About
Having grown up amongst the arable landscapes of North Nottinghamshire, England, I have always been fascinated by colour and line and the way these alter the perception of form and space.
After studying a BA in illustration in 1993-96 at the University of Wolverhampton, I became a teacher of art at a comprehensive school in Melton Mowbray. Six years later, in 2003, I undertook an MA in ceramics in Cardiff, Wales, where the notion of colour and space formed the foundation for my practice. I found that colour can alter the way a shape is perceived, making it appear shallower, deeper, narrower or wider; the application of finer lines giving the appearance of vibration and movement.
I continued my studies into the theory, science and psychology of colour by undertaking a PhD, which I completed in 2010. During this time I deepened my understanding of colour and how it affects the world around us, how we perceive space, how we feel, what we buy, and how it guides our physical movements. I also found illusions specifically related to and perceptible on the bowl form. One of these I called the Tilt Effect, an illusion which occurs at the juncture of 2 wide bands of colour on the interior surface of a conical bowl shape, where the upper band appears to tilt backwards.
My unique understanding of colour within the art and craft world has been recognised internationally, having won a Westerwald prize in 2009, having been selected for Leslie Ferrin’s Ceramic Top 40 exhibition in Kansas City in 2014, and having work in the exhibition, Seurat to Riley: The Art of Perception at the Holburne Museum in 2018. My work is held in several public collections including the Westerwald Museum, The Devonshire Collection and York Art Gallery.
My everyday interactions with colour continue to inspire and inform my practice. The seemingly limitless colour combinations I find in landscape, and the nuances of experience perceptible in nature remain the key focus to my work. My explorations into colour and form, and the possible effects, are endless.
