Clare Flatley

I am fascinated by the spiritual, psychological and mythical relationship we have with different materials, and the transformative drama that these materials undergo in the firing process.

During my time at the RCA I investigated the properties of specific metal oxides, cobalt, copper and manganese. The project aimed to express the individual characteristics of these metal oxides through various stages of growth and decay, relating to their behaviour in the firing process. I wanted to suggest a certain psychology to the materials by researching the nature of materials and how they transform.

This research also drew extensively on the philosophies of the early modern Alchemists, and particularly the way they developed their own personal psychology and understanding of the universe through the technical mastery of physical materials. This blurring of the distinction between spirituality and science, and between psychological and material transformation, remains the locus of my practice and a fertile source of inspiration in my craftsmanship.

— Clare Flatley

Clare Flatley is a ceramics and glass artist based in London. Originally from Lancashire she studied and worked in Edinburgh as a Sculptor before moving to London to complete her MA at the Royal College of Art in Ceramics and Glass. She creates both sculptural and functional artworks that reflect her interest in materials and in expressing states of transformation and movement. From her degree show work she won several awards including the Charlotte Fraser WIP Award and the Worshipful Company of Tin Workers Tin Competition. She was in several select graduate shows at London Glassblowing and Thrown Contemporary, and in 2019 won the a-n Bursary to go on a residency in Cornwall with Lumen Studios.