Claire Ellery

“My artistic practice explores themes of waste, value, and craft through traditional and experimental textile techniques. I investigate the relationship between disposable culture and the decline of craftsmanship in commercial production. This transformative process seeks to retain the integrity of materials and their history, offering them a ‘second life’ and exploring the potential of the discarded object.

Depending on my surroundings, I draw from daily interactions with discarded materials as both inspiration and subject. These materials vary and have included everything from used coffee stirrers to discarded organic produce packaging. The use of found materials creates a sense of place for the viewer while also drawing attention to our role as consumers within systems of commodification and waste.

The act of making becomes a form of meditation—a process of slow, careful construction that contrasts with the speed and disposability of modern life. Imperfection and the incomplete are embraced, creating a dynamic tension between the organic and the manufactured, the natural and the human-made. Through both traditional and unconventional techniques and materials, the resulting works, accented by textures and repetitive gestures, explore the ways in which we distort and reinterpret the order of nature.”