An Honest Heart and the Sharing of Feeling
Becoming an artist is a combination of technical learning, theory, life experience, an eye for detail and discipline. Making is about a journey of discovery.
Born in Cheshire and trained at Farnham, I now live in Oxfordshire in an area once highly populated by our Neolithic ancestors. I wander widely, through the rolling Wolds and amongst the beech hangars; across ancient grassland and through valleys traversed by streams and small rivers. Emotion, physicality, sensuality and freedom all lie at the core of my making.
Initially inspired by high Victorian art, my sensibilities altered drastically, over time becoming more inclined towards a distillation of colour and form: the claustrophobic, ultra-conservative intensity of 19th Century detail swapped for unrestrained creativity and raw simplicity.
Truth is paramount. For me my work must express both light and dark, there cannot be one without the other. Not for me a single expression of my internal life, made manifest in my making.
Porcelain
Porcelain is soft, velvety, sensual and has a mind of its own. To work with porcelain is to be in constant conversation with the material, as it must by its very nature insist on being a companion in the process. It twists and moves in the hands, and shrinks and contorts in the firing. Porcelain is a living material, lending itself to simple forms, enhanced further by the soft ombré of ever-changing light and shadow.
Stoneware
Grogged stoneware is dense and gritty and can withstand extreme heat. It is a tough, durable material. Unlike porcelain, light cannot pass through it, so it lends itself to the beautiful qualities gifted by the application of ‘terra sigilatta’: smooth, milky slip, layered in copious, thin films, creating imperceptible changes in colour and mood. With the addition of smoke, rich patinas are achieved with an ethereal, Rothko-esque quality.
Yin and Yang, Light and Shade, Permanence and Impermanence
Porcelain reflects light, earthy stoneware absorbs it. In the former, light creates shadows and subtleties, that shift throughout the day. With stoneware, the shadow effects are permanent, unmoving, the depth of colour eternally married with the piece. My work in all its facets therefore expresses the lightness of being – the immateriality of soul – and the earth: body, matter, weight.
Celebrating Duality
My process is one that celebrates human complexity and the joy of living. The potential in us all for light and dark, and the need for the two to be in equilibrium for a healthy existence. In the sharing of my making experience, I invite viewers to bring their own experiences to the conversation they have with my work.
