Books have been written for her many collectors

Books have been written for her many collectors Clarice Cliff mini project Her designs have been used to inspire others

So why is she so famous?

Clarice Cliff designs. She was part of the ‘art deco’ artist movement who used basic geometric shapes and patterns. She loved to use vibrant colours; including blue, black, orange, green, red and yellow. Information from the Odeon Art Deco website. Image from Google websearch

Some early designs on whiteware ‘stylised’ designs of landscapes abstract designs

for s te er o N ch tea Languages, communications and literacy Read information Ideas for writing Write a bibliography. Write a letter applying for a job at a potbank. Write a description of a design. Use adjectives of colour, size and the characteristics of shapes. (This could be in English or French, Spanish, German or any other language) Write questions for an interview with Clarice Cliff and then ‘hot-seat’. Word work. Investigate new words.

● 1940 She marries her boss, Colley Shorter and moves to Chetwynd House. ● January 20 th 1899 Clarice Cliff ● 1963 Following the death of her born in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, husband Clarice sells the factory Staffs. to Midwinter's and retires to ● Aged 13, Clarice started work in Chetwynd House. 'The Potteries'. ● 1972 The first Clarice Cliff ● 1916 She moved to the pottery exhibition takes place at Brighton factory of A. J. Wilkinson's. and Clarice provides comments for ● 1927 Clarice given her own studio. the catalogue. The famous 'Bizarre' wares ● 23 rd October 1972 Clarice Cliff launched. The factory continues to dies at Chetwynd House. produce pottery, bearing Clarice's ● 1999 celebrated Worldwide as name, until 1964. Clarice Cliff's Centenary year. Her biography Key Facts: Information from http: //www. claricecliff. com/about/clarice/index. shtml

Click below to read an interview with the ‘great lady’ herself. * Use your worksheet questions if you have them.

for s te er o N ch tea History of art (Ceramics (pottery)) Research on Clarice Cliff designs

Probably her most famous work is her 'Bizarre' ware; which was designed between 1928 and 1936. In the factory they had some old 'glost' (white ware) and as these had small marks (imperfections) they were called ‘seconds’. Clarice Cliff was allowed to decorate these with her own freehand patterns. She developed simple patterns of triangles, in a style that she called 'Bizarre‘. For these she used ‘on-glaze enamel’ colours, which have a brighter palette than the usual ‘underglaze’. Examples

To the surprise of the company's senior salesman, it became immediately popular and soon a professional 'backstamp' was made, which carried Cliff's facsimile signature, and proclaimed Wasn’t she clever to change something ‘second-rate’ to ‘first-class’? was later used as an umbrella name for her entire pattern range and the factory had to then refer to the first pieces, with the simple triangles, as ‘Original Bizarre’.

Mathematical understanding Look at 2 d and 3 d shapes and discuss their properties Make simple nets of the shapes.

Look at these designs. What can you say about them? Look at the shapes. Look at the colours.

Look at these designs. What can you say about them? They’re all works by Clarice Cliff Look at the shapes. Look at the colours.

Which shapes can you spot here? How are these different to the last ones?

What shape is this? Clue: think of ice cream!

Which 3 d shapes can you ’spy’ with your little eye?

Here are some more of her pottery designs. You can see some other designs here

Now can you design a pattern for a plate ‘in the style of’ Clarice Cliff? When you’ve tried out a few ideas, ask your teacher for a paper plate and paint your chosen design. Like these which some other children made. !Remember to put your signature on the bottom!

Here’s an example from the Clarice Cliff School logo here ● Another idea would be to make a ‘stained glass’ picture like this artist ● Or make a textured collage; cutting out simple shapes from different materials and sticking them on to a background similar to this artist. (If you stuck it on an A 4 sheet you could make a cylindrical vase!) ●

for s te er o N ch tea Human, social and environmental understanding History ideas Make a timeline of events. Look for clues in photos to find out about the past. Geography ideas Locate area on a map of Great Britain Locate the 6 towns. Find nearby methods of transport. Find out how best to travel to Stoke-on-Trent from where YOU live.

Here’s a clue to the ‘age’ in which she lived; the ‘Age of Jazz’. Here is a picture of Clarice Cliff. When do you think she lived? .

She was born in this house. What can you say about it? She grew up and started work at a place like this. Do you know what the big chimneys could be used for?

Stoke-on-Trent is the world's largest and most famous pottery producing city. . . often known as ‘The Potteries’ It is actually 6 towns Tunstall Burslem Where is it? Stoke-on-Trent is located in the north of the county of Staffordshire, England. Hanley Stoke Fenton. and Longton Staffordshire map from GENUKI Look on a map in an Atlas and see if you can find the area, and all six towns.

for s te er o N ch tea Understanding physical health and well-being PE Balance on 1 point, 2 points, 3 points, 4 points. Travel in different ways to creating a circle / triangle / diamond shape Use smooth, flowing / jerky movements to perform a routine. PSHE Talk about how we can turn our ‘bad points’ into ‘good points’.

for s te er o N ch tea Understanding the arts Music How can we create spiky sounds? smooth sounds? Sing ‘My hat it has 3 corners’ with actions. Does it make a difference if we sing it in a different mood? e. g. ‘angry and spiky’ ‘happy and soft’