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Photo Credit : Floriane Retaux
Based in the Drôme region, Claire Pegis has always explored light and matter through glass. For Sessùn’s Marseille boutique, renovated in August, she designed coloured glass-paste lights in collaboration with Antes Architecture.
In her creations, transparency and texture converse, revealing a poetic universe rooted in nature and emotion.
Can you tell us how you discovered glass and how your journey with this material has evolved over time?
Glass has always been my only medium. Its magic never stops amazing me and inspires me more each year. Working with this material means becoming a poet, an alchemist, a manual craftswoman, and a dreamer all at once!
Drawn to working on interior spaces, I have developed in my studio, for 14 years now, a very large repertoire of materials and ideas that constantly reinvent themselves through collaborations, encounters, and projects.
I love when another creative mind comes into this universe, and together we give life to a new object, a unique arrangement, an exceptional piece of furniture, or even jewellery or mobiles.
It was the art of stained glass that led me to glass.
As a child, I was fascinated by sacred places, of any kind, which set me on the path toward this highly symbolic craft. Back then, I dreamed of a life in a workshop, restoring ancient stained-glass windows and creating new ones.
What did you take away from your first experience with light, colour, and transparency while working in sacred art after your stained-glass training at Olivier de Serres?
In the symbolism of sacred art, stained glass filters and transforms natural light; it becomes an image of divine grace touching the world. Immersion in this spiritual universe deeply shaped my personal and artistic journey.
But technically and materially, I quickly felt that stained glass did not allow me to intervene deeply enough in the material itself. This is why I turned toward practices such as glass fusion or reflective techniques (silvering, églomisé…), which offer greater freedom in transforming the material.
How does your environment in the Drôme inspire you in your daily life?
It is by spending time in nature, in moments of grace in contact with the beauty of the elements, that I draw my creative energy. Living so close to the forest, rivers, and mountains gives me access to this source at any moment.
The Dieulefit valley is also a wonderful community of artists and craftspeople who enrich me daily.
How do you choose which technique to use among the wide variety you explore — églomisé, engraved, thermoformed, oxidised, sandblasted glass? Is it the material guiding you, or the light you want to reveal?
It is always an emotional, spiritual, or aesthetic intention that guides me when I create a new material; the techniques, research, and combinations then become my palette.
Can you tell us about your collaboration with Antes Architecture for Sessùn’s Marseille boutique and the encounter between your universe and that of Sessùn?
Several universes coexist within me and dominate my practice alternately depending on seasons and moments of my life… The soft, nuanced, subtle universe of Sessùn resonates naturally with part of my creative work.
The exchange and collaboration on form with Antes Architecture, combined with great creative freedom regarding materials, allowed these lights to emerge very spontaneously.
What was your initial intention in creating this poetic pendant lamp and wall lights, and how did you work with colour, light, and material ?
The starting point was using my personal colour research and my much older work on water textures and the surface vibrations of glass.
The specific position and shape of the large central light immediately guided me toward subtle surface work and thermoforming of the panels.The colours imposed themselves naturally, in perfect coherence with Sessùn’s universe. Sessùn’s Marseille roots also evoked the Mediterranean and its surface reflections. This was especially meaningful to me because I lived five years in Ramatuelle.The matte glass finish also echoes the subtlety of Sessùn’s materials.
Can you tell us about your collaborative work with Studio mo·mo and what these exchanges brought you ?
Working four-hands, being surrounded by other material-driven creatives, immersing myself in exchange and openness — these were powerful experiences I lived during this residency.
What does Sessùn evoke for you — its universe, its values, its relationship to light, material, and artisanal sensitivity?
Sessùn evokes for me a colour palette that resonates with my universe: timeless, minimal, essential. The brand embodies a sincere commitment to artists and craftspeople, as well as subtle work on textures and materials. Finally, it reminds me of the warm lights of the South of France, which are very precious to me.
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