Episode 102: Clara Driscoll
On December 16, 1861, in Tallmadge, Ohio, a rural area of Summit County - known today as the Akron Area of Ohio - Elizur V. Wolcott and Fannie Pierce would give birth to Clara Pierce Wolcott. After high school, she would go to the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, known today as the Cleveland Institute of Art - in Ohio. There she would study drawing and design. At the age of 27 - in 1888 Clara moved to NYC to study at the Metropolitan Art School. There she got a job at the Tiffany Glass Company - which was run by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany’s designs were inspired by nature, featuring intricate floral motifs and vibrant colors that were characteristic of the Art Nouveau aesthetic. The Dragonfly lamp was so popular that it won at the 1900 World’s Fair Exhibition in Paris. Clara's work at Tiffany Studios was not only artistically significant but also technologically innovative. She experimented with new glassmaking techniques, including the use of opalescent glass, which gave Tiffany's stained glass a unique and luminous quality. Clara's designs also incorporated innovative methods for creating texture and depth in the glass, such as layering different colors and textures to achieve a three-dimensional effect. In 1909, Clara would get married for a third time- which meant that she was done working at Tiffany’s at the age of 48. Clara would marry Edward Booth, a British importer, and exporter- SHE WOULD ACTUALLY RETIRE in Florida. In 1944 just shy of her 83rd birthday, Clara would pass away. Her body would be moved back to her hometown where she is buried with relatives in Ohio.
Caryatid: Anna Lindgren and Sofia Lagerquist
Anna and Sofia are the founders of Front Design, a design studio based out of Sweden. I have to say that they are a studio because their work is more than just light and furniture, it’s art! From the website, they described their work to be inspired by their “fascination with magic.” The two of them work together from start to finish, collaborating from initial ideas to the finished product. The work from Front Design, reminds us of Clara because you can see how they draw inspiration from nature. What Anna and Sofia are doing is making it modern and whimsy. They have lights in retailers all over, including Ikea.
References
Art, Cleveland Museum Of. “The Women of Tiffany Studios: Clara Wolcott Driscoll Made Visible.” Medium, 13 Dec. 2021, medium.com/cma-thinker/the-women-of-tiffany-studios-clara-wolcott-driscoll-made-visible-5d67ecbb4341
Louie, Elaine. “Overlooked No More: Clara Driscoll, Designer of Visions in Glass for Tiffany: She oversaw the Tiffany girls, a group of glass cutters and artisans who created elaborate, colorful lamps that are still in demand.” The New York Times, The New York times, 25 Feb. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/obituaries/clara-driscoll-overlooked.html
Post Page. www.ohiomysteries.com/ohio%20mysteries/1888-clara-wolcott-driscoll-and-tiffany-s-secret.
Urist, Jacoba. “These Women Were the Real Geniuses Behind the Iconic Tiffany Lamps.” Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024, www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/women-real-geniuses-behind-iconic-tiffany-lamps-180983699/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=2192024&utm_content=new.
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