Aurélia Jourist studied textile screen printing at the Duperré School and earned an advanced diploma in applied arts (DSAA) in fashion and environment. After completing her studies, she first worked for nearly three years with a street theatre company called l’Arbre à Nomade. This traveling theatre troupe performed in a different city each week! Aurélia Jourist was involved in creating costumes and accessories for the actors as part of a diverse team from many nationalities. She then set up her own workshop in Paris, which had once been her grandparents’ atelier. They were tailors who made fur and fabric garments there. Aurélia Jourist works with traditional techniques such as engraving and screen printing. This artisanal printing method involves creating hand-drawn designs, mounting them on large frames, and then printing them with ink onto various materials (fabric, wood, etc.).

1) You depict many animals and plants. What inspires you about nature?

I am a great lover of nature! It’s true that I draw a lot of animals, especially birds of all kinds. They are surrounded by somewhat fantastical plants and lush foliage... During my childhood, I spent a lot of time outdoors, in the heart of nature. As a child, I dreamed of being a gardener! Today, I don’t grow plants, but I draw them... There is also something that draws me to the pure and striking aesthetics of the Far North; the omnipresence of nature, the endless stretches of snow...

I think my Ukrainian roots have a strong influence on my work. The Chernobyl disaster, for example, left a deep impression on me; in those lands, nature has gradually taken over again, year after year, starting from scratch. I find that fascinating. It’s this intriguing, perhaps somewhat dark, nature that I try to recreate in my work.

But it's not just nature that inspires me. In general, there is a mystical, almost magical quality to my drawings. I love depicting bird heads and feather adornments; there is something shamanic about these subjects!

2) You worked on 5 creations with Mon Petit Art. Can you tell us a bit about your collaboration?

With Mon Petit Art, it’s a great love story! Our meeting was obvious, and it has been very fruitful. At Mon Petit Art, there is genuine respect for the artist and their way of working. We created the games together, from start to finish, in constant dialogue, but I had true creative freedom. And there’s a fantastic enthusiasm in Mon Petit Art’s approach!

I created 5 games with Mon Petit Art; for each one, I did thorough research and documentation. For example, for the enchanted horses carousel, I drew hundreds of horses before finding the right one! Each horse comes from a different continent. I studied traditional clothing from various countries, drawing inspiration from headdresses, accessories, and outfits to design the horses' adornments.

For the 3D City coloring, Moscow was a particularly challenging city to depict; it’s a very diverse city with truly eclectic architecture. I love this city and spent a lot of time studying its buildings to represent them as accurately as possible; but I also included a bit of the Moscow of my dreams…

Of all my creations with Mon Petit Art, my favorite is, without a doubt, the Giant Jules Verne Memo! To learn more, read the blog post dedicated to the Giant Jules Verne Memo here.

3) For Mon Petit Art, you created games for the first time. What does the world of gaming represent to you?

I love games! My son and I play very often. But I’m not too keen on following the rules... we always end up making up our own way to play! For example, with the Jules Verne Memo game, we look at the pictures and create stories and adventures: we imagine which animals are hiding in the sea, in the air, what will happen to the characters... Playing is better with a bit of imagination!

Discover all of Aurélia Jourist's creations for Mon Petit Art by clicking here !