Precious metals

Just before opening her Baton Rouge gallery in 2005, acclaimed designer Mignon Faget designed an actual “baton rouge”—a sterling stick enameled in red—“a fun yet meaningful design,” she says. “I also added a Tiger to my Animal Crackers collection as a tribute to Baton Rouge and the state university.”

The New Orleans native returns to Baton Rouge this month with an extensive 40th Anniversary retrospective exhibit at Louisiana State Museum at Capitol Park in downtown Baton Rouge.

Beginning Nov. 18, Mignon Faget: A Life in Art and Design will feature items from Faget’s 33 collections of jewelry, glassware, porcelain and clothing designs, plus unique works from special private commissions and her newest line commemorating the Louisiana Bicentennial.

“I am flattered to be considered a New Orleans icon, but my work has always been about Louisiana and the Gulf Coast as much as it has been about New Orleans,” Faget says. “I have always ventured out of my New Orleans home to study the flora of the swamps and the architecture of the plantations along the River Road, and the amazing river control system in the northern part of Louisiana.”

Faget calls the entire state, with its rich natural and cultural treasures, a seed bank for her work. She visits Baton Rouge often and derives inspiration from the old Governor’s Mansion and the State Capitol in particular.

“I am also very proud of my gallery in Towne Center,” she says. “It is my largest and most unique retail space.”

Admirers of Faget’s jewelry designs will be familiar with her depictions in precious metal and stones of crawfish, alligators, oysters set with pearls—in short, animals associated with the Bayou State. The fleur-de-lis also appears on many of her jewelry and glassware designs.

When the LSM exhibit comes to Baton Rouge, it will be updated with Faget’s brand-new line commemorating our state’s 200th birthday. The Pelican of Piety relief sculpture on the State Capitol inspired the glassware and Adornement pieces from the new line.

The Louisiana State Museum will honor Faget with a preview reception of the exhibit on Nov. 17 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. that will also raise funds for the LSM Foundation.

Mignon Faget: A Life in Art and Design will be on display through February 2012. lsm.crt.state.la.us