I have been making ceramics since 2000, following a studio ceramics course at the Royal Forest of Dean College in Gloucestershire. My work has been shown in exhibitions and galleries, including New Ashgate, The Orangery, Holland Park, RAC Club, Pall Mall, City Hall, London, Yew Tree, Morvah, Cornwall and Paddon & Paddon, Eastbourne. I now make work to commission and sell directly; each piece is unique, reflecting a specific memory of a seascape or landscape.
My work is inspired by the natural landscape and in particular the sea and coastline. I love exploring ways that the clay can take on the physical and decorative aspects of the natural environment. In this way they become like 3 dimensional paintings or sculptural pieces in their own right, decorated with my own recipes of coloured slips and engobes. A sense of movement is very important and each piece is first thrown on a wheel and then altered whilst retaining the finger ripples made through the process of throwing.
I originally trained as a dancer with a combined honours degree in Dance and Art at Roehampton University in London. However, injury thwarted my intentions for a career in dance and wanting to stay in theatre, I retrained in lighting design. This led me to lots of different projects ranging from dance and theatre work (I was awarded an Arts Council Bursary for Lighting Design for dance) to architectural design with exhibitions such as the Channel 4 ‘1940’s House’ at the Imperial War Museum, and other museum / visitor centres. I was teaching lighting design at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, when I discovered ceramics at evening class.
I currently create work from my studio in West Molesey, Surrey next to the River Thames and balance making pieces to commission alongside my work as an Arts Producer.
