Festival Artist in Residence – Claire Watson

The term is for 2 years, so you will see Claire at our events between now and the next festival where she will run workshops, participate in our schools outreach programme at local primary and secondary schools, help to judge The Great Broadway Paint-Off, etc. Claire ran a series of very popular ceramics workshops at the festival in June 2023.

Claire Watson is a fine Artist who specialises in ceramics and local to Broadway, as she works from her home studio in Bretforton.

Her ceramic surfaces are informed by her printmaking, drawing and painting practice. Using slips, resist methods along with mono-printing with oxides and underglazes, scratching and scraping back areas, building a surface through layering. This process allows Claire to create ceramic pieces with a painterly quality with each one being unique.

‘Clay has inspired me to look outside my normally painterly box. My current work encapsulates my love for printmaking, drawing, painting, and ceramics. I use a reverse print making method with coloured slips to produce the painterly qualities of the porcelain surface’.

Claire is a teacher of art and pottery, currently teaching at Stanton Guildhouse pottery, running hand building and wheel throwing classes for adults. She also runs adult art classes covering a wide range of processes and materials, alongside bespoke art, and clay workshops throughout the year.

She has provided workshops for schools including local schools Broadway First school and St Mary’s, working along side the curriculum to produce fitting workshops. She was also the Art teacher at Huntercomb Cotswold Spa teaching GCSE and A level Art.

‘Teaching is a joy, witnessing children and adults alike grow in confidence, along with their ability, and eagerness to discover, learn and develop is a privilege’.

We are looking forward to working with Claire and promoting her work.