Mendofleur

I was drawn to Clarice Cliff many years ago for two reasons: color and shape in her designs. I would study some of her ceramics in books and catalogs, but I never knew her life story until the last few months. What I discovered was design that was not only remarkable, but a woman and spirit behind the art that was absolutely indomitable.

One could say that Clarice Cliff began her work life as a humble little gilder and advanced her career as a ceramicist to notoriety and fame as well as a prominent ceramic designer of the twentieth century. Her pieces are avidly collected and many consider her designs unmistakeably Art Deco.

Due to copyright issues, I feel I am not able to show much that I would like to share, but this book is a seminal volume of her works and reveals much about her evolution as an artist and key person in the advancement of modernist ceramic design.

Her beginnings were humble, even harsh. She was born on January 20, 1899 to Ann and Harry Cliff in the town of Tunstall in England. Her childhood was one of poverty and deprivation. Her mother had six other children besides Clarice and took in washing to help support the family. Her father and brother worked in an ironworks factory. As a child Clarice was a loner who loved to read.

Her aunts worked as hand-paintresses at local potbanks in Tunstall. So at age 13, she left school to become an apprentice hand-paintress at Lingard Webster in Tunstall in 1912. This was the era in which women were regarded as less efficient and weaker than men. The men earned more and the women were never allowed to design.

At the start of the war in 1914 many of the men working at the potbanks left to go to war or to other factories supplying goods for the troops. Women were filling the jobs left by the men, and it was at this time that Clarice changed jobs and joined Hollinshead and Kirkham where she learned lithography. (A lithographer was someone who mechanically placed printed designs accurately on wares).

Two years later she was recruited in 1916 by the manager, Jack Walker of the A. J. Wilkinson Factory. Clarice was always pushing ahead, striving to learn more, improving her abilities, quite remarkable for a young woman who had no reason to envision a hope that she could advance her situation in life. Most women of this era and economic circumstance would have resigned themselves to a job with a meager income and no dream of advancement or improvement. There was nothing that would have encouraged them otherwise. The fact that she had a great distance to travel with limited public transport and in all weather six days a week, was in itself admirable and never a deterrent.

She became fascinated with every department and would stay behind at the end of the day to model figures from clay. Colley Short, one of the owners of A. J. Wilkinson, noticed her skill and promise and sent her to study at the prestigious Royal College of Art in Kensington for two one-month courses in 1927. The biggest impact for her was that she noticed British pottery lacked color. From that point on, this influence changed the course of her vision as well as that of A. J. Wilkinson. She incorporated elements of color and form from Picasso, Mondrian, Modiglianni, and the Delaunays.

Sundew, (orange), 1936

Around 1925 she was given her own studio in the Newport Pottery, a factory adjacent to the site of A. J. Wilkinson. In October of 1927, Clarice decided to use up old stock and paint it with brightly colored shapes. She named it Bizarre because she wanted to surprise the public with her new, graphic, and colorful ware.

With the Bizarre ware, her career advanced and so did the factory. They were able to weather through the years of depression with her inspired, colorful wares. The young women who became her paintresses became famous in their own right and became known as the Bizarre Girls, an elite group, both at Newport and the surrounding area. Clarice’s most prolific output was during the years of 1927-1939.

Tonquin, lithograph printed under glaze, 1949-58

Clarice’s personal life was more complicated. She and Colley Short had begun an affair in 1927. It was largely acknowledged by everyone but kept quiet by most. Clarice lived at home with her parents until 1936 when she moved to a flat of her own. On December 21, 1940, nearly one year after Colley’s wife, Annie died at the age of 51, Clarice and Colley married and moved into his family home. Colley’s children were grown and living on their own. Clarice and Colley lived at “Chetwynd” until Colley’s death in December of 1963. Clarice lived only nine years after Colley and died in October of 1972 of cardiac arrest at the age of 73.

Ophelia, hand enameled lithograph, 1939-48

With the struggle of the sales during World War II and ensuing problems, A. J. Wilkinson was sold in July of 1964. Clarice lost two of the most treasured and meaningful aspects of her life, her husband and companion of many years as well as the company that nurtured and sponsored her many artistic endeavors.

As a tribute to her life and her artistic commitment, I designed a piece that might reflect my idea of Clarice. I have the utmost respect for her perseverance and her artistic spirit. To me she really exemplifies what it means to believe in a vision and see it through to the very end. There is so much to emulate and respect in her manner of dedication and longing.