From the time when I could first hold a pencil I loved drawing, but it was not my only obsession: at the age of nine I wanted to be an opera singer, and at eleven, a writer because I had had a few of my stories read out on Children’s Hour! When music and art overlapped in the school curriculum, I was heartbroken, and reluctantly chose music. Coming from a humble background, I was persuaded that a life dedicated to art or music would be precarious, so I refused an offer of a place at the Guildhall School of Music, and took up a scholarship to read English at Bristol University, a decision I never regretted.
I continued to sketch and paint, and my love of art influenced my choice to spend three years in the British Museum researching the poetry and painting of William Blake. I then lived in America for two years where I was inspired by the landscape and crafts of the American Southwest, and I did a ceramics course at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh.
Back in England, I set up a studio and started to make pots and ceramic sculpture, and learned to dye and weave in order to make large wall hangings from textiles and clay modules which I sold in Florida. I also made burnished pots, and sculptures of lutes and harps.
I joined the Midlands Potters, who held regular exhibitions throughout the East Midlands, and I had solo shows at venues such as Anatol Orient in Covent Garden and Rufford Craft Centre in Nottinghamshire. I have work in the permanent collection of ceramics at Stoke on Trent City Museum and Art Gallery.
I had done some teaching in America, and now taught pottery evening classes, and took a diploma in adult education in the ceramics department of Loughborough University. When my daughter’s pottery teacher at Nottingham Girls' High School left suddenly, I was persuaded to fill the post. Later, having studied for a diploma in Arts Therapy in Education, I began to lead weekend workshops.
We moved from Nottingham to Parwich where I was encouraged to take up watercolour by Parwich artist, Ray Stone, and I fell in love with the medium. Having previously worked in oils, I value the translucent quality of watercolour and the challenge it presents, especially when working on a larger scale. My art is inspired by my travels to India, the Americas and South Africa, as well as Europe.
 

I open my studio for the Derbyshire Open Arts weekend and usually have an exhibition during Parwich Open Gardens. My work is permanently displayed in my studio at my home in Parwich in the Peak District of Derbyshire, so if my paintings are of interest to you, do please get in touch.