The Yorkshire glass artist making functional works of art you can eat off

“I was always making things. I used to ‘Paint along with Nancy’,” she says, referring to Italian-American artist Nancy Kominsky, who presented the Paint Along series in the Seventies. “I used to love Bonfire Night because I used to collect the charcoal from the embers to draw with.”

After achieving her O-level in art, Claire gained a degree in ceramics at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, followed by a PGCE at Bretton Hall College, near Wakefield.

For nearly 30 years she was a special needs teacher, specialising in teaching art and ceramics. Aside from work, Claire always has found time to devote to her hobby. “I never stopped. I bought myself a kiln – my husband was in the RAF so we moved around a lot,” she says.

She began creating wall art, supplying to small outlets in the North. As a member of the Northern Potters Association, Claire had the opportunity to showcase some of her work at the prestigious Oxo Tower on London’s South Bank.

Considering the limitations of wall space within people’s homes, however, she decided to turn her attention to more colourful creative dimension.

“About 15 years ago now, I went with a friend on a few glass courses and got completely hooked,” says Claire. A combination of research and experimentation in her ceramic kiln led her to create a collection of warm glass pieces, ranging from artwork to homeware and jewellery.

“Wakefield had a couple of years of artisan markets in Wood Street and I decided to see how my glass went down,” she adds. “It was very well received and something folk hadn’t really seen before.”

Inspired by the reaction, Claire contacted the organiser of the annual Wardlow Mires Pottery and Food Festival held in the Peak District in September. She was invited to attend with her fused glass, considering it to be “just glaze without the clay”.

Each year the event has grown and, as it is food-related, Claire designed a new collection specifically to showcase there last year. Loosely Sushi is based on Japanese dishes and platters, with Claire’s range including chopstick rests and dipping bowls. “There is quite an historical movement of work based on the Japanese theme and I was inspired to try my version of it,” she adds.

Claire is showcasing some of her Loosely Sushi range after being selected to exhibit her work at the Craft & Design Gallery in Leeds until June 4. The gallery is celebrating its 40th anniversary and the event is a joint exhibition with the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS).

The Joy of Glass runs across two exhibitions until July 23, and the Showcase cabinet presents the work of 25 contemporary glass artists.

Interestingly, some of Claire’s homeware range is also part of Masato Jones’ Design Collective in Thornton’s Arcade in the city. Other local stockists include the White Heather boutique in Morley.

Claire’s creations are also available at the Craft Inn, a co-operative of makers in Ackworth who, along with Claire, have been creating and selling their handiwork to support Ukrainian refugees.

Such has been the response to Claire’s work over the years that she decided to increase the size of her fused glass pieces.

Kitchen splashbacks have become another focus. “We had our kitchen done and my cooker sat with nothing behind it for years because I didn’t know what I wanted behind it. Then I discovered glass and in my ceramic kiln I fired multiple tiles as the space allowed and things progressed,” says Claire, who also creates statement pieces such as birds, clocks and lighting.

“I thought I would get a big glass kiln so I could do whole panels so you don’t have all the grout. It is a piece of art that is in your kitchen.” In 2019 she secured a commission from Wakefield Council to create a collection of 10 glass nebulae for the Museum of the Moon event.

Ceramics has always been Claire’s first love, but she says there is a distinct contrast between ceramic and glass. “I have never enjoyed glazing because it never came out the way I wanted. Clay comes in a variety of colours, not just muddy beige – they are subtle earthy colours whereas glass is all about the colour,” she says.

“I love the action of making and using the clay and firing. With ceramics, you have a few processes before you get to the end result, whereas with glass it is a lot more immediate. You cut it, create layers, add depth and interest and fire it. There are lots of different forms of glass to work with including painting with enamels.

“When it’s in the kiln the first firing fuses the glass together and the second firing creates your shapes, bowls, flowers, handles etc. You can see the result after the first firing and the firing itself is a lot quicker. With ceramic firing, you are not opening the kiln until day three, whereas glass firing comes up really quickly to temperature. Within 24 hours, you can open the kiln in most cases.”

Each fused piece is made up of two sheets of glass. Between the sheets, a variety of glass or metal inclusions, colours, powders and frits can be placed to create depth within the piece.

The chosen colour combinations are positioned on the uppermost sheet of glass to complete the design. The different layers of colour and shape combine in the kiln as the glass is fired in stages up to 825C, sometimes higher.

Claire has also incorporated her work within the garden of the home she shares with her husband Richard. Her garden studio looks out onto the colourful glass water feature that she produced as part of a revamp of their outside space.

Before Covid, she started running classes from the studio. “Covid put an abrupt end to it all, but as lockdowns followed I realised aspects of my work could be adapted as folk still wanted a creative outlet in all this misery,” says Claire.

The Take and Make set of kits she developed for people to create at home and return to Claire for firing proved extremely popular, along with the Wave pieces that she made as a reminder of the Ionian Sea, her favourite Greek holiday destination. For Claire, the whole process brings great enjoyment and satisfaction, so much so that she has now left education and is focusing on her pastime as a full-time profession.

“It is a very tactile thing. If you physically touch a piece it is smooth, molten almost, it’s not like you expect glass to be. When I do my Wave pieces I don’t fully flatten the piece, and if I am doing a framed picture I put the wave on top of the glass, not inside it so you get to touch it.”

Multi-coloured pieces take the longest to create, but even a simple coaster can take time. It all depends on the design – according to Claire, who loves nothing better than to spend time in her studio. “I come into that room and I think it is my healthy, peaceful, happy place,” she says.

www.clairelakekilnfusedglass.co.uk or Facebook @ccjustbecause