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His hands quickly became acquainted with this noble material and he wanted to reveal its movement beyond the traditional sculptures made for funeral monuments and cut stone houses. At a very young age, his creative spirit vibrated in unison with this lava frozen in its immortality. He wanted to bring it back to life in free and yet perfectly mastered forms.
He went to Lyon to attend his school of Fine Arts even if, at first sight, his family saw neither the interest nor the usefulness. From a craftsman, he became an artist and achieved his goal of giving back to this so dense rock all its lightness and transparency. Thierry Courtadon thus perfected his lace technique in spite of the resistance that the will of the stone opposed him, breaking when he had not been able to convince it.
He listens to this rock with his fingertips, caresses it, probes it as the gem- mologist does with a diamond to understand its structure and vibration beyond its rough aspect. Then he arms himself with talent and patience to shape it, to lead it to the work he has imagined.