Estella Fransbergen

Growing up in rural South Africa gave Estella a love for all the treasures and wonders that are found in the earth and are mined in her country. From diamonds and gold to semi-precious stones, the materials she works with are all derived directly from nature at its most exquisite. Of the many extraordinary and creative features of her work, the one that is perhaps the most striking is Estella’s use of rubies, emeralds, quartz, topaz and more, which she uses to ‘dress’ each ethereal sculpture, giving every piece a dusting of sheer glamour. Employing such traditional techniques as sawdust and raku firing, Estella works with these gifts of nature to create exquisite celebrations of the natural world and the Divine Feminine. Cast in clay, bronze or glass and embellished with delicate natural forms, her work expresses the caprice and contrast of nature. The beauty of the colours in the clay is created by the intensity of the fire, and each figure emerges with a character all its own. This element of surprise and individuality offers a truthful representation of the uniqueness of the human form.

The precious and semi-precious stones have, she says, a symbolic meaning, “and our eyes detect the unique beauty of what lies within each.”

Estella held her first gallery show in 2002 and since then she has made an impact in galleries throughout the USA and Canada.

She now based near the Waleka State Forest in Florida and permanent collections of her work can be found in Tavares City Hall, the Museum of Arts & Science and the Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy.