Claire Malet

Giving new life to discarded metals

• Claire transforms ‘found’ metals such as old tin cans into precious objects
• Environmentally conscious, she likes her materials to show their origins
• She won the Best New Design award at the Goldsmiths’ Fair 2014

Growing up in a creative family, Claire Malet was always destined for a career in making. After an art foundation course she spent 15 years working in community arts, developing projects in schools and care homes, before finally deciding to focus on her own work. A degree at Hereford Art College led her into metalwork, while her varied artistic experience fuelled her desire to use all sorts of different metals, from recycled materials to precious metals, to create unique sculptural vessels. She now works from her home in rural Herefordshire where she gets inspiration from the countryside around her. “I walk every day and that’s absolutely crucial. It doesn’t look like I’m working but I am!”

Interview

©Alex Hale

©Anthony Evans

Why did you finally choose to work with metal?

It came as a surprise that metals were so malleable, since I had always thought of them as being static and cold, so I got fascinated by the possibilities. Using recycled metals was a very natural thing for me because in community arts you are always sourcing recycled stuff.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I am inspired by the landscape and natural forms, but also by what the metal does, so it’s a constant pairing of the two things. It’s about what I feel the metal feels comfortable doing, and what the natural characteristics are that come out through experimenting.

What is the message behind your work?

I am very concerned with people making the connection with the environment, where the materials have come from. That’s in the way I allow the materials to look natural rather than being confined into some object that I don’t think is appropriate.

What do you love most about being an artisan?

I love the freedom of it. I’ve been lucky that I have been able to make enough of a living from it to carry on, because I am one of those people who can’t imagine doing anything else. I get a real thrill out of working with the materials and seeing something emerge.

Claire Malet is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2005

Works

©Anthony Evans

©Anthony Evans

©Anthony Evans

Where