Claire graduated from the University of Ulster, Belfast in July 2013 specialising in Ceramics. She completed a further two year study on the DCCOI Ceramic Skills and Design course in Thomastown, Co.Kilkenny, graduating July 2016. She moved into working full-time in Ulster Ceramics Pottery Supplies in 2017 as a warehouse operative for 4 years which gave her a consistent income and some great experience but she wasn’t able to make as much of her own work as she would of liked. Her appearance as a semi-finalist contestant on channel 4’s ‘The Great Pottery Throw Down’, series 3 which aired in 2020 gave her ceramic profile a great boost. To use this opportunity to its potential she left her warehouse operative job and started working to a very successful local potter Adam Frew in October 2020, a couple of days per week making pots to gain more experience and business knowledge from a potter she aspires to. Aside from this she is now trying to work on building her own business and making her own range of pots part time alongside teaching some evening and weekend classes at Rosegift Cottage Crafts in Portglenone.

Artists Statement
The primary focus of my work is the process of throwing. As a ceramic artist I feel a strong awareness of the material in my on-going relationship with clay, and of myself when working with the wheel. I create thrown and coiled large scale moon jar vessels from a variety of clays and decorate the surface simply to allow the piece to have a presence of its own. Alongside this I create a functional tableware range intended for everyday use from a porcelain clay body. It illustrates an elegant tranquil design which is complimented by my application of a refined selection of celadon glazes. Inspiration comes mainly from the Middle East and ancient Minoan ceramics (Crete) all dating back to 17th century. I also find that architecture and natural form have a strong influence on my work. The kind of qualities I am looking for in my work are: generosity in the form, full bodied and stretched, to be warm and inviting, to be sensual and tactile. I fire this work in a gas reduction kiln to cone 10 to suit my blue chun, tenmoku and celadon glazes. The finish of a piece is so important to me and I have spent many years testing, refining and adding to my glaze selection. I am always searching for that luscious chemical reaction of the overlap where two or three glazes meet. This is what really excites me and I strive to achieve this meticulous finish through constant kiln practice and repetition. More recent work I have developed a range of tableware and a pendant and jewellery range using porcelain and stoneware clays which I fire in my electric kiln with a selection of stoneware glazes to suit this very different type of firing process and atmosphere.