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Claire Regnard
Designer of laser cut metal
interior & exterior decor & sculpture.
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Interview with 'Times live' - 9 December 2009
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How did you begin your career in design?
I have always designed and made 'stuff', be it; ceramics, sewing, printing, mosaic, cement & resin casting,
leatherwork etc... it's not like there was a beginning.
Living in Jhb has influenced both the way I work & the materials I use.
The urban environment lends it's self to harder more resilient materials.
What do you design?
Anything and everything.
Commercially my range consists of; wall, table & hanging candle holders, hooks, table & pendant lights, shelves,
wall decor & hangings.
My private orders have included; decorative gates & burglar proofing, sculpture, decorative screens, furniture,
house numbers and business signage.
I design my work on Auto-cad, and have the designs laser cut out of sheet metal, wood, vinyl & Perspex.
My finished metal pieces are either; left raw, powder coated or sprayed with either Duko or enamel paint.
Where do you get your ideas from?
For me everything comes down to nature, so the prominent feature in my designs include; trees, leaves, flowers & branches.
I also refer to sacred geometry when designing patterning.
Sacred geometry is basically geometry used in designing sacred architecture (Places of worship),
and sacred design (rose windows in churches, mosaic & metalwork in Mosques).
I use these principals to design; screens, Mandalas, lighting, gates...basically all my patterning derives from this principal.
Over the past 5 years or so I have developed the Amoeba range, and with every new commission, my design style develops & grows.
What's your most exciting design-related experience?
The performance platform at Pieter Roos park...
I really wanted it bigger and initially designed it with way too many pieces,
The original design was over budget, so I had to deconstruct & simplifying the design,
which created a far superior structure...both aesthetically and structurally.
Of which piece of work are you most proud?
All 25 Juta Street trees I designed and made for the JDA (Johannesburg Development Agency) and the City of Johannesburg,
which are installed on 5 blocks of Juta Street, in Braamfontein, Jhb.
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'An artist is not paid for his labor, but for his vision'
- James McNeill Whistler
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Some of my earlier work
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My close friend, and fellow designer, Verna Jooste and myself designed & made a Christmas tree sponsored by Chivas Regal, for the 1st
'African Christmas tree Promenade', in Johannesburg, 2004.
The project is an initiative sponsored by Anglo American South Africa, and is hosted on the pedestrian promenade outside their head office,
in Main Street downtown Jhb.
Annually, since 2004, 10 South African artists' trees are commissioned, constructed and installed for the month of December.
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Another design job that I made with Verna Jooste was a sign for
'The RED BULL Music Academy' in Cape Town.
Materials; domed bottle tops, sprayed & woven together with wire.
2004
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Woven copper bowl
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2004
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Copper, mild steel & cast cement bowls
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2003
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Cast cement basin
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2005
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