As part of our whole school Art Week , each class studied the work of one famous artist . Our class studied the work of Calrice Cliff who was born in 1899 and died in 1972. Clarice Cliff was unique. She chose to interpret art deco in her medium -- ceramics -- with vivid colors and strong lines unlike any seen before. For a very few brief years she was encouraged to try anything -- no matter how extreme -- and try anything she did. She said in 1930 that "color seems to radiate happiness and the spirit of modern life" and somehow that is what she created with her pottery -- joy and a sense of limitless possibility.