I have been playing with clay since I could move. I grew up on the mud flats on the North plain of Cumbria, selling my handbuilt hedgehogs, at the age of 4, for 2p on the garden gate. I recently bought myself a wheel and a kiln and am loving reigniting this journey.

  • This image shows a greeny blue pot with ripple marks and shapes on it and salmon leaping up and out of the pot.

    Solway Salmon pot

    On the Solway Firth where I grew up there is a particular sort of salmon fishing, called Haafnetters, it is a nordic practice still practiced when allowed (but highly regulated since Brexit) on the Solway and in the Hebrides. The Haafnet is a large fork shaped net about half the width of a goal and as high as a person’s chest. It is structured on a wooden fork and a knitted net hangs from this. The fishermen stand in the oncoming tide catching the salmon as they leap upstream. This can be dangerous owing to the sands and the power of the tide.

    So my cousin was coming back from fishing - I could see him from my mothers home and could see that his bag was heavy. I inquired as to whether there might be any fish to buy and the response was yes.

    It was an eleven pounder so I asked if I could buy it. He agreed. Consequently I had to take the fish back to my mums house, but she wouldn’t let me in to gut it, so I had to gut it in the garage, and the light didn’t work. By this time it was 10pm and dark, so effectively I gutted and boned this fish in the dark and got a real sense of the feel of the thing and how it moved. When I returned home with my fillets - all frozen, I still had a strong memory of the fish so set about making my first ever pot.

  • The image shows a terracota head, glazed in blue on a marble surface

    Man Head

    This head came as my first adult interaction with clay and the head pretty much came out of itself.

  • Ceramic. The image shows a terracota speckleglazed female form heavily pregnant on granite surface

    Great with child

    The model was over full term with her pregnancy and was bursting out. I made a huge drawing with charcoal on cardboard and this is the final result.

  • The image shows four bowls with a different drawing in each of a female wearing stockings, long gloves and a choker

    Willow bowls

    Four bowls with Draycot white clay and Botz turquoise glaze which has split to reveal a pale mustard colour

  • The image shows two cups and two pots on a white surface. the glazes are lead green and bronze with one with a sunset scene

    Two pots two cups in bronze

    The image shows two cups and two pots on a white surface. the glazes are lead green and bronze with one with a sunset scene

  • the image shows an aerial view of a cream coloured bowl with olive green coloured swirls

    Olive edy bowl

    the image shows an aerial view of a cream coloured bowl with olive green coloured swirls. Clay is draycot white and the glaze is tigers eye.