I live in Bristol with my husband. We have four adult children and six grandaughters. In July 2023 I retired from a 43 career in special education working as both a teacher and as an art therapist in London and Bristol.
I have also made art all my life and am mainly self-taught having dropped out of art school in the 1970's. I started ceramics in adult education classes and for the past 10 years and I have been developing my interest in tiles and tile making as well as hand-building pots and sculptural pieces.
Throughout my busy years as a working parent I always maintained an art practice and attended a wide range of adult education classes in life drawing, etching, screen printing watercolour and so on. I have also exhibited regularly with two exhibition groups, Hybrid Artists and Bristol Clay. In 2013 I moved into my first studio at Maze Studios Bristol (now closed). Between 2020-24 I was based at Clay Shed and I am now at Meriton Foundry.
For the past two years I have been working with ‘wild clay’ dug from common land and land enclosed by the crown, church and landed aristocracy. I dig surface clay which I process and use to make natural pigments, pastels, paints, clay bodies and glazes. I then make artefacts which invite us to see the world differently and tell new stories about our ‘green and pleasant land’.
This work is informed and inspired by the Right to Roam campaign and the Land Justice Network in the UK -within the context of broader debates around the social, emotional and environmental legacies of European colonialism.
August 2024
Earlier this year I was delighted to be selected to do an art installation in Wells Cathedral. The installation used clay paint made from land where tithes were gathered for the cathedral and evolved from my ‘Common Ground’ project and interest in Land Justice. It was also inspired and informed by the work of the Church of Englands Oversight Group and Summary Recommendations 2024-Healing, Repair and Justice.
The installation was a canvas trade union banner with rosewood and brass poles, designed to honour the traditions and aesthetics of working class struggle. It was placed in the west cloisters as an invitation to reflect on the tension between the church’s material wealth and its spiritual riches, in relation to the gathering of tithes and historic links between the church and African chattel enslavement . The text quotes the ‘Battle Hymn of The Republic’ an anti-slavery anthem, that links the wrath of God on judgement day with the righteous indignation of enslaved people and abolitionists.
By joining the dots between the foundational wealth of the church and it’s later investments in slavery and empire my intention was to tell a story that had never been told before .
Venue – Wells Cathedral, Wells Somerset BA5 2UE
Dates: Sat 3rd August – Sat 31st August 2024
Click on the website link below - then click on 2024 Installations . Click on the image to read more.
Bristol Clay at Centrespace - November 2023
My most recent previous exhibition was with ’Bristol Clay’- a group of women potters from Bristol who exhibit together bi-annually, as well as providing ongoing support to each others art practice. The show included functional, decorative, conceptual and sculptural work showcasing the limitless possibilities of clay. I exhibited work in progress including tiles, paintings and information about my ‘common ground’ project.
The show was very well attended with lots of positive feedback.
2023
Nov 10th -22nd Bristol Clay group ceramics Exhibition centrespace gallery Bristol.
Sept 8th -13th Colour curated exhibition , HYBRID Artists centrespace gallery Bristol
May 26th - June 11th TRESPASS -curated exhibition. Bath Fringe . Newark Works Bath
May 20th/21st ClayShed - Open Studios BS5 Arts Trail
2021 ‘Bristol Clay’ (Group Exhibition) at centrespace gallery. Bristol
2020 ‘Migration’ - curated Exhibition. Hybrid Artists @ centrespace gallery. Bristol
2019 Easton Arts Trail - venue at my house
2019 Alchemy 2019 - Maze Studios -Artists Group Exhibition at centrespace gallery. Bristol
2018 ‘with gods in mind’ -Hybrid Artists Group Exhibition at Christmas Steps Gallery. Bristol
2017 Easton Arts Trail - venue at my house
2017 ‘Alchemy 2017’ -Maze Studios -Artists Group Exhibition at centrespace gallery. Bristol
2016 ‘Story’ - curated Exhibition. Hybrid Artists @ centrespace gallery. Bristol
2015 Alchemy 2015 - Maze Studios -Artists Group Exhibition at centrespace gallery. Bristol
2014 ‘HYBRID @ BRLSI’ (Bath Royal Literary Scientific Institute) Archive Response. Bath
2013 ‘Art and Healing’ -London Art Therapy Centre and University College Hospital. London
2012 ‘Work in Progress’ - Hybrid Group Exhibition at centrespace gallery. Bristol
2010 ‘Work in Progress’ - Hybrid Group Exhibition at centrespace gallery. Bristol
2008 Mixed Media and screenprints - Better Food Cafe. St Werburghs. Bristol
2008 ‘Schiamachy’ - Art Therapists group Exhibition at Paintworks Bristol
2005 ‘SPECIAL’ - a collaborative film and performance about special education and labelling performed at Hay Literary festival , The ‘Big Chill’ Festival and The Cube Bristol
2004 ‘Living with Loss’ -Etchings and Screenprints. At ‘Our Place’ Bristol