Danielle JOHN

Mixed media artist with a particular interest in Collage work. Also “Santonniere” :
(Provençal: “santoun,” or “little saint”) are small (2.5-15 cm.) hand-painted, terracotta figurines depicting the Nativity and produced in Provence a region in southeastern France. In a traditional Provençal crèche, there are about 55 individual figures representing various characters from Provençal village life such as the scissors grinder, the fishwife, the blind man, and the chestnut seller.

As is customary for most French homes, I started to creating my own Crèche for our family. I took so much pleasure in painting the small characters that I continued to order unpainted figurines from Santonniers, in Provence.
Santons are not so wellknown in the United Kingdom, but I continue to paint them and organize presentations to tell their story to the public.