And The Door Opened, ceramic project with Women @the Well, (W@W) ***Covid19 intermission*** Events postponed until 2021. Watch this space for pop-up events in late 2020.

images: From top:
1. 'The Inivisible Men,' 2019. Smashed in Centenary Square, Bradford, at The March Against the Sex Trade, Filia international feminist conference, October 19th, 2019.
2. 'I'm Not The Criminal,' 2020, in its unbroken state, this was 'The Invisible Men.' The rebuilt  - or second state, is 'I'm Not The Criminal,' depicting the March Against the Sex Trade, led by Fiona Broadfoot, who organised it, and other sex trade survivors. (photos: Sylvain Deleu)
3. Me with 'I'm Not The Criminal,' 2020. (photo: Sylvain Deleu)

About the Project:

W@W is a women-only service located in Kings Cross dedicated to supporting women whose lives are affected - or at risk of being affected - by prostitution. They have asked me to make a collection of pots illustrating the stories of the women they work with and then to get both the pots, and the stories they tell, to as wide an audience as possible. 

‘And The Door Opened,’ is my response. In effect, it is a travelling ‘Work in Progress’ show – think ‘Open Studio' goes on tour. It is not a single exhibition, or any exhibition as such, it is a series of events with displays of my pots, demonstrations of pot-making, talks, seminars, and conversations  that, together, will illustrate the stories of women wanting to leave, ‘exit’ prostitution. 

The aim is to enhance the public's understanding of what prostitution is and to show that, with the right support, girls and women do not need to live and die exploited in the sex trade – there are ways out.

When and Where - latest updates and current schedule: 

Postponement to March 2021 expected depending on social distancing situation:
Ceramic ArtLondon, Central St Martins, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA

'And The Door Opened' is part of the Claytalks lecture series.

Postponement to 2021 expected, or possibly later in 2020: readings and pot smashing ceremony at Wood Green Library, 191 High Road, Wood Green, N22 6XD as part of Women’s History Month.

Postponed until 2021 - same dates expected: May 1^st-September 30^th Beyond the Streets and St.Botolph’s without Aldgate,

Aldgate High St, London EC3N 1AB
Beyond the Streets, an exiting service in East London, leads a walking tour in Whitechapel in opposition to the ‘Jack the Ripper’ tours, on the last Thursday of each of the five months. The tour talks about the lives of the women who were murdered, stopping at the places they lived, and also talks about the lives of prostituted people now. St. Botolph’s without Aldgate will have a display of pots from the project from May to September.
See Beyond theStreets website to book a place on the walking tour.

Postponed to 2021: Major event being planned for the end of September with St. Botolph's without Aldgate and Beyond The Streets. Updates as they come - discussion in progress. 

September 19^th and October 3^rd 2020 Southbank Open Spaces Trust with Crossbones Cemetery, Redcross Way, London, SE1 1SD  This event has been 'no platformed.'  You can read Josephine Bartosch's article about it here: 'The Silencing of Feminist Artists.'   I am looking for an alternative venue for a ceremonial smashing of a pot and for a permanent memorial. 
Cross Bones is the burial site of the ‘outcast’ people of the 17^th and 18^th centuries, including prostituted women.

Postponed until 2021: Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge, London SE1 9DA

Display of pots -no date set but last communication was that postponement was definite. This is not a cancellation.

Updates on this when I get them: Filia Conference, Portsmouth, 2021 
Display of And The Door Opened pots.

Updates when I get them: And the Door Opened will continue in 2021 in Stoke on Trent, Bradford and Leeds.

Past Events 2020:

Jan 23rd 2020: Talking about 'And The Door Opened,' at Zuleika.
Informal talk, discussing the project with Q&A. 

Jan 14th-31st 2020 Zuleika Gallery, 6 Mason's Yard, London, SW1Y 6BU
Display of four pots from 'And The Door Opened,' as part of a gallery artists show, 'January Edit.'  Zuleika's official launch of the project

Past events 2019

November 7th^th-December 31^st 2019 with Collage-arts at Collage Artspace 4 and Wood Green Library, Library Mall, 191 High St, London, N22 6DZ
Window display and display in library Nov 7th 2019 -Jan 6th, 2020

Launch with speakers and pot-breaking ceremony: Nov 25^th  (to coincide with UN 16 days campaigning to eliminate violence against women;) Details of event available here
Photos and brief summary here.

Demonstration of mending a pot with talk: Nov 30^th 12-4pm;

How to mend a pot - workshop for participants Dec 7^th 12-4pm.
Brief description and photos of both events here.

October 30th 2019: a talk about the project at Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire

October 19th 2019: unofficial launch - Filia Conference, Bradford, 'The Invisible Man' was smashed as part of the March against the Sex Trade. Pictures and description of the event here.

'And The Door Opened,' crowdfunder pots for project with Women @the Well

Women @the Well, (W@W,) is an organisation based in Kings Cross, London, that supports women who want to leave, 'exit,' prostitution. They have asked me to make some pots that illustrate the stories of the women they work with and get both the pots and the stories to as many people as possible. The aim is to take a little known or understood 'issue' and turn it into something more human - woman - and meaningful. 

There is a small collection of pots available for direct sale - ie no gallery commission and no VAT.
All of them are signed with my potter's mark, the W@W logo, and the date. It's a bit like buying a share in the project with the pot as the 'share certificate.' In an ideal world, the pot gains in value but I can't promise that but, ranging £250.00 - £375.00 each, I can tell you that these are significantly cheaper than my usual sale price. There are three of the original group of ten pots left and new ones on the way.  Get in touch claudiaclare40@yahoo.com if you are interested and I can send images. The quoted price will have postage and packing added. 

The Summer Pots: Summer Rain, 2017, currently showing at Gallery 286, 286 Earl's Court Road, London SW5 9AS June 8th - 30th 2017

The Summer Pots at Gallery 286

A burst of sunshine illuminates a torrential summer rain and umbrellas in Oxford Street.

Ther is far less scrafitto on this pot than in earlier works. This one is almost all brush work.

Earthenware pot, coil built, approx 62cms high, slip-painted with clear glaze.

Politicians, Preachers, Prophets, Protesters: Five jugs in 'Ideas Worth Fighting For,' 17th-23rd, October 2016, at the People's History Museum, Manchester.

The Ballad of Gorgeous George, (2015)

Meet my friend George Galloway, 
He worships Ayatollahs
He genuflects to Ba'athists
And he LOVEs the Hezbollollahs.
He entertains his Islamists in a purple leotard,
He's not much good at pussy
But he licks cream good and hard.
OH Galloway's coming to London,
He wants to be the mayor,
Anjem's lot'll love him up
But he doesn't stand a prayer.
When we've thrown him out London, 
He's off to Liverpool,
He's buggerd off from Bradford, 
No one wants him, bloody fool. 

How the Prophet was driven to drink (2015)

And it came to pass
In the land of the Assyrians and Babylonians
That a vile scourge of Ba'athists, Islamists and Barbarians
Did invade and ransack the ancient places.
Bloody was the conquest.
And though the fields were fed with the people's blood
Yet did they yield forth nothing
But more food for vultures.
And even the mighty seas were in tumult
Devouring small boats
Spewing forth corpses
Leaving terror in the hearts of those that reached land.
Verily the prophet did rage at the carnage
Crying out in despair:
"You bastards!" He thundered.
"Goddam! Don't you gettit, you arseholes?
It's fiction!
I lied about gays, about Jews, and addiction.
I don't care who you love, how you worship, or feast.
Eat and drink! Wine or cider! But for fuck's sake, live in peace!" 

Cider Party for the Corbynati, (2015) 

Jeremy Corbyn
Likes it cosy
His beard and bonnet
A little bit posy?
Perhaps his glasses are tinted rosy,
His politics are Crap.

He's a great admirer of Hamas
Khaled Meshal is his friend.
In bed with Hezbollah
Sir Hasan Nasrullah
Doth ram-rod his glistening rear end.

So watch it if you're arty
And offend the Shariati
Or blaspheme the Cornbynati
You'll feel the force of their knee-cap

And mind if Corbyn wins the day
If you're a Jew, or if you're gay
Because jihadis want their pay
And he's a squirming in their lap.

So soddit let's just have a party
Proper Bacchanaliati
Lest Cobyn's sychophantiati
Turn off our cider tap!

Stop The War, jug, (2015)

Stop the War!
Protest in a tweet,
Kiss Assad's arse,
Prostrate at Putin's feet.
Salute the Ayatollahs,
Appease the Caliphate,
It's Israel and America
We all love to hate. 

John McDonnell's Farm, jug, (2015)

John McDonell had a farm,
Eee Aye Eee Aye Oh.
And on the farm he planted cash,
but it wouldn't grow.
With a deficit here
And a printer there
And quantitive easing everywhere,
With normal times here
And special times there
Borrowing and spending and selling off shares,
With Osbornes here
And Camerons there,
And Tory porkers hogging the air,
With campaigns here
And protests there
and Corbyistas tearing their hair,
Poor Jonny 'Donnell's printer jammed.
His farm just had to go. 

Calipahte Seaside jug, (2015)

We are all
Stop-Start a War
HamaHezbolicious!
Come and join us at the seaside
In Islamocalificious!
We think you'll find the food out here 

is really quite delcious
The weather, beach and swimming, dear, 

is always beneficious.
Bit it's beheading infidels, my dear,
The rape, and crucificious,
That's what makes the Caliphate,
the Best Vacationicious. 

Land and Skyscapes at the Contemporary Ceramics Centre, August -November, 2016

Five pieces showing as part of the Autumn Rotation at the Contemporary Ceramics Centre, opposite the British Museum, from August 1st - November 1st 2016. From the top: Hordley Swamp, (2016), 35 cms diam. Wootton Floods, (2016), 35 cms diam. London, Sledging at Broadwater Farm, (2015), 50cms diam. London, Autumn Fair, Hyde Park, (2015), 40 cms diam. Sun Setting After A Storm, London, Late Summer, (2015). 35 cms diam. All of these are shallow dishes, pinch-pots, slip-painted earthenware with scraffitto, and clear glaze. Top two are photographed by me, the bottom three are photographed by Sylvain Deleu.

Bring on the Baroque! Featuring, (from top): Nightwalker, Postcard from the Caliphate, (two views), The Prophet Expels Isis, (in kiln), Caliphate Jug, Galloway Jug.

These pots, and more of the jugs and smaller works, will be on show at Gallery 286, Earls Court Road, London, November 8th - 30th, 2016.
Molly's Odyssey will be showing in the upstairs gallery and these ones will be downstairs.

The Prophet Expels ISIS From Babylon (and ushers in the dancers) 2016. Work in progress, studio view.

With any luck, one of those thunderbolts will land on Putin too.