Statement

After leaving school, I attended Worcester College of Education and trained to be a teacher of Art and Design. I have spent most of my adult life teaching this subject in secondary schools in the Dorset area. A few years ago I took early retirement and this has enabled me to pursue my love for pottery. I now have the opportunity to create work of my own on a more productive scale than before.

I have produced a genre of pottery, which I call my Jurassic Range. I have lived all my life in Devon and Dorset and, consequently, my affiliation with this coastline has been the constant influence on my work. Most of my work is made from stoneware clay, which is high fired and often multi-glazed. I enjoy collecting examples of marine life, such as fossils, shells, crustaceans and seaweed and many other found items from the shoreline are used for impressions in the soft clay. I then sculpt these natural forms, including fish, and add them for surface decoration to produce an encrusted and three-dimensional appearance. Finally, under-glazes and oxides are applied before biscuit firing and then the objects are glazed, with crushed glass used for heightened effect.

Within this range, I produce jugs, faux jugs, platters, bowls, dishes and wall-plaques - each item of which is individually crafted and therefore no two pieces are identical. My work is always to be found at the Blue Lias Gallery in Lyme Regis and the Coastal Creative Gallery in Southbourne, (Bournemouth).