Carol Clamer, 59, a ceramics artist formerly of Philadelphia, died of lung cancer last Thursday at her home in Dixon, N.M.

Ms. Clamer grew up in Collegeville, where her father owned a hardware store, and graduated from Collegeville-Trappe High School. She attended the Philadelphia College of Art, now the University of the Arts.

    After graduating in 1970, she pursued her art and established a successful plastering and painting business, said Sarah McEneany, a carpenter and an artist. The women became friends while working together on rehab projects.

     Ms. Clamer lived on South Street and later in Northern Liberties and in Fishtown, where she transformed her scruffy urban backyards into flower-filled gardens, McEneany said.

     She exhibited her pottery at the Muse Gallery, the Painted Bride, and the Highwire Gallery on Frankford Avenue.

     In 1995, Ms. Clamer moved to Dixon and built a studio with a wood-fired kiln. There, she expanded her art beyond functional pottery to include ceramic installations arranged in outdoor gardens. She was active with the artists community in Dixon and with the Order of the Eastern Star.

     She kept up her Philadelphia connections, McEneany said, and exhibited at a show at the Highwire Gallery in 2005.

     Ms. Clamer is survived by a sister, Nancy Angelucci, and two nephews.

     Funeral services were private.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, February 7, 2008