4, Century Drive, Northam, Bideford, Devon, EX39 1BG
Bideford ceramics, sculpture TorridgeMy sculptural female figures are statements celebrating the powers, strengths and emotional contexts of womanhood. Most images of women have been produced by men from an objective, frequently sexualised standpoint, but I want to make work grounded in the internal subjective experience of being a woman. I live in my inspiration! I love the curves and rhythms of the female form that echo those found in nature. Earlier sculptures explored this in a more abstract way.
The ceramic sculptures are hand-built in paperclay using coils and flattened rolls to make a basic form which is then refined and altered through scraping, pushing and carving. Coloured slips, glazes and oxides are added to the textured surface and the work is fired to stoneware temperature (1250 degrees). This means they can be displayed either inside or in the garden. Sculptures vary in scale from small hand-held pieces to half life-size.
I live by the coast in North Devon with a wonderful view of Bideford Bay from my studio window. The colours, rhythms and movements of the sea and the sand are embodied in my sculpture and sometimes, to give a sense of place, I incorporate clay from the beach into the slips and glazes I use. The sculpture garden in front of my house where many of my pieces live is sunny, calming and beautiful.
