CLAIRE HINCKS

Ceramic Artist
Interview & Photographs by SIMON LAWRENCE

What could be more wonderful than taking a deep, easy breath; or stretching gently from head to toe; or lounging in bed on Sunday morning, letting thoughts of the past week drift quietly in and out of your mind? Simple as it sounds, thats yoga - its purpose to join or balance the body and mind. Claire Hincks is a teacher of this ancient natural remedy and is passionate about its effectiveness in healing and general well-being. My yoga and ceramic art go very well together - both being meditative, contemplative processes, and also physical and mental disciplines - but articulated in very different ways. I just love to go out teaching and then come back and escape to the serenity of my little studio. Claire appears to have a particular sensitivity to the nuances of the world surrounding her, and she allows this to permeate as a private set of themes as she explores the design and construction of her ceramics. The focus seems always on the personal, and it is through the emotive sense of touch her sculptured pots emerge. Her inspiration is drawn from ancient ceramics, and you can feel Egyptian and early Greek influence. Artists have always borrowed from other artists, but Claire tries not to look closely at other potters work for the fear of being influenced by their ideas. In her constructed sculptures; for that is what they are - Claire creates timeless yet contemporary pieces - each as individual as you and me, but with the intention of being a feature rather than having a more functional purpose. My designs are not driven by anything specific. The technique of coiling I use is ancient and the style has always come from the maker in a more subconscious way - its not like a thrown pot which begins with a pre sized

piece of clay then manipulated to shape in one go. Coiling is a much slower, more deliberate process - and never comes out exactly as anticipated, so I just go with what evolves and let inspiration take me along the way. Much of her past work was assembled using crank clay containing grog, a finely ground biscuit material which gives additional strength to the final piece. More recently Ive been experimenting with finer clays. These have molochite added which gives the clay greater plasticity and warp resistance, allowing me to try more extreme shapes. Also the heavily grogged clays are coloured and I wanted a more vibrant effect from the glazing. Apart from my collection of black and white pots; Ive always worked with blue and gold. In fact all my glazes are based around blue - I just find the colour gives an almost celestial quality and the gold amplifies that further. Because of the unpredictability of the British climate much of her glazing is applied by brush. I dont have a spray booth - unless I suppose you describe my back garden as one. So the smallest amount of rain or wind will force me to work with a brush. To be honest I do find the spray gun gives a flat, too uniform finish, I prefer the variation you get when applying the glaze by hand - so I have been known to go over the surface again to give a more brushed look! Her sculptures are vibrant and dramatic - informal. Some are pure images in black and white, others lush with colour, the surface textured using a variety of implements to create the effects she chooses. They merge to form a contrast of styles and design, yet all complementary to one another. Her creations and their uncompromising self reference challenge us, and attempt at provoking an aesthetic response.
You can contact Claire via her email chincks@btinternet.com Prices from around 200.00.