Welcome to my website. I’m a ceramic artist based in Edinburgh. My studio is Cyan Clayworks (co-run with partner Chris Donnelly) where we offer courses and tuition. I studied ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art (1991-1994), and took a postgraduate degree at the University of Sunderland (M.Phil 2006-2010). My practice has included exhibiting, teaching, community arts, residencies, collaborative projects, writing for publication and commissions. Themes such as nostalgia, memory, photographic ‘seeing’, and commemoration form the basis of my work. Everything I make comes from informal research based on particular experiences, especially travel and visits to museums. The non functional vessels combine traditional and contemporary processes; built by hand and painted and printed with coloured slips. I enjoy the labour intensive approach of handbuilding. Often I incorporate incised lines, lino-printed or mono-printed imagery. At the glazing stage I often include underglaze pencil or crayon, and oxides. Decals are applied (made from my drawings and photographs), also metal lustres on some. I make work in series, often exploring variations within one form; usually a very familiar and everyday vessel.
