Clare Crouchman: Maker in Focus 

Clare Crouchman

Redefining ceramics

Clare Crouchman draws upon the intricate shapes and textures in the landscape for inspiration. She is intrigued by rhythmical and repetitive patterns that repeat themselves naturally on both a large and small scale.

Her 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 her work. An influence of cities, mapping, mazes and labyrinths is evident. Clare says:

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 the world around me to exist. I have 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.


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