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 in 2012 which sowed the seeds for my ongoing interest in tiles and tile making as well as hand-building pots and sculptural pieces.
Before that, and 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 three 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.
2025 This year I am involved in three Art projects all of which build on the work I did in 2024 .
1. Fringe Arts Bath : 23 May – 7 June 2025 https://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/free At The Old Post Office BA1 1BA
‘Free-for-All’ - Re-imagining our Common Wealth . My son Theo and I co- curated an exhibition with Fringe Arts Bath. It was a mixed-media exhibition, connecting histories of resistance to land enclosure and privatisation, with open-source creators who challenge patenting and copyright law through the digital commons.
We believe a better world is possible and our intention was to build an exhibition that celebrates our deep capacity to share resources with generosity and foresight. Theo and I both exhibited new work alongside a group of fantastic artists from all over the world, who responded to our Open Call with their own varied and interesting perspectives on our ‘common wealth’.
A Virtual Gallery ran alongside the exhibition. Fly Through Video https://youtu.be/bE5fPcq7THg 360 Tour https://youtu.be/1DRilLu2VFk
We will be developing both the VR Gallery and the ‘Free-for-All’ Project over the next couple of years. Watch this space!
2. Bristol Cathedral – Racial Justice https://bristol-cathedral.co.uk/racial-justice/
Following my installation at Wells Cathedral last August I was invited to join an Arts Commissioning Group with Bristol Cathedral . The group is convened by Dean Mandy Ford and chaired by Dr. Edson Burton with a brief to commission an artwork in dialogue with the legacy of Edward Colston.
I feel proud to be part of this conversation in my home city and support the cathedrals honourable efforts to address the legacy of African chattel enslavement in the Church of England.
Artists are invited to sign up for an Ideas Lab on Friday 18 July 2025, where they will hear more about the vision for the work and the application process. This commission forms part of the Cathedral’s wider commitment to racial justice, reconciliation, and truth-telling.
The project builds on previous initiatives, including All God’s Children, a long running exhibition that explores the impact of the transatlantic slave economy on the Cathedral’s life, past and present. Based on extensive research into memorialised individuals connected to slavery, the exhibition invited public feedback on how the Cathedral should respond.
3. Bristol Clay 2025 https://www.instagram.com/bristol.clay/
In December , I will be exhibiting with Bristol Clay again. The exhibition will be a showcase of functional, conceptual, sculptural and decorative ceramics from a group of Bristol based ceramicists of all ages and all stages in their clay journeys. This will be our third exhibition and includes people who have never exhibited before showing work alongside well established artists with a national profile .
BRISTOL CLAY 2025 centrespace 6 Leonards Lane BS1 1EA
Sat 6th– Wed 17th December 2025
Preview . Friday 5th December 6.00-8.30pm -All Welcome
https://www.ceramicreview.com/events/bristol-clay-2023/ https://www.centrespace.org.uk/whats-on/bristolclay
Installation in Wells Cathedral - August 2024
Last 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 .
Previous Exhibitions
My most recent previous exhibition was with ’Bristol Clay’- a group of ceramicists 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.
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