Claire Chatfield
'A stitch in time'
mixed media
from Decadence
- A celebration of 10 Years of Art and Community -
November/December 2016
'2 Bush Turkeys in the Sun'
mixed media
'Imagine'
mixed media
from Soul of Serpentine
October/November 2013
'White Dog'
'Brown Dog'
'Green Dog'
'Baby Bush Turkey'
Above: a selection of mixed media works
(clockwise from left) 'Storyteller',
'Sing',
'Silver Lining',
'Nature or Nurture'
and 'Believe'
Right: artworks for auction
from Presence
December
2012
Claire led workshops and was on hand to offer advice
during the Serpentine Community Gallery's 2nd
Creative Exchange @ Lismore Show
held between the 20th and the 22nd of October 2011
'Snake Women'
Mixed media
Donated to the Serpentine Community Gallery
Art Auction fundraiser
in May 2011
Screen and window installation
Prints, mixed media works and found objects
from Colour Our World
April 2011
The Serpentine Community Gallery
was the venue for
Claire Chatfield's first solo exhibition
from the 14th until
the 29th March 2011.
After nearly two decades of
contributing to group exhibitions
in four states,
artist Claire Chatfield
presents her solo exhibition
Trash and Treasure.
A committed environmentalist,
Claire recycles her own
and other artists’ works
to create multilayered collages
out of ‘treasure’
she finds in the streets
and op shops.
Dynamic Drawing teacher Ron Curran (facing the crowd, pic left)
speaks of Claire's approach to art and her artworks
at the opening of Trash and Treasure.
'Dangerous'
'A Time To Sew'
'Call of the Nile'
'Seeing Red'
'Hanging by a Thread'
'Dragonfly Bag'
'Angel of Hope'
'Kissing'
Make your own treasure out of recycled trash
In conjunction with Trash and Treasure,
local emerging artist Claire Chatfield
will conduct some arts workshops.
Beads, Bags and Recycling will take place
from 10am till 2pm on Thursday 24th of March.
Materials provided, entry by donation,
byo food to share.
Collage and Drawing will be held
from 10am till 2pm on Saturday the 26th of March.
Bring scissors, glue, paper and food to share.
Materials provided and entry by donation.
Then come for a night of music and art
at the Serpentine on Saturday
the 26th of March from 7pm onwards.
Bring instruments for an acoustic jam.
Fire provided, BYO drinks and a plate to share.
Ray Parry takes the opportunity to learn new approaches to art during
one of Claire Chatfield's Trash and Treasure workshops. 'Flag' - mixed media by Claire.
Leaving her hometown of Melbourne in 2001,
Claire Chatfield found Dynamic Drawing and her voice.
She has been attending classes and workshops ever since.
Her experience working as an Art Centre volunteer in outback, Indigenous communities
has profoundly affected her both personally and creatively.
Claire Chatfield was selected to exhibit at The National Gallery of Victoria’s
Community Access Gallery twice in 1995, and
received the McCushla Doyle People’s Choice Prize at the veryAbility exhibition in 2009.
A regular exhibitor at the Serpentine, Claire is currently studying Music and Art
at Southern Cross University in Lismore.
Transforming Trash into Treasure: The Way Forward
Claire Chatfield first started picking up rubbish two years ago on her morning walks
after discovering an internet campaign that suggested a number of small actions we could take,
that if acted on collectively could make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of the planet.
She chose to pick up five pieces of rubbish a day.
It didn’t seem like much, but over time it did make a difference
both to her psyche, and to the streets near her home.
The streets got cleaned; people started to help,
and gradually what she collected found its way into her art.
Drawn to anything colourful that glittered:
lolly wrappers, broken glass, bottle tops,
buttons, feathers, crushed cans
and old bits of fabric with the imprint of the road on them;
Claire found all these pieces of rubbish were beautiful to her.
Increasingly the medium was becoming the message:
with a little bit of love, one person’s trash
could become someone else’s treasure.
Claire also lovingly restores old op shop frames,
keeping her costs
and the environmental impact low
and enabling her to make her artworks
accessible to more people.
'Seahorse bag'
Recycled and found materials
Claire can be found selling original art, handmade bags and prints
made from recycled and found objects, while creating and sewing more bags
and chatting, at the Lismore Conservatorium’s Artisans’ Market,
held from 11am to 3pm on the 1st Saturday of each month.
- March 2011
Claire Chatfield investigates the Artscafe
before sharing skills and demonstrating her artistic talents at
the Serpentine Community Gallery's Creative Exchange @ Lismore Show in October 2010.
'Determined'
- Mixed Media
NFS
'Change'
- Mixed Media
Price: $450
above and below from Growth
March 2010
'Voices from the Mountain'
- mixed media
'What the Stork Brings'
- Mixed media
Was awarded the People's Choice Prize at
the verAbility exhibition
Nov/Dec 2009
'Love's Grand Opera'
'New Ride'
'The Key'
February 2009
SERPENTINE COMMUNITY GALLERY
17 Bridge St, North Lismore, NSW, 2480.
Contact (02) 6621 6845 or serpentineartsgallery@gmail.com