My work with the figure is grounded in the exploration of the human condition, focusing on aspects of the religions and ceremonial. With semi-autobiographical references, the figure serves as a vessel for the physical and the spiritual being.
    My figures give a hint, or a suggestion of a story or a happening. Their nakedness is essential as any form of outward social appearance would be a distraction from the essence. I work with porcelain, constructing the figure from thin slivers of clay. Gaps appear in the form, enhancing their fragility, allowing the viewer a glimpse of the dark interior. The significant focal points are the head and the hands, the latter sometimes containing prickles. I want the hands to suggest different things. These, plus the head and the feet, are the areas where I spend most of my time, modeling with dentist's tools.
    My figures are hand-built, using Potclays HF porcelain, and from a hand-size piece of this I begin with the base, hollowing it out and building a cross wall inside the base so that it does not collapse and will support the figure .The feet are add to the base ,the modeling is left until the whole figure is constructed. From the feet upwards I construct the body from my thin clay slivers which are pinched together without any slip. No structure or supports are needed on the interior, but long pieces of wood (about 30cm) are used outside the body which are almost like scaffolding to support the figure from falling over. The completed piece is put into the kiln damp, because there is less chance of the figure from falling, over. The completed piece is put into the kiln damp, because there is less chance of the figure's snapping at the ankles, the area which is the most vulnerable before it hats been fired. The ankles are the narrowest part of the figure and carry most of the weight. so when the work is put into the kiln, it must be leaned against the kiln wall-another support.

    The piece is fired to 1000℃, and then washes of stains are applied to the head, hands and feet, with clear glaze applied in tiny areas. The piece is then re-fired to 1200℃, again leaning the piece against kiln wall.
    Claire Cureen's figures are made from pearly matt porcelain ,You notice immediately the expressive hands, which are elongated and often tautly stretched. They carry a great deal of the sculpture's emotion as does the stance of the figure, which is rather oblong in shape, making us unsure whether the representation is of a man or a woman, and thus speaking for both sexes. The fact that the figures are devoid of hair, making them appear even more naked--almost newly--born--and the porcelain whiteness adds to this effect, as well as contributing a spiritual luminosity.