An exploration in clay.
Born in Banbridge, 1969, I was fortunate to be brought up amongst creative people who were always making or mending. I have also had the benefit of many good teachers throughout my education and working life.
I fell in love with clay during my time at Banbridge Academy, while I studied art. I love the qualities of clay, the way there is no resistance with it, that there is no need for tools to work it. I have direct expression from hand to clay. A piece of clay shows no hint of what it will become.
I simply love the process of throwing; the quiet, steady force required to create a beautiful form out of no form, the way the lines in each pot tell the story of the making. I love the way my two hands work together, first one then the other dominating, positive and negative, form and space.
Although there is great satisfaction to be had in the making of quality domestic pottery such as Ballydougan pottery, I have been compelled to give my work more life and freedom, to let it loose in the outdoors, to see where it goes.
I love to visit gardens, especially those of a formal nature such as can be found at Mount Stewart and Castle Ward, where you might be caught unawares by a hidden statue, fountain or treasure of some kind, and this notion still delights in our smaller, more modern gardens and parks today. The stony permanence of a ceramic object complements the softness, the changing colours and textures, like a guardian, perhaps serving as bird bath or home to a colony of moss or ferns. I use stoneware clay, with and without glazes. The high firing temperature means that the work is happy to remain outside all year round.
I work in a studio space at home, shared with my husband who is a woodturner and furniture maker.