Sylvaine Martel is a French artist who creates papier-mâché sculptures inspired by childhood: her life-sized characters depict real-life scenes in contrast to today’s digital world. Enthralled by the emotional depth and poetic quality of her works, we interviewed her exclusively for Paper Industry World
Ephemeral, fragile, flexible—yet, when working with paper, wonders can be made. So says Sylvaine Martel, a French artist originally from Arles, in southern France. Her style could be described as narrative, as she creates a series of papier-mâché sculptures inspired by childhood that tell stories and evoke joy and nostalgia in those who observe them.
Born in 1970 into a family of artisans — woodworkers for three generations — she spent her early years immersed in the world of craft and skill. Her parents encouraged her creative endeavors from the start.
At the age of ten, Sylvaine left southern France for Savoie, where she earned a diploma in horticulture. At fifteen, she developed a passion for mountains and speleology, a love passed down by her father that lasted nearly twenty-five years.
But how and when did she come to paper? It’s a rich path that moves from earth to clay, and finally to her current medium. Let’s go through the different stages.
In 1995, Sylvaine met Pierre Bonnard, a renowned sculptor in Albertville, who understood her need for freedom and independence. It was a decisive encounter: Pierre opened the doors of his studio to her, allowing her to express her creativity freely, without academic constraints.
It was a period rich in discovery and learning, during which Sylvaine joined the municipal art school of Chambéry. Her artistic exploration was wide-ranging, her mind fully immersed in creation: drawing, painting, stone sculpture, modeling.
She did not follow formal academic training, but life brought her encounters, personal research, experiences, and experimentation. She also attended some courses at the municipal art school of Chambéry and currently at the Atelier des Arts of the Conservatory of Le Puy-en-Velay.
She herself says she is still at the beginning, because the possibilities are endless and the projects are many. She currently lives in the mountains of Haute-Loire, where she lives and works. Her studio is in a nearby village, where she has been in residence as an artist since 2023.
From clay to paper: working big with lightness
In 2012, Sylvaine left the Alps to return to her Mediterranean roots and set up her workshop in a small village a few miles from Narbonne. Clay demanded quick work and suited her impatience. That’s how she discovered raku: a delicate technique where the fire gives the piece its true birth, after emotionally charged moments of uncertainty.
In 2014, her first little girl in patinated stoneware was born: the first in a large series. But it wasn’t until 2022 that a true shift toward paper began, drawing on different techniques she had experimented with in the past. It soon became a natural choice: the right material for working on a large scale.
“First of all, paper allows you to work on a large scale, but with lightness,” says Sylvaine. “It’s also a natural and recyclable material, with minimal environmental impact. Newspaper is the most used because of its ability to absorb glue and maintain shape during drying. It’s also a local material, coming from regional press publications.”
Touch and materiality
In all her work, Sylvaine loves the material—she loves to feel it in her hands. Touch, as a fundamental sense, allows a shape to emerge from nothing.
From a simple idea, she gives it form with sensitivity, always seeking singularity and authenticity. She wants her sculptures to tell something—like a snapshot, a photograph of the hic et nunc—and for the viewer to become a participant, to feel more than one emotion, to recall a memory, to imagine a story.
Earth and paper are essential materials in her creations, and Sylvaine enjoys working with minimal means to tell stories and bring out the unexpected. What matters most to her is to make, and remake. To move forward, to evolve. Without pause. And always to explore new directions, to experiment, and to take alternative paths.
Inspirations
As mentioned, Sylvaine takes us into the world of childhood through little characters brimming with truth. In her works, we find evocative notes reminiscent of Norman Rockwell—for his truthful illustrations—and of course, Robert Doisneau, the French photographer who captured humanity in natural postures.
Also Ousmane Sow and Auguste Rodin, known for working with expressive freedom, breaking away from academic standards and privileging spontaneity.
Sylvaine loves seeing a smile appear on the viewer’s face: “That’s when I know I’ve hit the mark,” she says. “Some people even thank me for the joy my characters give them.
These sculptures aren’t for today’s children, but for the ones we used to be.”
The challenges of life-sized artworks
Like many artists we feature, Sylvaine took part in the Lucca Biennale last summer. A real challenge for those willing to create and share their work with the Lucchese public and visitors from all over the world.
In general, when working on large-scale pieces, the biggest challenge is finding a space large enough to work in good conditions, the artist admits. In her case, this issue was solved thanks to the municipality of Saint-Paul-de-Tartas, a nearby village that allowed her to use the former local school building: “the classroom was bright, spacious, had water access, and could be easily heated—essential conditions.”
Upcoming projects
After focusing on the theme of childhood, Sylvaine is now working on what she calls “animal oddities,” reinterpreting the theme of anthropomorphized animals—dressed and posed expressively—blending reality with fantasy. And—she reveals—this will be the theme of the next Biennale in Lucca. At the time of writing, a brochure is being prepared with a foreword by Giacomo Pecchia, curator of the art section of the Lucques Biennale Cartasia (LUBICA).
La palissade: genesis of a work
Let’s talk now about a very special work: La Palissade, and see what it’s about.
“A few years ago,” she tells us, “I felt the desire to create an installation—a life-size piece inspired a bit by the old Paris of Doisneau or the atmospheres of Norman Rockwell: children playing, girls on one side, boys on the other. An old postcard was my inspiration: a boy climbing over a fence. I had the idea, I had the characters too—like a little girl character created in 2014 with pigtails and an upturned nose, reproduced in many realistic poses. All I lacked was the medium, and at the time I mainly worked with clay. But creating such a large piece in ceramic seemed unthinkable.”
Looking at the materials, clay seemed too heavy. It required special equipment, a large kiln. And then there was gravity to contend with: earth calls to earth, gravity rules.
“So, two years ago, after a period of reflection, I tried working with paper: it was an intuitive, natural process, and the result exceeded my expectations. I needed a space because my studio was too small; so the municipality of Saint-Paul-de-Tartas, in Haute-Loire, offered me the old village school as an artist’s residence—for as long as it took to complete this project.”
What’s surprising is that this installation is walkable: you can enter it, walk through or around it—you immerse yourself in it, you become an actor, the artist says. A bit like Woody Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo, or like stepping into a photograph and walking among the characters.
So you’ll see, on one side, the girls playing: one plays teacher and holds class for her teddy bear and rag dolls; two whisper and seem to mock a third who’s picking her nose; another is sulking because her friend won’t lend her a jump rope. On the other side of the fence, the boys are trying to climb over it as best they can: one is helped by a friend giving him a boost; another climbs awkwardly while a stray cat watches in amazement; two others play marbles.
A timeless work, holding the dream that one day, the walls of non-communication will fall for good and never be rebuilt.