Main Areas of Focus

My interests are wide-ranging, primarily in how human beings affect and are affected by the natural world of which we are part, and the related theology and psychology of connectedness.

Artist

Creating beautiful and thought-provoking art as a means of supporting care for planet and people, nurturing a sense of place, and building community

Writer

Articles and blogs on economics, environment, nature, attentiveness, applied theology, arts, and anything that interests me

Consultant

» Website development and training
» Energy efficiency and renewable energy consultancy
» Research and reporting

Latest News and Produce

What I’ve recently produced. What I’m working on. What’s in the pipeline.

Blog

Psalmathon

This St Peter's day on 29 June, Exeter Cathedral held a Psalmathon - reading all 150 Psalms in about 8 hours.

Article

The Climate Emergency and #BlackLivesMatter

I'm writing a series of articles for Exeter Cathedral's monthly News about what we can do about the Climate Emergency. White people say we want to be an ally to Black people. But are we ready for sacrifice?

Exhibition/Installation

Experimenting for "Moths to a Flame"

The amazingly creative Chloe Uden from Art and Energy has made oak gall ink, so I attempted watercolour for the first time, and a Great Oak Beauty moth.

Academia

Working title: “The application of weather forecasting techniques to health forecasting”

In a past working life I conducted a thought experiment, looking at the different aspects of numerical weather prediction and weather forecasting at the Met Office, and asking whether these techniques might have an analogue in health forecasting. At the time, I thought there might be a paper in it. It never came to be written, so this is how I am keeping the idea alive.

Performance/Event

West Barok Singers & Players

A concert of Handel "Dixit Dominus" and other baroque gems, held in the Music Room at Powderham Castle.

Talk/Workshop

Lectio Divina on Zoom

Initially a step into the unknown, group Lectio Divina over Zoom has proved to work extremely well; its very structured format holds open a space for deep encounters with both God and each other.

Recording

"...and the Greatest of these is Love"

In their second album, Antiphon presents world premiere recordings of three choral works by Michael Walsh: an unaccompanied Mass of the Holy Trinity; a full-scale Requiem Mass; and The Way of Love, a setting of five love poems by Rupert Brooke. We recorded it in July 2017 in the crossing and Lady Chapel in Exeter Cathedral.

News

"Minecraft Climate Quest" is STEAMMing ahead

I'm looking forward to piloting "Minecraft Climate Quest" at the ExIST STEAMM Show, an interactive exhibition of commercial, research and creative projects from the south west which combine arts, sciences and technology.

Random Work Generator

There are a number of threads running through all my work. Here’s a random sample from each.

Attentiveness

Clare and Rosie go for a wander

My ideas for an artist's residency in St Loyes Exeter are gathering momentum. I'm close to putting in my first grant application, and on Friday 28 July Rosie King kindly joined me on a walk around the ward. It's an area ripe for an artistic response!

Environment

What the frack?

Clare Bryden. What the frack? Third Way Magazine, October 2014.
Depending who you ask, hydraulic fracturing – fracking – is either a panacea for our energy crisis or an environmental apocalypse in waiting. Clare Bryden drills through the propaganda in search of some answers.

Making

"Particulart: Up in the Air" pop-up at TEDxExeter

Clare was honoured to be able to show Particulart at TEDxExeter 2016, in between a nice lot of Particulart-relevant talks(!) such as Danny Dorling on different ways of mapping the world, Alan Smith on how statistics are about Us, and the video of Al Gore's latest TED talk on climate change.

Place

Site-Specific Exercises

OrganicARTS, based at West Town Farm near Ide, has done a lot of work with pottery using clay from the Farm, natural materials and dyes, and it has been an ambition to encourage writers too.

Play

Knit-your-own chemistry

Particulart is the art of knitting, chemistry and gentle protest. It’s about engaging people with environmental and social issues and challenging the status quo through the power of knitting, science, and public art. You too can now knit your own chemistry using these patterns.

Public Engagement

"Particulart: Up in the Air" video in Exeter Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral is hosting an “Up in the Air” video installation for the duration of the Paris climate negotiations. I’m proud that it is part of ArtCOP21, the global climate art festival.

Science and Data

"Minecraft Climate Quest" is STEAMMing ahead

I'm looking forward to piloting "Minecraft Climate Quest" at the ExIST STEAMM Show, an interactive exhibition of commercial, research and creative projects from the south west which combine arts, sciences and technology.

Social Justice

Grieving the future

"In this environment, the task of the prophet is not initially to lead a movement toward social renewal, but to lead the people in creative, artistic, public lament." - Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination