artist interview - clare sams

If you find yourself on Clare Sams' website looking for traditional knitting and embroidery, you'll wind up sorely disappointed. The Colchester lady's yarn work is less 'nanna's craft group' and more 'subversive woollen statement art', depicting buildings on fire, fuzzy pigeons pecking at sidewalk fries and imagery of people on the fringe of society. From detention camps to rats and London riots, Clare has a lot to say through her clickety-clacking, and we dropped her a line to find out all about it.



What is your name and how old are you? Clare Sams, 41.

Where were you born and where do you live now? UK, Essex.

How does where you live affect your art? When I lived in London my work was very London-centric, but now that I live about 50 miles from the capital, my inspiration is much more broad. I try to reflect the world as I see it, finding the beauty in the fringes and things that are regarded as abhorrent or without worth.



Please describe the space where you do most of your creation – whether it's your art studio or kitchen bench! I have a garden studio where I live and do my machine knitting there, but hand knitting is often done on the move or on the couch at home. The studio was a birthday gift from my husband, who is a talented artist and arts fabricator, and it is a made from curved wood and polycarbonate sheet.

What kind of mediums do you use? Why do you choose to use these mediums? As a vegan I never use animal fibres in my artwork, so this means that I usually work in acrylic, but sometimes vegetable fibres such as cotton, linen, or bamboo too.

Are there any downsides to this medium? Knitting and crochet are my favourite ways of working with yarn. I find having a grid format helps to steer my creativity, so will often plot out work directly onto graph paper without sketching it first. When working in 3D, I tend to let the needles guide me, a bit like a sculptor with stone. The object is in my mind's eye; I don't make a pattern, and just knit and shape as I go.



What makes your work unique and truly your own? I try to combine humour, drama, and textiles skills in my work. It's often perceived as humorous because of being knitted, but there is usually a serious, darker side to my work. I tend to be inspired by real life events, whether ones I have experienced myself or heard about.

What kinds of ideas and things are you working on at the moment? I am just coming to the end of a residency at a gallery near my home, where I created an installation based on the true story of a flooded knitting shop. It is a 3mx2m relief machine knitted work of the shop, based on images of the premises. This is surrounded by a strung blue yarn framework representing the flood waters, and a pile of detritus and tangled yarn representing the chaos caused by the water.

Do you think people need to understand the artist's intention to appreciate the art? I enjoy making work that has a clear narrative. Telling stories through yarn that can be enjoyed by everyone is a way to make arts accessible to the public.

Which era of art do you appreciate the most? I like the present the best!

What do you enjoy doing when not creating art? When I'm not making art I work as a technician on an art foundation in London. I am also studying for a Masters degree in arts education and have three school age children and a fantastic husband.

Where can we see more of your work? claresams.co.uk