Claire Williamson will be leading this informal poetry evening, where she will give a brief outline of her career as a Bristol based poet and writer, plus being an organiser of Poetry Slams.

A few years back, NDA commissioned Claire to write a cyclical poem in response to the foot and mouth crisis here in North Devon; part of an Arts Trail using five artists making temporary, outdoor artworks in five different communities. Her poem was then reproduced onto postcards, inviting visitors to venture back into the countryside.
 
Claire will be reading from some of her published works. A question and answer session will round off the evening.

Claire Williamson is a freelance writer, living in Bristol with her husband, daughter and two dogs. Claire has a strong performance element to her work and her latest collection, The Soulwater Pool (The Poetry Can, 2008) reflects these theatrical ingredients.

Claire has worked extensively in education and has worked with The Poetry Slam introducing performance poetry to schools, since 1994. Claire is lead-tutor for Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes at University of Bristol and has worked extensively in the community, in areas such as addiction recovery, looked-after children, profound disabilities, cancer care and with older people.

Claire’s first collection Ride On (PoTA Press, 2005) won an Arts Council Award and toured the South West. Claire has also toured with Exposed (Apples and Snakes) and The Truth is Optional (PoTA Press). She is currently working on a new novel entitled The Scarab Bookshop. More info on Claire's website:www.clairewilliamson.co.uk

Amy Cooper is a ceramicist who is now based in North Devon and has a contrasting body of work. Many of you will have seen her brick sculpture (including the brick sofa in the grounds of Broomhill) and also her delicate porcelain lamps in the form of sea urchins. Amy discusses her work and career to date.

Amy grew up in idyllic Cornwall, spending much of her youth in the countryside and on the beach. After travelling and a series of menial jobs she attended Falmouth School of Art for their foundation course, with a view to furthering her painting skills. She quickly grew disillusioned with aspects of the fine art world and realised that painting wasn't the direction she wanted to take. Ceramics reared it's head as part of the course and Amy quickly became hooked on the infinite properties of clay and the myriad techniques that go with it.

After graduating from Falmouth, Amy went on to the University of Wolverhampton and studied for a B.A. in art and design (ceramics and sculpture) where she channelled her passion for clay into two main (and completely contrasting!) bodies of work - delicate porcelain lamps and large scale brick sculpture. Graduating with a first class honours degree in the summer of 2002, her career was kick-started by a hugely successful degree show and she has gone from strength to strength ever since showing regularly at craft design shows and major ceramics events, as well as supplying a host of galleries both at home and internationally. For more information, see her website at www.amycooperceramics.co.uk

If you have a talk or an evening you would like to present at a North Devon Arts meeting or if you would like to suggest a Speaker who you would like hear at a North Devon Arts meeting please contact chair@northdevonarts.co.uk.