Nathalie Pilato Allègre

Brushing on sandstone – Graphic research from cloisonné enamel.

Nathalie Pilato Allègre manually crafts her earthenware and sandstone ceramics. She has a passion for table setting; whether she is crafting a single piece or a small series, she always uses lead free enamels, making it food safe. 

In her Montpellier-based workshop, she creates tableware and decorative objects such as credence tables or wall panels. Nathalie paints visual decorations and puts earth, enamels and the exploration of various shapes in the heart of her creative process. She likes to stray from the conventional path by creating versatile objects. Could we not use a plate or a tray as a wall decoration?

For Majuno, she devised a tray of discontinuous lines inspired by her “Morse” series.

Why did you choose to craft ceramics?

J’ai débuté quand j’étais aux Beaux-Arts avant de la laisser un peu de côté. Après des études en architecture puis en haute joaillerie, j’ai fait carrière dans la communication culturelle et institutionnelle. Puis comme beaucoup de gens autour de la cinquantaine, j’ai eu envie de changement. Ce parcours professionnel riche m’a poussée à oser proposer autre chose. Le travail des formes et des finitions est le fruit d’une vie entière d’observation des belles choses dans l’art, l’artisanat comme dans la nature.

How did you approach Majuno’s project?

The tray is in line with my “Morse” series which I have been working on for several months. The pieces have a discontinuous line pattern; each line being meticulously created. It is a time-consuming step, but I really enjoy precision work. Most of the time, I experiment on relatively small surfaces at first, before working on larger ones. 

Restraints, brittleness, crafting time:

• Matériau très résistant, grès cuit à 1240 degrés, pas de porosité, 
• Can be washed or exposed to heat or moisture. 
• 1 cm d’épaisseur, autour de 60 cm de diamètre, 6,5 kg avec le plateau de base. 
• Processing time: 1 month.