"The figures in my current body of work are all made of porcelain paper clay. I usually make my own paper clay using 90% porcelain and 10% paper fibre.

I find watercolour paper perfect for breaking down and adding to porcelain slip. After each figure is made, it's dried slowly underneath a paper tent. Porcelain has a tendency to crack if it is dried too quickly, so I try to let the work dry at its own pace with minimal drafts. When fully dry each piece is bisque fired to a temperature of 1000c, after which I can add a clear transparent glaze and fire to 1220c.

The swimmers have costumes that are covered in decals. These come from many sources including originals from the 1920s - 1950s sourced from Staffordshire potteries which have now closed down. I also make my own decals (ceramic transfers) using photographs of china, old books, vintage fabric or vintage photographs. These are applied to the glazed surface and fired to around 860c.

The seated figures are mainly white but some do have colour. These tend to be for dresses or scarves. For these I will colour porcelain slip with a stain and then make into clay ready to be worked straight away onto the existing figure before firing. I tend to shy away from heavy glazes preferring oxides and stains to highlight certain aspects of the work i.e. buttons, hair or skin.

My interest in portraying older people enjoying life came about from my many conversations with elderly people walking their dogs in the local park. It is true that the older you get, the more invisible you become and the more ignored by a society which seems to hold little regard for the wealth of experience and achievements of the older generation. Far from being staid and boring, all those I’ve met have had fantastic lives, full of drama and often tragedy but all seem united in a marvelous sense of humour and positive outlook on life. It is this ‘joie de vivre’ that I try to capture in my work."

A full exhibition cv can be emailed to you on request.