Written by Leila Scott, Photos courtesy of Jack Geshel
Nestled in a mountain in the Luberon valley, the village of Lacoste lays on top of medieval stone. It is a study abroad destination for not only SCAD students, but also an artist residency opportunity for alumni.
Each summer, members for the “Alumni Atelier” program are selected upon submitting a project proposal. Ashley Benton [B.F.A Painting 1990] made her way to the south of France to embark on a new creative journey in the summer of 2019.
After years apart from SCAD, Benton found her way back to the bee hive through ShopSCAD in Savannah where she’s been selling her work for two years now. “I had started my wholesale business,” Benton said. “Amy Zurcher [Executive Director, Creative Ideation & Design] found me through Instagram and told me to go down to Savannah to meet Joe Bush. During the time that I was selling my work, Joe kept telling me to go to Lacoste.” This was Benton’s first insight into the programs SCAD offers after graduation. The initial year Benton went to apply for the Atelier program, it was cancelled, but once Tiffani Taylor, Alumni Atelier coordinator, stepped in the program was revived.
Although, graduating as a painting major, Benton is well-rounded in sculpture. “I’m still painting. I’ve always painted, but I went to University of Georgia for one year with the idea I was going to go to graduate school,” Benton said. “I decided to save the money and I took all sculptural classes there: bronze casting, ceramics, woodworks, stone carving, a lot of metal and learning how to weld.”
Yet Benton stuck with sculptures that were made out of plaster, paper, wire and other materials that didn’t require equipment. “Then about six years ago, a ceramics artist I had been following for a while was holding workshops in Atlanta,” Benton said. “I just happened to be going home to Atlanta [I lived in Colorado for about 20 years after graduating] , so, I ended up taking two workshops with her and I made more of a switch to ceramics.”
“Originally, they wanted me to do more plates and cups, but I felt like I needed to do something different. I can make cups and bowls at home,” Benton said.
Her first project proposal was comprised of paper clay, paper machete and wire sculptures. The program contacted Benton and notified her of a means to have her ceramics fired which allowed Benton to shift her idea again. “After creating a few pieces for Tiffani she told me, ‘yes that’s what you need to do here,’” Benton said.
Upon arriving in the small village, Benton had no idea what it was going to be like, but she found Lacoste to be a unique and inspiring place. However, working in a medieval village in the south of France does come with obstacles. “I’ve had to work with a new kiln, I really didn’t have a lot of experience in reduction firing which is different because I do gas firing at home,” Benton said. “It looks completely different, and someone else is firing my work; I can’t control the temperature or time. I gave her all of my big pieces I had been working on for three weeks. I had no idea what they were going to look like.”
“When you come here you have to be willing to see what happens. Because there are so many different variables when you’re working in a cave,” Benton said.
Willing she was, Benton created unique figure sculptures in shades of creams and blues some embellished with botanical inspired details and quirky faces. Packing up and moving on from Provencal life, Benton plans to incorporate her new-found French inspiration back home in Savannah. “I can’t focus on being in production all the time, I have to make days for one of a kind pieces,” Benton said.
To keep up with Benton, visit her Instagram or website.
