Her exhibition titled Ode to Woman, is a homage to lovers, the idea of the gesture, movement, personal experience and femininity.

Moving back to Port Macquarie from Sydney in 2016, Claire has worked on large-scale commercial projects which can be seen at Green Park Hotel Darlinghurst, Public House Petersham and Paddo Inn Paddington.

In 2018 Claire was also the collaborating artist with Australian fashion label Gorman for their Autumn collection. She also has a fine arts degree from the University of NSW.

"Since I moved back to Port Macquarie I have been working on my art full time and it has been really great to focus on something back in my hometown," Claire said.

"I am a passionate ceramicist but I am always looking to use different materials in my art. To me, art is everything but it is important to mix things up every now and then.

"In the past I have worked with ink, watercolour and paper collage and I think it is really important for artists to constantly explore new ways to do things and challenge yourself."

Claire said the exhibition is a collection of her work during different stages of her practice.

"A lot of my work deals with mythology, love and femininity and I guess the exhibition revolved around those themes as well," she said.

"It is so important to explore in art and for me that is half the fun. I use personal experience and people that I have known to create my art and I guess that is why it is so personal to me.

"Some of the pieces were part of past exhibitions and other work is revitalised and I have tried to bring new life into it. 

"To me I find a lot of personal growth out of making mistakes and trying new things. I think the best way to learn is from something you think is a mistake.

"Some of the best things I have done have been a result of me thinking it was a mistake, taking some time and coming back with a new way of thinking. And for an artist I think that is really important."

As part of the exhibition she delivered two workshops focusing on making sure people explore their own artistic skills.

"The first workshop I did was a paper collage workshop and I really wanted to do it because it is something I have been exploring in my own work.

"The theme was a Greek urn and I find it interesting that the same themes and patterns they used are coming back in art today.

"It was great to see the original idea I set to the group being re-imagined in ways I had never thought of which was so cool."

In Claire's second workshop she will be focusing on showing how people can make ceramic tiles in their own home.

"Art for me is as much a job as it is therapy and it gives me something to focus on as well as a way to be creative."

You can see Claire's exhibition Ode to Woman now at the Glasshouse. The exhibition closes on April 22.

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