Welcome to the enchanting atelier of the French artist, sculptor, and visual artist Valérie Bayol in Hamburg St. Georg!

Here you will find a selection of unique works created by the French artist Valérie Bayol. Some locals in St. Georg occasionally refer to her as a “doll maker” — a nickname inspired by the animal glov puppets mainly displayed in her shop window, rather than her torsos or human busts.

Her creativity extends far beyond traditional figure-making. As a true artiste plasticienne, she combines sculpture with costume design in the fullest sense of the term.

From imaginative artistic figures and expressive sculptures to marvelous animal creations, Valéries works are available as hand puppets, theatrical figures mounted on stands, as well as busts or torsos on stone bases. Each piece, crafted from a specially developed wood-based material by the French artist, is a true masterpiece.

Currently, a wide variety of imaginative and characterful human figures, as well as animal hand puppets — foxes, wolves, rabbits, donkeys, pigs, cats, mice, rats, lions, bears, camels, monkeys, giraffes, squirrels, frogs, and dogs — along with sculptures, await new owners in her atelier. Valérie Bayol’s artistic range is exceptionally broad.

Upon request, Valérie creates individual portraits of your beloved pet — whether dog or cat — as a bust or character head.

For smaller gifts or souvenirs, printed materials are also available: catalogs and expressive photographs of people and animals, presented in passe-partouts or frames in the atelier.

If you want to discover more, visit Valérie Bayol at her studio at Danziger Straße 40 in Hamburg, St. Georg.

The art studio, Atelier Figurart is located at Danziger Straße 40 in Hamburg, Sankt Georg, next to the St. Mary’s Cathedral and near the famous street Lange Reihe. As there are no fixed opening hours, please call her in advance. If Valérie is not visible, she is mostly not far away!

Artist Portrait: Valérie Bayol – Of Witches, Wizards, and Dragons in St. Georg!

Kings, frogs and fantastic creatures: Valérie Bayol handmade puppets modelling with selfmade woodclay in St. Georg. Judith Behnk was allowed to take a look at her studio.

A treasure, as from a fairy tale, hides in the Danziger Straße in St. George. Through the shop window of the atelier look clever little figures: foxes, wolves, cats, frogs, squirrel. Nearly every passer-by remains in amazement. The creator of these creatures is Valérie Bayol, a native of Southern France, who invites us to a tour of her studio….

Just as smart as her characters, is the artist herself – open and friendly is the greeting. A little distracted, she leads me at a rapid pace through her studio. Stand once before the one time before the other doll stand, running into the next room to make tea there. A real challenge when trying to record the conversation. “Where did I stop?” She says as she returns.

She is refreshing and funny, her laughter contagious. The tour takes you past a great abundance of marionettes, hand puppets and table-tops. And everywhere a small interested being appears who may seem to be advising who may be the alien guest who has entered their realm.

Love led her to Hamburg Valérie tells us that she came to Hamburg by way of detours via Hanover, Berlin and Freiburg. Since 2011 she runs her studio in Hamburg St. Georg. “But now, in the dark, cold hibernation of Hamburg, I miss my Albi home already very much,” she reveals a little wistfully. Already as a teenager she produces drawings by the French painter Toulouse-Lautrec and Salvadore Dali. The creativity lies in her blood. When she then decided to study, she moved between art and languages. She decides for the more down-to-earth version and studies German studies in Montpellier to finally give in to her creative potential. Originally, she made the figures for her son and played him small plays until the idea matured to make more of it.

She created characters with medieval Burgundian costumes, which she borrowed from old costumes and began to write stories that her protagonists should play. However, when she writes stories, she says, she has to censor much more than when making dolls. The faces of the figures are modeled from a self-fed papier mache, which is mixed with sawdust. After a drying time of up to one month, the material can be polished and painted. But often the way is not so simple. On drying, the material often shrinks massively, which can greatly alter the expression of the figure, Valérie explains. Many of the modeled heads ultimately land on the rubbish. Thus, many, many heads are produced for a single figure.

If the head is successful, he gets a hairstyle, usually made of artistically turned wool or fur. The little characters are slowly evolving and with them stories that the creative artist around her invents. A bit morbid it is already She is very critical of her own work and often lasts for a long time, gives them names, rejects them, changes the costumes and exchanges the hairstyles.

In their workshop at the back, there are more kings, witches, wizards, and all sorts of fantastic other beings in a shelf. There are crates around with heads and limbs of all kinds. A bit morbid it is already. She calls the red-painted workshop – the scary cabinet. The appreciation of their work is also shown by the fact that many of the dolls are purchased as works of art which are attracted by their buyers as well as by a Miró on the wall. But even children will get their money’s worth. Once a month Valérie offers a workshop where children can make their own animal dolls. For 85 euros including material costs, the little ones can let their creativity free under the guidance of the artist. And take something invaluable home with you – a handmade doll that you can not buy in any store. We hamburger can be lucky that, despite our moderately nice weather, such creative plantlets as Valérie Bayol have found their way to us. Culture 28 January 2016 Judith Behnk Judith Behnk Kulturredakteurin / MA Art History and Religious Studies / Contact: behnk@hh-mittendrin.de Related topics St. Georg kultur news Valerie Bayol artist puppeteer Marionettes Handpuppen Künstlerporträt

Könige, Frösche und fantastische Wesen: Valérie Bayol fertigt in St. Georg Figuren aus Papiermaché. Judith Behnk durfte einen Blick in ihr Atelier werfen. (in Hamburg Mittendrin – Nachrichtenmagazin für Hamburg-Mitte)