Imparfait
& Unique
On the Path of Creation
TiKa* de La Botte is the creative world developed by Cassandre Martinez around contemporary jewellery and the transformation of metal.
Material lies at the heart of her practice. Silver, brass, recycled metal, wax, resin and patinas become fields of exploration in which the gesture guides as much as it shapes.
Under the effects of fire, casting, pressure and time, forms begin to emerge. Cassandre Martinez observes these transformations, sometimes provoking them, then chooses to preserve certain traces: an irregularity, a hollow, a relief or an unexpected surface detail.
Rather than fully controlling the material, she works with what it reveals.
Her creations develop through a constant dialogue between opposites: rawness and sensitivity, control and intuition, geometry and organic form, strength and fragility, the visible and what lies just beneath the surface.
Each piece becomes a singular wearable micro-sculpture, continuing to evolve through contact with the body.
Music as a Presence.
Trained as a music therapist, Cassandre Martinez has always maintained a close relationship with sound and music.
This presence runs through her creative process. It influences the rhythms, repetitions, silences and balances that shape her pieces, sometimes perceptibly, sometimes more secretly.
«
I feel that my work emerges from a subtle dialogue between my hands, my gaze… and something more invisible: a presence, an intuition guided by music.
»
A Journey in Motion
Cassandre Martinez began her technical training in jewellery-making in 2018 at "Institut des Arts de la Bijouterie" in Aix-en-Provence (France). She gradually deepened her knowledge of metalwork, lost-wax casting, reticulation, assembly techniques and patinas.
In 2024, TiKa* de La Botte was selected by the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum in Athens to take part in its Jewelry Artist in Residence Program.
This residency within one of Greece’s landmark jewellery institutions marked an important stage in her development. Time spent in the workshop, exchanges with the museum’s artisans and encounters with visitors opened new perspectives in her practice.
In 2025, jeweller Panagiotis Tsiklis welcomed her into his workshop, located in the heart of Athens’ historic jewellery district. There, she continued her research and deepened her understanding of traditional jewellery-making techniques.
At the same time, she joined Anamma Art Jewellery School, where she further developed her technical practice under the guidance of Dimitris Nikolaidis and Judy McCaig.
In 2026, she set up her workbench, tools and patinas in the Psiri district of Athens, within a shared space alongside scenographer Kiki Pitta.
This new base now allows her to continue developing a personal practice at the intersection of jewellery, material and micro-sculpture.
A Perspective on Her Work
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TiKa* de La Botte creates micro-sculptural jewellery that celebrates the aesthetics of wabi-sabi, the ancient Japanese philosophy that recognises beauty in imperfection, impermanence and simplicity.
The artist works through dualities: perfection and imperfection, intellect and intuition, art and nature, geometry and organic form, straight lines and curves, sound and silence, strength and fragility, the ordinary and the extraordinary — and everything that exists between these poles.
TiKa*’s jewellery reminds us of the transient nature of all things and celebrates our shared humanity.
»
Anna Tahinci – 2025 - Athens