‘Andoche Praudel's work evokes the vulnerability and beauty of the rural landscape. His pieces are made from the wild earth of the Corrèze, mixed with Limoges stoneware, or half in the mass with ashes of oak, chestnut, pine, fern or hay that he prepares himself. On the other hand, the shard may be Limoges sandstone covered with a slip of Corrèze earth and ash. He values this natural bond, this immediate relationship with the soil in which he lives. He draws from it an ‘energy’ that gives his work an original character, neither Japanese nor French.
In fact, whether he's working on so-called container forms, or expressive forms, the notion of germination and growth as manifested in nature is never far away, in that biological, plant, mineral proximity suggested by the Master Sen No Rikyu but whose origins could boldly be traced back to the root flames of the Middle Jomon!
The living Earth is the secret of ceramic potters: their attachment to their soil enables them to find an inner unity through the constant calls of other cultures."