In 2023 I was so thrilled to be successful in my application to Arts Council England for a DYCP award - Developing Your Creative Practice. An award that does what it says on the tin - giving time to develop new ideas without the pressure of an end product. I wanted to explore experimental ways of working with master makers whose work I admired and who I thought could teach me also about delivering masterclasses and attended a workshop in Sauveterre in southwest France with American artist Glen Martin Taylor and a workshop at Pottery Gagliano in Brighton with Spanish artist Alberto Bustos. I also wanted to explore digital sound with both an electroacoustic composer, Adrian Moore from Sheffield University, and Jez Riley French, ecosound/field recording artist.

My first workshop was with Glen Martin Taylor in Sauveterre. This was a steep learning curve. Set in a beautiful ancient village with views of the Pyrenees in the distance and a wonderful river for swimming, it seemed like Paradise. But like paradise, there was a serpent in the mix - or several. the course was billed as a chance to learn about Martin-Taylor's techniques for assembling found objects with pre and post-fired ceramics. In the event, there were very few tools or supplies provided and Martin-Taylor was uniquely unqualified to teach. In fact, Martin-Taylor and the host, Magdalena Groszek, had it in mind that the course was about therapy, which was not mentioned in any of the communications. It was a very difficult week, quite traumatic. However, despite the lack of tuition and equipment, and possibly fuelled by anger and frustration, I was able to produce work which I found very exciting and new for me - see photos below. The first piece, 'Post Truth Barbie' has now been accepted for the Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Show https://sculptors.org.uk/awards/summer-show which feels like some kind of
vindication of the trauma I and the other participants, some of whom had travelled halfway across the world,  went through. It was certainly a lesson in how not to run a masterclass, highlighting the need for adequate prep, organisation, tools and equipment and transparency of aims. And a test of resilience in the face of disappointment and frustration. 
I also made lifelong friendships with the other participants, expanding my contacts across the world. Out of the shared frustration came a huge sense of bonding and support, and the possibility of collaboration in the future.
Sculptures below were made with found materials - pig bones (charred for effect), disassembled shaving brushes, Barbie doll parts, found rope and string, pottery shards, vintage religious book and solder, and wire cleaning and polishing brushes. 

My second workshop was with Alberto Bustos (www.albertobustos.es/en/) at Pottery Galliano in Brighton, UK. The opposite of the previous workshop, Alberto had thought of everything and was highly organised and willing to share techniques. He introduced the large class to various of his many unconventional handbuilding techniques combined with quite complicated methods of surface colour decoration with underglazes/transparent glaze mix, with the percentage of underglaze colour far outweighing the glaze amount, the opposite of standard practice. this enables him to be able to have glaze colour over the whole piece as there is not enough glaze content to fuse to the kiln shelves. It's an interesting idea which I have not applied to my own work as yet, but may do in the future. As I work with oxides and not underglaze colours, they behave differently and I am currently exploring other methods using shells and wadding. Alberto's method also allows for once firing because of the limited glaze content. I am currently developing brush on glazes for once firing. 
Alberto's approach was a fantastic model for workshop delivery, and the participants an international mix, again leading to possible future international as well as national collaborations.   

Over the year I have been developing new work incorporating found materials. Rope, cord, wood, soldering, shards, rusty metal tools and hair have become key elements in the work. Some of the work is old work repurposed which is a new direction in my work. 

 I have also been working with Adrian Moore, Professor of Electroacoustic Music at Sheffield University,  researching the processes and parallels of creating digital recording versus creating sculpture - how do the two creative practices compare and what do they share? This has involved a lot of discussion and reading - I am not sure I fully understood the meaning of electroacoustic sounds before I started the project, so it has been a steep learning curve, with much still to learn. I am also not great with technology, so progress has been slow. Adrian is still working out the technical logistics of incorporating sound in my work. The idea is that the mechanism for producing the sound is not visible and can be managed remotely. This will be truly put to the test at Sheffield University's Festival of the Mind in September where Adrian and I will be producing several sound sculptures for exhibition at Millennium Gallery in September - festivalofthemind.sheffield.ac.uk/

Photos below show the exchange of practice with Adrian making his first pot since school! 

I also did Field Recordings with Jez Riley French jezrileyfrench.co.uk/ Jez's specialism is the 'hidden sounds'  or sounds we don't give attention to, which echoes my interest. I specifically wanted to record underground and underwater sounds. The idea is for these to be inside my sculptures, barely audible, which take the viewer by surprise.  I was astonished at the sounds we were able to record - ants going about their business, and rubbing their legs together (stridulation) and underwater creatures appearing to be munching their way through some treat. It has also been a lesson in looking and listening so carefully, and having patience in abundance. And not leaving the insect repellent behind! However, I was also very frustrated with my lack of technical aptitude in learning to use the equipment and in editing, and I have a lot of work to do on that score, though I am much better than I was! 
resonance_-_inside_a_sculpture.mp3
reeds_river_don.mp3
the_daily_life_of_ants.mp3​

In January this year I was delighted to be selected for an artist residency at Joya:Air in a remote 50-acre (20 hectare) ‘off-grid’ rural farm in the heart of the Sierra María-Los Vélez Natural Park, Almería, Spain. Run by artists Donna and Simon Beckmann, originally from the UK, it provides a space to think, to challenge and to meet artists from around the world, of many different artforms. There is abundant wild clay there, and an ambition to capitalise more on this. To that end, I built a 'minigama' whilst I was there - a tiny anagama - which was really exciting and challenging at times! I had to fire the kiln, which was made fully out of clay - no kiln bricks! - before using it as a kiln. The original plan was to built a kindling and paper kiln around it and fire outdoors. However, the land is incredibly dry and when the wind picked up there was a high risk of setting the place alight; in the true spirit of the place, Simon suggested I fire it in his wood-fired boiler - this was stressful, but worked! The piece was completed on the final day. I will have to go back to see if it works as intended! And I may build a bigger kiln while I'm there!

​I may also run a course for budding wood-firers to build their own minigama! Watch this space!





Symbiosis -  an art and ecology research project

​https://www.artbombfestival.com/symbiosis
https://www.artbombfestival.com/

I was so delighted to be invited recently to take part in the Symbiosis project taking place in Doncaster this summer.  It comprises of a series of residencies, training, meetings with experts, outings to the river, discussion, artlabs, etc and is part of a larger Artbomb project running in tandem and culminating in a free festival in Doncaster city centre 11th to 14th August. It'll be headline-grabbing with international, national and regional artists and scientists all coming together to think about the challenges of the future. Check it out - there will be events you can get involved in in the run-up to the festival.  Tackling climate change, pollution, ecosystems and the way we live now, it promises to be truly thought-provoking, informative, creative, experimental, serious, fun, celebratory and challenging for all. 

I am so pleased to be working  on a project with asylum seekers in Doncaster. The project kicks off this week with the delivery of clay packs with tools and materials to particpants. You can find out more about the project here: https://doncastercreates.org/

I’ve wanted to work with Asylum Seekers in Doncaster for some time, so when the Birdsong commissions came along it seemed like the perfect opportunity. It strikes me that the added trauma of a global pandemic to the situation of seeking asylum must be deeply unsettling. I know how therapeutic working in clay can be, how universal it is - literally being the ground beneath our feet that unites us all - and how it can release people to talk about their emotions.

The idea of the project is to deliver stand alone “Making Kits” (ie a mini workstation with tools and materials) to participants, accompanied by instructions on how to work with clay and ideas of what to make. All pieces will be hand sized. Participants will be asked to record their thoughts about the process in drawings, writings or recording. The pieces will then be fired in my studio and I will make work in response to their creations and recordings.

I hope to find a venue in Doncaster to exhibit the finished pieces and celebrate this global contribution to local culture.

I am very grateful to Denise Cann of the Doncaster Conversation Club for putting me in touch with enthusiastic participants.