Two years flew by and I realised that I wanted to make a career out of my new passion. I set up my own studio at home in late 2019 and started teaching a group of six adults once a week in January 2020 with a view to building up the number of weekly classes once I completed the course. COVID did its best to curtail my plans but did not succeed and now I teach several groups of adults each week. For me, teaching has been a very positive part of my journey. Not only could it justify me kitting my studio out to a higher standard than I might otherwise have been able to do, but I also really enjoy the social contact (creating on my own in my studio can be very lonely at times), the problem solving which goes with helping students realise their ideas and sharing the ups and downs of their own creative journeys. Nobody ever pretended ceramics is an easy hobby, but for me, that challenge is half of the fun of it.

It became clear to me over the course of my studies that I am drawn to bold colours (blues and greens in particular) and geometry – Maths was my favourite subject at school. Looking back at the myriad of photos I have taken over the years (annoyingly not filed due to my ADHD) confirmed this recognition.

My work often combines my mathematical and technological backgrounds via precise geometric forms with playful constructions in bold colours. Nature plays a part in my inspiration from textures of bark, shapes of ferns, patterns on leaves, and colours of flowers.

With the help of a wonderful tutor and those around me in the class and a lot of trial and error, my imagined love of clay was finally realised.

I created an artist’s book from porcelain and spent far too much time trying to perfect printing onto clay as well as the art of Kintsugi!

Having painted as a hobby for many years, I realised that actually I prefer to work in 3D. And the unpredictability in what comes out of a kiln after a firing freed me up from trying to create perfection. The lack of control enforced by the firing process whilst stressful at times is also a great way to avoid being too precious about what you create. It’s amazing how what at first seems like a disappointment can turn out to be a happy accident and lead the creative process down unexpected routes.

I then spent 2 further years specialising in Ceramics, graduating with an HND in Product Design with Ceramics (distinction) at Morley College in July 2020. The course covered a huge variety of areas related to ceramics and 3D design.

My current work covers a wide range of sculptural and functional configurations based on the rhombic triacontahedron. My portfolio includes various works from small utilitarian pieces, conglomerations representing the structural composition of chemical elements, offset towers and tall works comprising geometric shapes decreasing in size as the tower increases in height. Many of my pieces are intended to be displayed indoors or outdoors to provide decorative focal points, using bold colours and sizes to create stunning visual effects. 

Loving plaster, I make all of my own moulds and am particularly drawn to slip casting and press moulding.

I also really enjoy coiling as a technique as it allows me to develop my ideas organically, letting the clay guide me as I respond to it rather than having a strict plan to follow before I start.