Piecing together fragments from a range of eclecticinfluences, I create mischievous vesselswhich explore personal and Welsh identity and therole of skill in today’s society. I manipulateclay as a metaphor for the continually shifting naturesof these identities.
Combining elements from Victorian era ‘Gaudy Welsh’,American Abstract Expressionism andBritish country pottery traditions, I rip, fractureand reconfigure wheel thrown forms. I approachmaking as unselfconscious improvisation, nurturingthat sense of childhood curiosity from whenmy awareness of individual identity first startedto develop. These ‘Grandma Punk’ potscombine kitsch patterns from historical Welsh ceramicswith forms that reject pretence andrefinement. They embrace irregularity and uncertainty,joy and humour; values I view as centralto our identity.