“It’s very rewarding and it makes us surpass ourselves”: these wood art CAP students will exhibit their work at the Villa Medici in Rome

Students of the CAP art du bois at the Lycée des Métiers d’Arts in Saint-Quentin (Aisne) are working on an impressive work inspired by Italian cosmography. In a few weeks, they will be able to exhibit it in an emblematic place: the Villa Medici in Rome.

“I tried to make scales. There are some that will need to be taken up again, shows Gaspard Carton, CAP student and ornamental sculptor. There are a few details that need to be finished.“For ten days, he has been working on the same piece of wood. It represents a Capricorn, sculpted down to the smallest details. Meticulous work to construct a work on which the students of the CAP art du bois of the Lycée des Métiers d’Art de Saint-Quentin have been working on since September.

“Once finished, each 12 sides will be assembled on the shield.“Gaspard’s Capricorn is part of a set inspired by Roman cosmology. The shield is topped with a sphere, currently being manufactured by woodturning students. The 41 students still have one month to finalize their work before exhibiting it at the Villa Medici, the legendary palace in Rome, built in 1564.

It’s very rewarding and above all it makes us surpass ourselves. What I like is the arts and the work of patience, precision and that brings together absolutely everything.

Louise Vallier, CAP marquetry student

These students have the opportunity to fly to Italy thanks to the Résidence Pro program in the Medici city which offers this chance to ten high schools in Hauts-de-France, each with their own project. “It’s very rewarding and above all it makes us surpass ourselves, comments Louise Vallier, CAP marquetry student. What I like is the arts and the work of patience, precision and that brings together absolutely everything.“

A complete creation that comes to life in their workshop and where everyone has a designated task. “We wanted to set up this project exactly like a business. And we offered our students areas of work that are completely different, details William Lecuyer, teacher at the Saint-Quentin art school. One for design, one for research, one for communication, one for manufacturing and one for logistics.“

No student was forced to work for a pole that did not interest them. “The students came to position themselves naturally, highlighting their skills or their appetites.“ A few more weeks of work for these students who are leaving for Rome on May 10, where the exhibition of their work will last a week.

With Laurent Offerlé-Guillotin / FTV