Shirley Clare

Shirley started pottery in 1969 with once a week hobby classes. Clay got into her blood, so over the years she attended innumerable workshops and seminars given by top Australian and overseas potters.
Her current work is mainly functional ware, using her own unique glaze consisting of slate from a Willunga quarry with a pure gold decoration.  They are all individually hand crafted on the potter’s wheel.   Each piece has the ‘hand of the potter’ and is made with tender loving care. Both the black and blue glazes are produced using slate from a Willunga quarry.  Firstly they are fired to 1000ºC.   They are then glazed and fired to 1200ºC.   Next the pure gold decoration is applied and taken to 740ºC in the third firing, giving each piece its own personality.
Shirley has had numerous solo and joint eaxhibitions in Victoria and South Australia and has received several 'highly commended' awards. Her works have also been featured in the Melbourne Age and in books by Barbara Santich and Pete Dobre, as well as in the McLaren Vale Wine Region Holiday Planner.
Her work is displayed in private collections in the USA, Canada, Japan, England, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden, and also throughout Australia.
She says:-'My aim is that everyone who uses my pots will have as much pleasure as I have in making them'.