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A sculptor, designer of liturgical furnishings, and restorer of sacred sites, Fleur is launching a line of artist-designed jewelry inspired entirely by St. Teresa. It’s a new venture brimming with inspiration. She speaks to Aleteia.

Aleteia: Fleur, we know you as a sculptor and for your church installations, such as the one at the Basilica of Saint-Avold. In this feature, we’re discovering your artistic jewelry. Tell us about this new adventure!
Fleur : This adventure began during lockdown. I was at home with my three little girls; all my sculpture, interior design, and stained-glass 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 has become a fruit of Providence. Since I adorn the walls of our churches, it makes sense that I should adorn “the temples of the Spirit” (St. Paul), which are our bodies. I myself have always sought out jewelry in sanctuary shops that reflected what my heart had experienced and reminded me of it in daily life. For me, a piece of jewelry is both a memory and a testimony, a sign of something we love and show to others to share it. I obviously have my baptismal medal, but I’ve always had trouble finding other “celebrations” of Christian life that were at once beautiful to wear, spiritual, elegant, and feminine. So I created them!

And is your main source of inspiration Thérèse of Lisieux, whose feast day is October 1?
Thérèse is a dear friend. She came to find me one day, at the foot of a three-meter-tall great I was unveiling at the Saint-Christophe mutual aid society, in the person of Father Lagoutte, then rector of Lisieux. She asked me to completely renovate the Chapel of Our Lady of the Smile, from floor to ceiling. On that occasion, I truly encountered Teresa through her writings and discovered not the stereotypical image I had of her, but a bold soul through whom the rays of heaven shine 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 located in the United States, and another one located in the Basilica of Saint-Avold. Each time, I worked to try to capture her spirituality in an image: a blend of strength, tenderness, simplicity, humility, and femininity. Because yes, Teresa truly has the heart of a young woman and even of a mother, so immense is her spiritual fruitfulness throughout the world, and for women, she is a dear friend... to be called upon often!

But how does one capture all of this in a piece of jewelry?

I simply took it literally! In the strictest sense: I repeated her words. As I was creating my jewelry early in the morning, I heard this phrase again: “After my death, I will make a shower of roses fall.” What does it mean? It is a promise of intercession. Placing our trust in Teresa eases 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 takes hold and allows us to live out what Psalm 130 says: "I have kept my soul calm and silent; my soul is within me like a child, like a little child against its mother." I believe in Teresa’s power… to transform us. So these pieces of jewelry, all inspired by her words, are reminders and encouragements to surrender to her conviction: "Everything is grace." These rose petals floating freely in the resin, these radiant gold leaves, whisper this to our ears every day. As an artist, I cannot create an object—even a beautiful one—that is devoid of meaning. I work with the material to transcend it through the depth of what it will come to signify. 

According to the famous saying, do you think beauty will save the world?
No. Only love. But for me, beauty is the tangible trace of God in the world. Beauty is the sign of truth, and splendor is the smile of goodness. I had a powerful experience of this in a different way during lockdown: I had been working with Magnificat Editions on selecting the artwork for the book Dare to Enter Eternal Life byMary . This book is a one-of-a-kind gem. It’s a retreat into the inner life to be done at home... which took on tenfold meaning during lockdown. 

Do you often work with Magnificat?
I have the joy of writing reviews of sculptural works there and participating in certain artistic events, particularly the Magnificat Days held in the United States. And it’s my spiritual family. When I found my faith years ago, Magnificat was in my pocket in the mornings as I walked up Rue Soufflot, a small flame that burned brightly without going out while I was in the throes of prep school!

And what are your plans for the coming months?

There are many! The core of my work remains sculpture, whether in bronze, wood, or glass using thermoformed stained glass. I currently have several projects in progress: a Christ in Glory and a tabernacle in the Moselle region, an entire liturgical complex designed to complement 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 winning the competition to create the statue of King Saint Louis on the rear facade of the Church of Saint Louis of the French in Rome. I feel very small in the face of this request, but I will put all my strength into ensuring that my heart finds its way, through my hands, into the material, and that it begins to shine.  

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