Press

Sculptor, designer of liturgical furniture, and restorer of sacred sites, Fleur is launching a line of artist-designed jewelry inspired by Therese. A new adventure brimming with inspiration. She shares her story with Aleteia.

Aleteia: Fleur, we know you as a sculptor and for your church installations, such as the one at the Basilica of Saint-Avold. This new season, we’re discovering your artist’s jewelry. Tell us about this new adventure!
Fleur : This adventure began during the lockdown. I was at home with my three little ones; all my sculpture, furniture, and stained-glass window projects were on hold, and I had a vital need to create. I found the same freedom to dream within the three-centimeter mold of a medallion as I do in an entire choir. It is the same passionate and luminous quest to try to give a face to God, a form to grace. What was born out of constraint became a fruit of Providence. Since I adorn the walls of our churches, it makes sense for me to adorn “the temples of the Spirit” (Saint Paul) that our bodies are. I myself have always looked in sanctuary shops for jewelry that reflects what my heart had experienced and reminds me of it in everyday life. For me, a piece of jewelry is both a remembrance and a testimony, a sign of something we love and show to others to share it. I, of course, have my baptismal medal, but I’ve always struggled to find other “celebrations” of Christian life that are beautiful to wear, spiritual, elegant, and feminine. So I created them!

And your number one source of inspiration is Therese Lisieux, whose feast day is October 1st, by the way?
Therese a dear friend. She came to find me one day, at the foot of a large three-meter bronze statue that I was unveiling at the Saint-Christophe mutual insurance company, in the person of Father Lagoutte, the rector of Lisieux at that time. He asked me to completely renovate the Notre-Dame du Sourire chapel from floor to ceiling. On that occasion, I truly encountered Therese her writings and discovered not the clichéd image I had of her, but a daring soul through whom the rays of heaven shone freely. And our friendship has continued ever since. I also created for her the Cloister of Mercy in Lisieux, a family reliquary with her parents that is in the United States, and another that is in the Basilica of Saint-Avold. Each time I worked to try to capture her spirituality in images: a blend of strength, tenderness, simplicity, humility, and femininity. Because yes, Therese truly Therese the heart of a young woman and even a mother; so immense is her spiritual influence throughout the world, and for women she is a beautiful friend... to turn to often!

But how do you capture all that in a piece of jewelry?

I simply took her at her word! Literally: I used her words. As I was creating my jewelry early one morning, I heard this phrase again: "After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses." What does that mean? It’s a promise of intercession. Entrusting oneself to Therese some of life’s difficulties. Oh no, not magically because she would cast a spell from heaven. This isn’t Harry Potter! But because she helps us reshape our hearts and change our perspective on our lives. There is no magic; there is simply a more attentive listening to Providence in her school, a peace of heart that settles in and enables us to live out what Psalm 130 says: “I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” I believe in Therese power… to transform us. So these jewels, all inspired by her words, are reminders and encouragements to surrender ourselves to her conviction: “All is grace.” These rose petals floating freely in the resin, these radiant gold leaves, whisper it in our ears every day. As an artist, I cannot create an object—even a beautiful one—that would be devoid of meaning. I work with matter to transcend it through the depth of what it will signify. 

According to the famous saying, do you believe beauty will save the world?
No. Only love. But for me, beauty is the perceptible trace of God in the world. Beauty is the sign of truth and the radiance, the smile of goodness. I had a profound experience of this through another means during lockdown: I had worked with Magnificat Editions on the selection of artworks for the book Dare to Enter Eternal Life byMary . This book is a UFO—it’s unique. It’s an indoor spiritual retreat… which took on tenfold meaning during lockdown. 

Do you often work with Magnificat?
I have the joy of writing commentaries on sculptural works for them and participating in certain artistic events, notably the Magnificat Days held in the United States. And they are my family of the heart. When I found faith years ago, Magnificat was in my pocket in the morning as I walked up Rue Soufflot, a small flame that glowed without going out even though I was in the thick of preparatory classes!

And what are the projects for the coming months?

There are many! The core of my work remains sculpture, whether in bronze, wood, or thermoformed stained glass. Currently, I have a lot of projects in progress: a Christ in Glory and a tabernacle in Moselle, a complete liturgical ensemble to accompany an extraordinary contemporary organ in a village at the foot of the Alps, a project for large sculpted glass doors to create a weekday chapel, the desire to create glass icons, and then the rare thrill of having won the competition to create the statue of King Saint Louis on the rear facade of the Church of Saint-Louis-des-Français in Rome. I feel very small in the face of this request, but I will pour all my strength into it so that my heart finds its way, through my hands, to the material and begins to radiate.  

Discover Fleur jewelry at fleurnabertcreations.com. You can also find her sculptures at fleurnabert.com.