Visiting Artist Claire Brewster in London

On a trip to visit my daughter in London this month, I was reading proofs of Mountain Living’s Nov/Dec issue on my computer—it’s amazing how technology allows us to work remotely when necessary. I was reading the Gallery department about Claire Brewster—an artist known for exquisitely delicate paper sculptures of flora and fauna, cut from vintage maps—and about her show at the Diehl Gallery in Jackson, Wyoming, when I noticed her studio was located in London.

I sent her an email on the chance she was available to meet for coffee the next day, my last day in town. She wrote back and suggested meeting at Notes coffee shop in the West End. Here are my notes from our chat about how her art found its way to a gallery in Jackson, Wyoming. 

How did Mariam Diehl at Diehl Gallery in Jackson discover you?

She was on a trip to London and happened to see an installation of my work at the Ampersand Hotel.

The Blues by Claire Brewster

So you just finished a show in Jackson and you’re still showing your work there. Where else have your installations “landed”?

The Audubon Society hired me to create a Red Knot—a bird with one of the longest yearly migrations, nearly 19,000 miles to and from its Arctic breeding area to its South American wintering grounds in Tierra del Fuego. And my work has been installed in several yachts as well as additional private collections.  (You can see the Red Knot here.) 

Going to America by Claire Brewster

Can you describe your process? 

For me there is a "thinking" time and then a "making" time. I do the drawings five or six at a time, and create a batch; it’s nice to work on several pieces at a time so I can see how they fit together.

What else can you tell our readers about your work?

My first love of a material is paper—it works well for my art with sort of a “living” quality about it.