Born in Somerset in 1968, mixed media artist Clare Schmidt Norris currently lives and works in Devon. She received a BA Fine Art Honours from De Montfort University, Leicester and completed a PGCE Art and Design at UWIC in Wales.
In the year 2000, after two years of teaching, Clare was awarded an Art Fellowship at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and participated in an International Exchange Programme followed by a solo show at the University of Wales Insitute, Cardiff. This aroused the first gallery interest in Clare’s work and she began to exhibit with the Washington Gallery in Penarth. Two years later she left the classroom to raise her family and spend time on her own work which she now sells and exhibits in the Southwest including most recently the Affordable Art Fair in Bristol.
With a love of colour and pattern and inspired by both the natural and the manmade world, Clare explores different ways of combining materials and creating multi-layered surfaces. Often working on Perspex, she uses a combination of digital technology and image transfer with more traditional techniques of painting and collage to bring new and exciting dimensions to her finished images.
She continues to work as an art educator, teaching in schools, running workshops for both adults and children and being involved in community art events.
Mixed /Selected Exhibitions
2013 'Arboreal' Store Street Gallery, London
2012 Affordable Art Fair Bristol with Harlequin Gallery
2012 Quartz Arts Festival, Queen’s College, Taunton
2011 ‘A Feast of Colour’ Harlequin Gallery with Kathy Ramsay-Carr
2011 Delamore Arts, Cornwood, Devon
2011 Summer Open Red Earth Gallery, Devon
2010 Quartz Visual Arts Festival, Queen’s College,Taunton
2010 Summer Open Red Earth Gallery, Devon
2003 Christmas Open Washington Gallery, Penarth
2002 ‘Five Women’, Washington Gallery, Penarth
2001 ‘Interconnections’, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
2000 ‘Somewhere’ Solo Show, University Wales Institute, Cardiff
Work Experience
2010- 2012 Part time Art teacher at King’s College and Queen’s College in Taunton
2011 Delivered workshop at King’s Hall Prep School, Taunton
2011 Delivered workshop at Kingsbridge Community College, Devon
2011 Delivered workshop for Taunton Arts Group
1998 - 2003 Art Teacher, Whitchurch High School, Cardiff
Share this
Dear Clare,
The style and vibrancy of your work has inspired me to study your work (particularly your ‘France’ work) for my Art A Level. I love your exciting range of techniques and how incredibly experimental you are! I am a sixth form student at the Maynard school in Exeter and would love to come and see you and your work if at all possible. As part of the course, we have to write an essay on our chosen artist and I would really appreciate it if I could come and speak to you about your work, inspirations and techniques?
Thank you for inspiring me to continue into the next stage of my studies, your work is fascinating!
Kind regards,
Jenny McGarvey
Hi there. I have been introduced to your work by Fran Taylor. It s very eautiful. You say it an be seen in galleries. Could you tell me where within reach of Exeter.
Kind regards
Di Wilkins