Artist's Statement
Several different types of stoneware clays and porcelain are used to create my ceramic wall pieces. Prepared clay bodies are inlayed into one another, with lines and marks etched directly into the surface. Oxides and glazes are applied sparingly to preserve the stone-like quality of the clay. The work is once fired to 1270° in an electric kiln. All prints are hand produced fine art collographs and drypoint etchings often created using more than one plate. They are producted in small limited editions of 10.
In my work I draw upon the intricate shapes and textures in the landscape for inspiration. I also reference cities, mapping, mazes and labyrinths.
My appreciation of nature is in the intricate detail and this close study has led me to look at different ways of interpreting the world around me. I have been researching how the worlds of art, science and spirituality converge.
Contemporary physics has redefined how we understand the world. The ‘implicate order’ as proposed by the physicist David Bohm states that all things have an underlying ‘interconnectedness’. This theory resonates with the way that I instinctively see and feel the world around me to exist. I have always been intrigued by rhythmical and repetitive patterns that repeat themselves naturally on both a large and small scale. This fascination connects with Bohm’s view and is in line with other quantum theories that each small piece may contain a microcosm of the whole. This further suggests that nature is an orderly process in the 'chaos' of the world.
Working intuitively, I sense the underlying connections and systems that reflect notions in quantum physics and the idea of unity. The resulting patterns or rhythms of lines are interrelating but there is not necessarily a sequence of events, more an underlying network of integration.
My choice of materials and working methods are crucial to the desired outcomes. Ceramic materials go through a series of transformational processes, paralleling those of the natural world, which bring a strong physical dimension to my work. Collographs and drypoint etchings produce direct, spontaneous and subtle images.
Clare Crouchman
My appreciation of nature is in the intricate detail and this close study has led me to look at different ways of interpreting the world around me. I have been researching how the worlds of art, science and spirituality converge.
Contemporary physics has redefined how we understand the world. The ‘implicate order’ as proposed by the physicist David Bohm states that all things have an underlying ‘interconnectedness’. This theory resonates with the way that I instinctively see and feel the world around me to exist. I have always been intrigued by rhythmical and repetitive patterns that repeat themselves naturally on both a large and small scale. This fascination connects with Bohm’s view and is in line with other quantum theories that each small piece may contain a microcosm of the whole. This further suggests that nature is an orderly process in the 'chaos' of the world.
Working intuitively, I sense the underlying connections and systems that reflect notions in quantum physics and the idea of unity. The resulting patterns or rhythms of lines are interrelating but there is not necessarily a sequence of events, more an underlying network of integration.
My choice of materials and working methods are crucial to the desired outcomes. Ceramic materials go through a series of transformational processes, paralleling those of the natural world, which bring a strong physical dimension to my work. Collographs and drypoint etchings produce direct, spontaneous and subtle images.
Clare Crouchman