eventful, the destination at Firedance Studio is rewarding. The showroom, located at 56 Railroad Place in Hopewell, is open by appointment Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Walk-in customers are welcome on Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The studio offers distinctive jewelry and accessories, lighting fixtures, furniture, as well as sculpture pieces.
Visit www.firedancestudio.com for photos of items for sale or call 609-644-4044 to make an appointment to see that architectural detail you’ve always been dreaming of come to life.
Art Exhibit, West Windsor Arts Council, RMJM Hillier Atrium, 500 Alexander Park, West Windsor, 609-919-1982. www.westwindsorarts.org Exhibit features works of photography, ceramics, assemblage, bronze, and more. All works are for sale. Open through February 23, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Free admission.
Other artists include Connie Bracci-McIndoe, a clay artist; Lauren Curtis, who works in oils, acrylics, pen & ink, watercolor and photography; Pietro del Fabro, a sculptor and designer; Susan Freeman with printmaking, assemblage, and whimsical art; Dee Gozonsky, a painter; Evelyn, a ceramic artist; Keiko Ishida, with photography, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, and ceramics; and Lenora Kandiner, who creates wearable and functional art.
Also Judy Kaye, who received an award from the West Windsor Arts Council for her work in the Mercer County Artists exhibit in 2006; Rebecca Kelly, a storyteller and visual artist specializing in book arts and narrative art inspired by books; Jody Kendall, who creates with pixel, paint, wire, and stone; Renee Kumar, a watercolor artist; Patricia Lange, a metal sculptor and potter; and Stefanie Mandelbaum, with paintings, collages, and sculptures;
Also Judy Martin, with animal inspired watercolors, oils, and hand-painted furniture; Anna Christy Peacock, with collage, assemblage, and found art pieces; Elizabeth Peck, a graphics artist; Ted Peck, a painter; Libby Ramage, a children’s artist; and Nicole Robinson, an artist who uses fairy tales, props, and play as the foundation of her work.
Also Jules Schaeffer, a full time artist; Carol Schepps, a fabric artist and member of the original board of the WWAC; Fay Sciarra, with whimsical creations on canvas, glass, and found objects; Sally Stang, a multimedia artist; and Mikkey Tarentino, a watercolor artist and a 2007 West Windsor Arts Council Award winner.
Also Connie Tell, who works in a variety of media on topics of identity, DNA, and personal and cultural history; Jeffrey Tryon, a graphic designer for RMJM Hillier; Joanna Tully, a fine art photographer; Emily Townsend, a mixed media collage, digital art, and computer graphics artist; and Dara Witonsky, with original, handbuilt, functional, sculptural, and decorative ceramics inspired by nature.
