A week end at Sophie Martin's "Galerie du Crabe Bleu" In Saint Lunaire, Brittany

I have a wonderful friend who is a sculptor (she specializes in animals), and we have been friends for almost 30 years.
Her world is a world of animals, friends and picnics...
She came to visit me 2 weeks ago, and we had a fabulous time together, catching up since last time we met, because we hadn't seen each other in quite some time... Then she mentioned that, having her own gallery, she had her more time to actually work, and she told me her art was definitely one step ahead from what I knew. Of course I asked her for pictures, and when she went back home (she lives in Brittany not far from Saint-Malo) she sent me photos, and I just fell in love.
Yes, definitely, her art had gone a step further.
So I called her and decided to visit her in Brittany last week end.
The weather was windy, it rained a bit (but it's never for long in windy Brittany) and I loved every minute of this visit!
First she took me to "foire de la Saint Simon" in Saint Briac where her ceramist friend Sandrine Hamel (Sandrine Hamel's website) who does the "Raku" enamel technique on her pieces was exhibiting, and we had a picnic with said friend, then we went to the gallery. (you may find more information on Raku here : What is Raku? )
My eyes were wide open, and I really didn't know where to look at, because each piece was gorgeous! Here is a picture from the window of her gallery (I like the reflection of the sky and buildings across the street in the window):

Galerie du Crabe Bleu, Saint Lunaire


The artist with her whales
She got all her whales out to let me choose one, and I have to say the choice was tough to make, but I finally chose the grey and white whale on the left. (the one without a stand was great too, but maybe a bit too big for me, as I knew where I wanted to put it it exactly at home).
Here are some pictures of what can be found in her gallery:
That octopus is really fantastic! But alas I think it was sold!

Penguins in resin. The resin is a very good one, with metal in it, so it has a very metallic feel to the touch, and the patina is a dark night blue, and is fabulous for the penguins. The Castelbrac, a luxury hotel in Dinard, has a few of those, the biggest is 1.70m!!



And, of course, my heart sank for another of her sculptures I had absolutely not planned: a shark. Of all animals, hark was the one the less likely to be my choice, but when I saw this one, I couldn't resist!! (she does other animals than sea animals, but I was in a sea mood!

The wonderful Raku shark
Jellyfish, anyone?

My whale at home...




And the shark, amongst other things (portrait by Helen Leigh-Phippard)

We had a wonderful time at her home too, she has a zillion animals, donkeys, a mini goat (who is full of mischief) cats, and chicken, and those fabulous indian runners ducks... it was really a fabulous moment. 
If you want to check out her art, you can do this here : Sophie Martin, sculpteur animalier or find her gallery on Facebook here : Galerie du Crabe Bleu

The last photo shows also some Helen Leigh-Phippard art, you may find more of her art: Here

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