When I work with intention, the idea, inspiration, source – call it what you will – comes first. I have a dialogue with myself, do free word associations, make lists of words about line, texture, shape, colour etc. that describe what I’m trying to get at.
Read MoreRead MoreIn March/April 2022 I undertook an arts residency with Joy-AIR in the Alméria region of Spain (www.joya-air.org) As some of the work I produced there is about to go on exhibition, it seemed a good time to write about the trip. A new catalogue (‘Here & There’) is available which covers work made here in the British Isles and there, in Spain.
Time to start thinking about the next body of work. The studio is tidy, my stash of ‘potentials’ from the summer are stacked on a workbench and a couple of backing cloths have been prepared for something I can’t quite decide whether to stitch. Which probably means I shouldn’t.., or I should at least think more deeply about it before threading a needle. And then James appears clutching a sweater. “It’s got a hole in it, can you patch it for me please”.
Read MoreWell, here I am after a long silence. For fifteen months I felt like I had nothing to say and I’ll be up-front and say this piece has no real focus and is a bit of a mash-up, but I just felt like communicating. You might find some enlivening things in it and some of the images may raise your spirits - let’s hope so.
Read MoreAfter a period of reflection, I think I’ve identified what lies beneath my struggles: Grief and Rage for everything this Earth has lost and will continue to lose. Rage against the politicians who lie, deceive and don’t act in our best interests, don’t act now to start dealing with the Climate Crisis.
Read MoreIn September James and I joined the Extinction Rebellion movement. At this point, some (or possibly many?) of you may stop reading. Maybe you don’t believe there’s a climate crisis. Maybe you believe there is, but there’s not much you can do about it and anyway, it’s probably too late. Or maybe you’ll keep reading because you believe the crisis exists and action is better than apathy. Hope is better than hopelessness.., or helplessness.
Read MoreIn September, Claire looks back at her photographic images and selects some where inspiration turned in to outcome.., and some that did not! Proof that there’ll never be enough time to realise all of the ideas we have; some just have to be enjoyed.., and let go of.
Read MoreThis month Claire considers how to build a harmonious body of work without it feeling repetitive or formulaic, reminding herself of some key ideas to help us change the way we handle media, tools and even the cloth or substrate we’re working with.
Read MoreIn this month’s essay, Claire discusses the power of “what if” and how it can generate new ways of working. Whilst every exploration won’t succeed, failures aren’t real failures if they teach us something. Claire advocates trading attachment, fear, expectation and disappointment for hope, anticipation, learning and progression. Not knowing can be exciting as there is so much discovery to be had.
Read MoreIn Her Quiet Materials June Blog, ‘Elemental Outcomes’, Claire explores the ability of natural elements (specifically water, wind and fire) to drive great art, looks at the power of repetition and helps a friend take a risk and experiment.
Read More"The place has an ancient feel, a sense of the ground being somehow sacred. Vast and humbling.” Read Her Quiet Materials May 2019 blog to find out how textile artist Claire Benn draws on the landscape of the Atacama desert as inspiration for her work.
Read More"I’m aware that growing older can cause anxiety, as time seems to be running out, but imagining time as spiral is rather comforting as it contains all of the events, experiences, learning and wisdom that has made us so far. We are at the very centre of it, pulling it ever upwards but never losing all that has gone before. In fact, all that has gone before spreads out and sits beneath us as a solid foundation.” Read Claire’s fascinating musings on the experience of Time and the impact this has on her work.
Read MoreIf you enjoy hanging art in your home, then read Claire Benn’s February blog on the pleasure of materials and the art of making.
Read MoreArt textiles are increasingly being installed centre stage alongside other art forms in major galleries, yet there remains a resistance in some quarters as to their credibility as fine art. Claire Benn looks in detail at contemporary attitudes to textiles in art. Read her account and find out where you stand …
Read More“This cold wilderness offers so much; the silence of the snow, the cleanness and crispness of the air, the monochromatic, pure vistas, the textural details and the light.” Read Claire Benn’s accounts of her travels within the Arctic Circle and the influence of this magical region on her work…
Read More"There is no doubt that New Mexico, and specifically the Acoma Pueblo offered me a great deal to work with. I’m often asked why I called the series ‘Traces of Time’, but time – or evidence of time - was all around me; the flat-topped mesas, eroded rocks, the weathered valley floor, buildings and timbers, sacred ceremony and ritual, ancient culture, worn and well-trodden steps …” read artist Claire Benn on ‘Traces of Time’, the series of mixed media works she created inspired by New Mexico.
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