Statement

My initial desire to work in clay was kindled in Spain. The interior had left a deep impression: an open desert- like landscape with simple horizon lines and strong earth colours from black to ochre to red. I also discovered the beauty of unglazed pottery, the surfaces enlivened by fire marks, and the strong sculptural forms of unglazed jugs, hints of Africa and early cultures. My interest in the elemental quality of ceramics led me to explore, burnished, smoke fired work, and to investigate the direct interaction between fire and earth.

There was perhaps a meeting of the ancient and the modern, the rural and the urban that led me to the making of simple forms, trying to integrate balance and tension, stillness and movement, expansion and the containment of volume, precision and spontaneity. Central to my work is the concept of the vessel, hoping to create associations with sharing, ritual and celebration, reminders of our humanity, our history and connection with nature.

I have now left smoke firing behind and my work has developed a more graphic language combining stoneware clay with porcelain. My original idea for this body of work came from looking at geological landscape and how different layers of sediment combine in rock formations.

All pieces are hand built and unglazed, some pieces are burnished and fired to 1000°C. The final surface of the stoneware pieces is achieved by single or multiple firings to 1200°C.