Claire Lardner Burke

Claire has long been fascinated with the natural process of time upon things, the beautiful unique marks of age and weathering, and the relationship between strength and fragility. In her work she seeks to capture something of this process. She throws delicate, light vessels with rough textured surfaces which she then works on by pinching, adding to and altering, enhancing the relationship between their strength and their fragility to the point sometimes of creating cracks and fissures in the work. She has developed a technique of applying oxides and glazes which recreates the markings of age and weathering with depth, texture, and an unpredictable beauty in outcome. This means that each piece is unique, a one-off to be enjoyed for itself. People often comment that the work looks as if it has been dug up from the earth, marked by nature and the passage of time.