PRACTICE

I hand build with clay and fire my forms in an electric kiln. I also cast non-ferrous metals by ceramic shell - lost wax and sand casting methods in my backyard foundry.

After many years working with clay within the self-imposed constraints of symmetry and regularity, I had begun to explore different means of sculptural expression. While researching abstraction, ambiguity in figuration and the more progressive references of sculptural studio Ceramics, I was intrigued to discover the significance of chance. The potentially valuable contribution which chance can offer to an artist’s process is sometimes overlooked. For example, porcelain clay bodies - some of which exhibit a compelling translucency when fired - often seem to possess a level of creativity of their own owing to some potential for exaggerated, quirky distortion. But by harnessing apparently wayward ways, by exercising control and then subverting control, the maker is able to introduce jolts of cognitive dissonant tension which will amplify a work’s impact.

Although my work can sometimes be defined by the operation of chance, the intensification of experience, by whatever means, is always my principal aim.