MEET THE ARTIST

CLAIRE SCHOTT

"The pieces I create for the table are conceived as if the tablecloth were a blank canvas on which the plates and bowls tell a landscape, a story that will come to life with the arrival of the guests."

Claire Schott

CLAIRE SCHOTT

Ceramicist, SAINT BARTHÉLÉMY (40)

Claire reveals her art of making pieces interact, in order to create a landscape on our tables.

Tell us your story, how did your vocation come to you?

I first worked with clay as a child, and this desire to work with this material never left me, despite a conventional career path, until I decided to make it my profession four years ago. I then chose to train to acquire the skills of this traditional craft, and I am now a professional artisan.

How would you describe your style, your artistic approach, in a few words?

The ceramics I create are made of stoneware or porcelain. They are contemporary pottery, imbued with the ancestral gestures of the pottery tradition, shaped on the wheel, by hand in my workshop.

The pieces I create for the table are conceived as if the tablecloth were a blank canvas on which the plates and bowls tell a landscape, a story that will come to life with the arrival of the guests.
The presentation of these plates thus becomes a reflection of what a table setting is: the gathering of different people sharing a harmonious moment of conviviality, pleasure and gastronomy.

What themes or subjects inspire you most in your work?

I seek inspiration in the raw and simple world of minerals and plants. Working with clay and exploring glazes leads me to the form of the container: a soft texture guides me towards the pebble, a rough and rugged appearance evokes rock, tree bark, a flower…

How do you work?

To do this I work, deform, remove or add earth.

From this research emerged a collection of ceramics for the table and interior: different, random, unique pieces that can be matched or mismatched to create a dialogue between them.

Do you have a particular technique, a specific expertise? Without revealing all your secrets, have you developed your own methods and techniques?

I work with stoneware and porcelain using techniques such as wheel throwing, slab building, coil building for large pieces, but also kurinuki (a Japanese clay sculpting technique) and slip casting.

SOME PIECES BY THE ARTIST

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