Conversations in Creativity: Claire Williams

Claire Williams is a Lancashire-based surface print designer who creates patterns for wallpaper and textiles. 

Her career began as an employed designer in a studio before setting up her own practice as a self-employed artist, under the brand Aire Studio.

Having recently collaborated with Claire on our Festive Project for 2024, we interviewed her to find out more about her creative practice and what inspires her and her work.

Read her interview below and WATCH the film of Claire's Festive Project "Winter Moon", produced by Ayoka Productions.

What was your first memory of creativity?

One of the first creative memories was entering an Easter egg design competition for a shoe shop in Blackburn market when I was about six years old. Receiving a prize for my efforts kickstarted a passion for drawing and painting.

What was your creative journey to get to where you are?

I have followed a traditional arts educational route from Further and Higher Education through to self employment. I feel it is only more recently that I’ve been able to determine the true nature and direction of my practice in terms of how I wish to use my creativity in industry and society.  

More recent work has allowed me to respond to community art that I have been developing with different demographic groups.

What impact have clients or commissions had on your career?

Employment in a studio context meant I found the nature of the creative work to be more prescriptive due to the requirements of the established clients. Founding my own brand has allowed me to respond in a way that is more true to myself and creative vision, whilst maintaining a realistic awareness of industry requirements.

How do you establish your own style over a period of time, and still stay relevant?

I enjoy experimenting with new techniques and processes whilst remaining true to my skillset.  I find that collaboration with other artists and designers provides an invaluable stimulus which allows me to view and approach creativity differently.

Does your process develop thematically, or is it more distinctive and random?

The nature of being a surface print designer in industry has meant that my work initially took a botanical flora and fauna theme, but more recently that initial stimulus has been through other people which has led to more reflective response.

The current focus of my work reflects my Lancashire heritage and the natural world of local flora. I explore printmaking through painterly media and rework drawings digitally.  

More recently I have used textiles and print design as narratives to communicate stories of heritage past. 

I am from a northern textile town which has seen many demographical changes due to the changing scape of textile manufacturing which provides an ongoing stimulus. So I explore technological advances alongside traditional approaches to explore potentials of design.

What or who has been the biggest influence on your work – the artists or designers you admire and inspire you the most and why?

I am inspired by artists and designers that have an authentic approach to their craft and narrative about their work. 

More recently the work of Virginia Lee Burton and the Folly Cove Designers has proved influential in my approach to surface pattern design within Community Arts.

Credits: Images of Claire Williams and film of Claire's work by Ade Adesokan of Ayoka Productions.