Clare Palmer

Ceramicist

©ClarePalmerCeramics

Thoughts hidden within ceramics

Clare has a background in advertising and psychotherapy
Her work explores the theme of emotional impact
She creates abstract stoneware and porcelain sculptures

Clare Palmer is a London-based ceramicist. Her process begins with a written exploration of an emotional experience or state of mind. Out of this comes a strong visual impression of the direction a piece will take and a one or two-word working title. With these elements, Clare begins to work directly with the clay. She uses hand-building techniques as well as the potter's wheel to create her work. Ceramics are her second career. Clare used to work in advertising for many years before having a family – an experience which prompted a review of her work life. She considered several new career paths, including an MA in psychotherapy, before pursuing her true passion of ceramics. She formalised her studies by taking a two-year diploma in ceramics.

Interview

What links your interests in advertising, psychotherapy and ceramics?: I think it is the importance of human emotion in all three. The theme of mental processes is central to my practice. In the case of advertising, it is the complex motivations of buying behaviours; and with psychotherapy, understanding emotions in order to help heal.
Why did you choose the craft of ceramics?: I have always been drawn much more to art that is expressed in three dimensions. To me the exploration of form and tactility offers huge artistic opportunities.
What do you like about your craft?: I love the challenge of pushing the boundaries of the physical constraints of clay. Defying the inevitable forces of gravity in a stoneware firing; creating tension in curved forms; creating a deception of fragility.
What draws you to the material of clay?: The process of working with clay is for me the most powerful ‘flow’ activity I know. There is something profound and meditative in the activity of shaping an unpromising lump of clay and feeling it take form beneath your hands.

Clare Palmer is a rising star: she began her career in 2017 and she started teaching in 2023