Jennifer Claydon

Jennifer Claydon works with clay using hand building techniques. She pushes the boundaries by incorporating wire, plastic, fabric, and bone in her finished products. Jennifer has had a lifelong connection to art and is self-taught, honing her skills in her home studio in Dundas, Ontario. She has had her work exhibited at McMaster Innovation Park and the Carnegie Gallery. Jennifer’s work focuses on themes of personal growth and the natural world. She begins many projects with the question “what if…” and will continue to explore and experiment with clay.

I have always viewed life as a journey where we are striving to be the best person we can be. The struggle is to figure out who that person is and after 50 years I still don’t know. The darkness of depression is a constant threat and there are so many parts to understand and reconcile. They fracture, get glued back together, discarded, re-imagined…  

I love that clay can be molded and shaped how you want. You have some control over the direction, yet you can never predict the outcome completely. Edges become warped, cracks appear, and you start all over again to work things out. I was drawn to the idea of piecing together the human form; finding a way to connect various patterns, colours, lines, and shapes. This work represents the journey I have been on, and it is evidence that I am still here.

I continue confronting my fears and following various pathways leading to examinations of texture and insects. I am drawn to combining materials with my clay building, which reflects the joining of various parts of that natural world. Wire represents delicate legs and antennae and tulle or plastic remind me of the translucent wings that shine in the sun and suddenly transport insects into the air. Capturing and enlarging the essence of the insects that once scared me, has given me a new perspective and appreciation of their beauty and their space in our world.