GRAYSON PERRYPerry makes ceramic pots, prints, hand-stitched quilts, and outrageous dress designs. He is best known for his pots. He says, ‘I like my ceramics because they’re wobbly and hand-made and not mass-produced.’

Perry’s urns are made with a complex process: their surfaces richly textured from designs marked into the clay, followed by intricately complicated glazing and photo-transfer techniques. Perry also makes ceramic plates, prints, hand-stitched quilts, and outrageous dress designs

When he’s working he is Grayson, but when he is at a party or appearing in public he is Claire

Claire is the alter ego of Basildon-born Perry - who is 43, six foot tall, and married with a daughter - and makes regular appearances at art scene parties. He says, “Claire is not a real person; it's me in a frock. All she does is swan about, look at herself in the mirror and primp, and go to parties, smile and have a nice time. She does not DO anything - she doesn't even make a bit of toast. Claire doesn't make any pots.“You can’t put on a dress and swan about in public and complain when you get attention. It doesn’t bother me. It’s a handy tool when I need it. I might be ‘the tranny potter’ but at least it’s a brand.”

He wore a frock to Buckingham Palace and met the Queen: "I don't think she could believe her eyes when she saw me. The Queen's eyes almost popped out of her head. Never before had she come face-to-face at Buckingham Palace with a drag queen.”

Grayson Perry often uses found images to create a mood or a tension as here in Barbaric Splendour 2003

Print for a Politician 2005 Engraving