Some musings on various aspects of my work:

Decoration

Adornment is central to my working process, essentially giving an unwanted object a second skin. Covering abandoned tools and utensils amongst other things, with broken crockery, glass and jewellery has led to the work being compared to Faberge eggs. The mundane becomes beautiful, the functional becomes ornament, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

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India

A residency in India saw the addition of decorative plastic bangles to my ever-growing catalogue of materials. This was inspired by all time guru; Nek Chand whilst creating a sculpture for his park. He too uses broken shards but from the rubble of destroyed villages. Time spent with artisans in Gujarat further added to my love of decoration and embellishment.

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Crockery

I love the retro patterns of the late 1950’s to early 1970’s. Kathie winkle and j&G Meakin are two of my favourites. They have a great feel for colour pattern and design. Plus they are really easy to cut and once broken make wonderful eyes and other details. The use of cup handles and teapot spouts stems from a love of tea and the whole ceremony of tea drinking. My studio contains draws of colour co-ordinated handles, spouts and makers marks.

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Shattered glass

People who have seen my work can no longer walk past a broken bus shelter or car windscreen without stopping to look at the little diamonds of glass, wondering whether they should pick it up. It makes me smile inside to think that they too can see the beauty in that destruction. We see many of the same things day in day out, but we don’t really look at them. I’m just trying to encourage people to look at the world in a slightly different way.

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Outsider Art

Although I studied Fine Art I often feel more akin with Outsider artists such as Nek Chand than those working within the conventional art world. It is here I find my inspiration. That passion to create and desire to make a place more beautiful. I love pattern and decoration, particularly that of kutchi Artisans in India and the sacrificial daggers of the Aztecs. I am fascinated by the weird and wonderful collections which people hold.

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Commissions/Residencies/Exhibitions include:

• Channel 4 Kirstie’s Homemade Home
• European Commission London - Solo show
• Writtle College Chelmsford - Sci Art Residency
• The Gardens of Easton Lodge Great Dunmow - Artist in Residence
• Residency at Arts Reverie, Gujarat, India
• Crittall Windows (Braintree Museum’s Crittall Collection)
• Broomfield, Essex County, Harwich and Colchester Hospitals
• Barratt Homes (Shortlisted for Hort Week Award)
• International Symposium; Thuringen, Germany
• BBC2 Escape to the Country and Fantasy Rooms
• Sculptures hired for Google’s Zeitgeist Conference
• London Garden Show, (For Paradeisos garden design), Gold medal winners and Best in Show
• Braintree Museum memorial commission
• Holly Trees Primary School, Brentwood , Artist in Architecture consultant
• Recycled Sculpture Show at London Zoo
• Go and See Travel Award, Princes Trust
• Over 200 Schools and community groups across the South East
• Work in private collections around the world