Clarice Cliff: Colour, Courage & Ceramic Revolution
If Bernard Leach was pottery’s philosopher-king, Clarice Cliff was its wild child. Her work didn’t whisper — it shouted. It zigzagged. It bloomed. It turned teapots into theatre and breakfast sets into stages for bold, unapologetic design.
Born in 1899 in Stoke-on-Trent, the beating heart of British ceramics, Cliff grew up in a working-class family. By age 13, she was painting pottery. But she wasn’t content to stay within the lines — literally or socially.
Clarice Cliff was an English ceramic artist famous for her vibrant Art Deco designs. Her bold use of color and shape made her one of the most recognisable names in 20th-century pottery.
The Look: Bizarre and Brilliant
Cliff’s breakout came in the late 1920s with her now-iconic Bizarre Ware — a range of ceramics painted in bright, geometric Art Deco designs. At a time when British pottery leaned toward delicate florals and restrained palettes, Cliff’s work exploded with colour: fiery oranges, acid yellows, checkerboards, and stylised landscapes that bordered on surreal.
Her hand-painted pieces combined traditional shapes with modernist abstraction. They were joyful, theatrical, and often slightly mad — and they were a hit.
The Personal Story
Cliff’s career was deeply shaped by her mentor (and later partner) Colley Shorter, the director of Wilkinson’s pottery factory. Shorter gave her the chance to experiment when few other women — especially working-class women — were given creative control.
She led a team of young female decorators nicknamed the “Bizarre Girls”, producing thousands of painted pieces during the Depression — work that kept many employed and lifted spirits in grim times.
In 1940, she married Shorter. After his death, she ran the factory herself until it closed in 1963.
Her Place in Ceramic History
For decades, Clarice Cliff was dismissed as kitsch. Her designs were too loud, too bright, too playful to be considered “serious” pottery.
But times change — and Cliff’s work has been rediscovered as groundbreaking. She’s now recognised as a true modernist innovator, one who brought bold design into everyday homes, challenged gender norms, and shaped 20th-century taste.
Major exhibitions have celebrated her legacy, and her original pieces are now highly collectable.
Why She Belongs in Clay Lore
Clarice Cliff didn’t just decorate pottery — she redefined it. Her work reminds us that ceramics can be joyful, radical, and deeply human. She mixed art with utility and gave everyday objects a sense of theatrical wonder.
At Mayfield Studios, we love potters who push boundaries — and Cliff, with her flair, courage, and love of colour, did just that.
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References:
Bonython, E., & Burton, A. (1980). Clarice Cliff. Academy Editions.
Victoria and Albert Museum. “Clarice Cliff Ceramics.” vam.ac.uk
The Clarice Cliff Collectors Club. claricecliff.com
