In an era defined by digital production and instant imagery, Isabelle Scheltjens stands out as an artist deeply committed to the tactile, human process of making art by hand. Her practice moves fluidly across mediums, each one serving as a language through which she explores emotion, memory, and materiality. This multidisciplinary approach is not simply a showcase of versatility; it is central to the depth and authenticity that define her work.
By working across different mediums, Scheltjens allows ideas to transform and evolve through texture and form. This dialogue between materials creates a layered sense of continuity and discovery, inviting viewers to move beyond the surface and into a conversation about process, imperfection, and touch.
Nowhere is this dialogue between material and meaning more evident than in her glass mosaic portraits. Scheltjens creates mosaic portraits from thousands of hand-cut glass shards. Each shard is individually selected, cut, and arranged by hand before being fused together at around 800°C.
Scheltjens’s method translates to countless small decisions: selecting shards of glass in subtle variations of hue, organizing them in a composition that responds to light and perspective, then heating them to fuse textures and edges. Up close, the effect is extremely tactile; step back and the individual parts resolve into a recognizable portrait. Scheltjens’s art embodies the handmade in its fullest sense —every shard, every cut carries the trace of the maker’s hand.
What distinguishes Isabelle’s art is her steadfast devotion to the handmade. Every piece bears the mark of the artist’s hand —the subtle irregularities, gestures, and choices that can never be replicated by a machine. In today’s world, where digital tools often mediate artistic creation, this insistence on craftsmanship becomes a quiet act of resistance. The handmade object carries time within it: hours of work, moments of decision, and the rhythm of human attention.
This authenticity adds profound value to her work, not only in the physical sense but also in emotional and cultural resonance. To encounter one of her pieces is to be reminded of the irreplaceable presence of the maker. The texture and depth of her work ground the viewer in the reality of creation.
Through her exploration of multiple mediums, Isabelle redefines what it means to be an artist in the contemporary age, proving that in a world rushing toward automation, the handmade remains a source of meaning, depth, and enduring beauty.
