Surface quality, pattern with hidden detail, combined with multi viewing points has always been of interest to me. In my early work I used maps and aerial photography as the starting point for decoration, using coloured clay, oxides and engobes to build layers and blocks of pattern. Glaze was used sparingly to highlight selected areas and interiors.
My recent pieces have evolved from the use of layers and colour and I am still very much interested in hidden detail and surface quality. I like the suggestion of what might have once been and archaeological finds and remains, with their contrast in materials and surfaces, have led to where I am at today. The use of glaze has become more important and their action upon the various clays, stains, oxides and slips are crucial to the final result.
Each piece is formed from slabs which are built using layers of different clays, some printed with plaster blocks, some coloured with oxide or stain and others plain. Pieces of decorated clay are placed face down and joined together, this slab is then used to construct the desired form. More colour is either added when the piece is turned over, after it is fully constructed or after the biscuit firing. A number of glazes are used on each panel or vessel to achieve the variety of colour response and some are fired 3 or 4 times to achieve the desired finish; they are designed and made with both interior and exterior use in mind.
The pieces are meant to be touched, their tactile quality and surface contrasts are an integral part of the final intention.
A member of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain