About
I grew up in rural Hertfordshire, where I was surrounded by miles of countryside and spent many hours amongst the fields and hedgerows. Making dens, climbing trees and immersing myself in nature’s playground. It was the 90s when kids went out to play and screens got as good as a GameBoy shared between 5 friends with very limited battery life!
A lot of my work is inspired by the connection I feel to those times. Running my hands through the dried grasses and seeds along the roadside banks; feeling the scratches of brambles on my bare legs; the shapes and forms of the plants that surrounded me; the abundance of textures and colours. In my memory, the sun was always shining and those days had a warm, golden glow.
I hope my work reflects that sense of uplifting freedom found as a child in an uncomplicated world. Simple pleasures found in the wild of the countryside that provided so much fun and adventure. For me, nature is now beautiful through my adult eyes but my memories have a deeper sense of the fun and playful environment that I was so privileged to grow up in.
Hello Glass
I’ve always felt creative and drawn to that side of myself, but when I first encountered glass I was instantly in love! The ability to manipulate this seemingly solid and permanent material felt like magic. Transforming it from sharp and dangerous to smooth and rounded. Focus can sometimes be a challenge for me, but glass has always managed to hold my attention. It allows me to work quickly and intuitively without a need for too much planning and measuring.
I love to create imperfect shapes and forms that capture the essence of the flow and molten state the glass goes through during it’s firing. The eventual outcome and look of a piece is determined by the extreme heat of the kiln. That release of control is an important part of how I work. I have a trust between my intention, physical process and ultimate outcome.
Move to Cornwall
In 2017, I moved 5 hours away with my family to Cornwall. I am now lucky enough to work from my garden studio, surrounded by trees and plants and the many visiting feathered friends. My gallery and teaching workshop still runs in Hertfordshire with some very talented and hardworking staff (well, actually my fabulous friends and family!) who have made it possible to live and work so far away.
Painting
More recently I’ve been working in other mediums to accompany and compliment my glasswork.
I’ve been really enjoying painting with watercolour and acrylic inks and have been working on a series of paintings that reflect my love of the countryside and all the vibrancy and colour that it offers. Combining these with my fused glass is an exciting direction for me to take my ideas and I’m enjoying finding out where it is going! I enjoy an endless amount of energy and enthusiasm for my work which means I always have something new to explore and develop.
Gratitude
Finding a job that feels authentically aligned to who I am gives me enormous amounts of happiness and peace that I enjoy every day. None of it would be possible without the incredible support that I have had from so many people. From the first friends and family who encouraged and bought my now embarrassingly dodgy creations (and experiments – thanks guys!) to all the social media followers with words of encouragement and constructive feedback. I am also enormously grateful to the amazing galleries across the UK who stock my work. They have shown me confidence in what I can do and have given me the self-belief to push myself forward and live a creative life.
To all the people that have spent their hard-earned money on my pictures, that now hang in their homes, I feel both thankful and privileged to have a presence in a little part of their lives.
In many ways I feel like being able to immerse myself in creativity every day is a guilty pleasure. But the more I get to know myself, the more I feel confident that it is not a hedonistic indulgence but an absolute necessity. For me, this is the only way to live. Art and creativity have allowed me to carve out space where I can take a deep breath and just be me.
