Aurélie Guillaume, 1990, Montréal, Québec (1990). A French Canadian jeweler, enamelist and illustrator.  Formally trained in the arts of jewelry and metalsmithing at the École de Joaillerie de Montréal, and at NSCAD University in Canada, Guillaume was first recognized for her work upon graduating as the winner of L.A. Pai Gallery’s 12^th National student jewelry competition. Since then, her pieces have been acquired for the permanent collections of the Enamel Arts Foundation in Los Angeles and the Museum of Art and Design (MAD Museum) in New York, and have been featured in Metalsmith Magazine (Vol.36/No.5/2016). Guillaume is represented by Galerie Noel Guyomarc'h, in Montréal and has exhibited throughout North America and Europe including SNAG, Boston, 2015; BKV, Munich, Germany, 2016; and SOFA, Chicago, 2015, 2016.  


Aurélie on her work:
Taking inspiration from the three stages of the Alchemical Process (Nigredo, Albedo & Rubedo), I have personified each stage to create a tryptic of characters (the frog, the swan and the sun) for this project.  As an illustrator, I immediately connected with the symbolism and imagery associated with alchemy.   It is dark, satirical, humourous, beautiful and macabre all at once.  Throughout my research on the subject, I sought out recurring patterns, characters and symbols, such as mythical creatures, animals, scientific instruments and astral images that proliferate alchemical diagrams and drawings which, became the major impetus for these works.