Personal details

I was born in London in 1948 and have been making pots since I was eighteen. I moved to Brighton in 1975 and have had several studios during my thirty years in the city. I now work from a studio in Richmond Street.Last year I was selected as a Professional Member of The Craft Potters Association.[I now have a page on their website, visit it now at www.cpaceramics.co.uk. Go to the gallery page and enter my surname] Over the years I have featured in many exhibitions, and I currently sell my ceramics in several Brighton galleries, and in galleries throughout England.

Methods

I throw and hand-build in various stoneware clays, making bowls, vases and sculptural forms. However, my main output is concentrated on small-scale porcelain bowls. They are exclusively hand thrown. Because of the small size of my porcelain pieces, they are often thrown ‘off the hump’, which involves throwing up to nine or ten bowls from the top of a one kilogram cone of porcelain. After throwing and subsequent turning, I often distort the piece while it is still malleable, which increases the organic qualities of the work. I am inspired by natural form, colours and textures.

I then bisque fire the pots to 1050°C, and finally glaze them in one of a range of semi-matt glazes, which I prefer for their tactile and visual qualities. All the pots are then re-fired to temperatures between 1230°C and 1260°C, depending on the glaze used. After firing, pots are often further decorated with geometric shapes using gold and copper leaf as well as various lustres.