Stratford artist Claire Henley’s characterful designs of RSC buildings now adorn a variety of products in the RSC shop
SHAKESPEARE fan and Stratford artist Claire Henley has taken the spotlight recently – not on the stage but in the RSC shop.
A collaboration with the theatre company has seen an array of products adorned with Claire’s characterful illustration of RSC buildings for sale in the shop and online.
Speaking about how the collaboration came about, Claire said: “I already had greeting cards with the Dirty Duck and Stratford houses on, and so rather shamefully I dropped them into the RSC before Christmas, and asked if they had thought about stocking them in the shop. They said yes, and they sold well, so they decided it would be really nice just to have an RSC version – with its landmark buildings. That was in November. It took a while to do the prototypes.”
As well as cards, there are tea towels, drink bottles, print, notebooks, keyrings and mugs and other items all adorned with Claire’s distinctive work.
“We wanted to be able to put all the images on multiple products so I painted everything individually, including all the little people, on a white background.
“They digitally manipulated everything and so you can have different formats, like the poster and the book. It’s much easier than doing 20 bits of artwork for each product, so they mix and match, hopefully they’ll be able to keep doing lots of things for a while!”
A closer inspection of the artwork reveals teeny townspeople and even the playwright himself hanging around the beautifully-depicted edifices.
Claire continues: “We’ve got the little Shakespeare, but they also wanted a proper one, with tights on, and we’ve also got Bottom and Titania – oh and a Hamlet.”
As well as being a talented artist, and charming to chat to, Claire is luckily also a fan of the RSC.
She had a hugely successful career working as an illustrator for publishers and ad agencies in London, before moving to Stratford 30 years ago. She is also mum to two grown-up daughters.
However her association with the RSC started in her teenage years.
“I love the theatre, and I’ve been coming here since the 1970s,” she says. “I remember being thrown out of the Dirty Duck on a school trip when I was 17. We ended up in the Wimpy Bar instead. We were doing English A Level and had come by coach to see Othello, with Donald Sinden.
“I also came to see Henry IV when I was around 14, that was my first visit. I never imagined I would live here, but here we are – such is the quirk of fate.”
One of her favourite all time productions though was Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Alan Rickman at The Other Place in 1985. “It was one of the best things I have ever seen in my entire life,” says Claire.
Seeing her own work showcased at the legendary theatre is an “honour”.
“It was very exciting, because they put out everything onto the shop shelf on Shakespeare’s Birthday, popping in and seeing it all was a bit of a moment. I wish my mum and dad could have been there,” adds Claire thoughtfully.
One of her favourite buildings is the old scene dock on Waterside opposite the theatre, which now houses the Costume Workshop.
“It is one of my favourites in the whole of Stratford because I love imagining all of the scenery going backwards and forwards – you can sort of see Laurel and Hardy at work, and all the near misses there must have been over the years.
“I also really love the contrast between the old building and the new building.”
Interestingly Claire has two unique styles: her more painterly work, including landscapes and outdoor scenes; and her illustrations.
“It’s weird, people think I’m more than one person. I think it goes back to the fact that I was an illustrator before I was a fine artist. When you’re an illustrator, you do as you’re told. If a client wanted something in the style of Beatrix Potter, then you do it. You become very adaptable and very quick at working. But I paint in my own style – and if people like it and want to buy a work, then that’s a relief.”
The summer is a busy time for Claire. She’s just off to Scilly and then Cornwall to exhibit her work. Then there is Warwickshire Open Studios, running from 22nd June to 7th July, when Claire will be exhibiting at 142 Loxley Road alongside Joanne Makin and Ann Donnelly.
Find out more at www.warwickshireopenstudios.org
