Meet the maker – Claire Buckerfield

We caught up with Claire Buckerfield, an artist whose prints are stocked at Ikon Shop. Available here, priced from £30.

Tell us a little bit about your work…

I have an interest in 2D and 3D drawing and work with non-traditional materials, predominately industrial tape. My work is a response to overlooked subject matter including shops, factories, corridors, essentially places that are banal and unloved. I work with bright colours to draw attention to and celebrate the importance of these once flourishing places. For me the intention is to present them anew and inspire people to reconsider their surroundings.

My previous projects have included site specific drawings. Architecture and existing material were negotiated during these interventions and each configuration was unique to that particular space. My current work focuses on local architecture of the Black Country, often old factories and industrial buildings and I like to imagine that the industrial tape I use in my drawings was perhaps once sold or manufactured there.

What inspires your work?

You can probably tell I’m obsessed with colour! I enjoy exploring line, space and form in my drawing. On a deeper level I’m fascinated by how we perceive and respond to our environment. All these things have come together to form my art practice.

I really resonate with the work of artists Morag Myerscough, Yinka Ilori and Peter Halley, and the use of colour in contemporary fashion and make up is a huge inspiration to me.

Why would you encourage people to shop locally?

There’s something satisfying about buying from local makers rather than choosing a mass-produced item. You get a sense of the work and thought that has gone into making it and often the quality is far superior, who knows you may be buying an original from a future famous artist!

What advice would you give to anyone starting their own creative venture?

Focus on what you’re doing and don’t worry if someone else doesn’t like your work. In fact, this is a good thing! I find it’s not great when someone gives a neutral response to my work. But in the end it’s about you, not others, and you have to find and follow your own path.

Seek out like-minded artists in your local area, there are pockets of creative people in every town and city you just have to find them!