from the archives: 08.02.10

name: Claire Madill
company: heyday design
links: heydaydesign.ca | shop

What do you make?
I work in ceramics – I make molds of found, mostly vintage, forms and translate them into fine porcelain objects. These are currently taking the form of vintage canning jars. Also, I make countless variations of earrings and brooches from the positive and negative patterns on the bottom of vintage glass pickle dishes. I am also currently working on a series of porcelain lights…

What or who inspires you?
I definitely get inspired when I go thrift-store shopping – seeing what I can find and how I can use these found snippets of information and translate it into something else. I am super-inspired by the people I know who are successfully make their living creating things with their hands.

How did you get started?
Before going to Emily Carr, I took some ceramics classes at a community centre in Ottawa. While studying at Emily Carr, I found a fantastic community of people; it was easy to be completely immersed in ceramics. Participating in the annual student show + sale was great experience for making and selling my work.

What are your favourite materials to work with?
I love the translucency of porcelain, of course. But I’d also have to say plaster is a favourite – I can’t believe I’m writing that, but it’s actually true now. It’s the material I need to make my molds so that I’m able to make what I make. It helps that i’ve gotten waaaaay better at mold-making so it’s not the disastrous chore it used to be!

I kind of have a thing for platinum lustre, too – it adds a bit of glamorous detail to the situation.

What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?
Hardest: the long hours and how physically hard on my body my work can be. Favourite part: meticulous fine details really satisfy the obsessive/compulsive part of my personality…