Christina von Mohrenschildt, encouraged by her companion – a trained carpenter drawn to cabinet-making – touched her first leaves of veneer in 1995.
Her first pieces were simple, with few blocks, but already showing a feel for the movement of the wood. They were to serve as the launching pad of a passionate curiosity which never left her, a way to express herself every day through pictures: a single element, wood, almost always used in its natural colour; blocks, sometimes miniscule, assembled and adjusted with amazing precision.
As her work became more ambitious, she decided to exhibit locally, then in personal or group exhibitions in France and later abroad. These exhibitions were to prove to be meeting points which would reinforce her passion and give her the possibility to join groups like the association of marquetry artists “A.t.r.e.m.a.”, at the time chaired by Jean Cabrolier.
A few years and hundreds of marquetry projects later, she wanted to "take
stock", as she says herself, and enter the competition of the "Meilleur
Ouvrier de France". Her "stock-taking" proved positive because,
after hundreds of hours spent labouring over half a square meter, she obtained
the 2004 prize of "Meilleur Ouvrier de France", which in France is
one of the highest distinctions awarded in recognition of the quality of one's
work.
During this time her modest carpenter companion, also consumed by a passion for wood, was always on the look-out for a new idea, a new challenge; take a look at the photo gallery of boxes, chests and furniture and judge for yourself.
All in all, Christina von Mohrenschildt, Jean-Emmanuel Riard and Wood are somewhat of a threesome!
