Artist's Statement

Painting and Drawing

I am interested in story telling through painting and drawing by exploring familiar everyday scenes which suggest a narrative.

My subject matter is drawn from my fascination with the cross cultural diversity of contemporary urban society.

I choose to paint in a descriptive style whilst retaining a sense of humor and playfulness.

I believe my creative background as a designer in both theater and film has developed my ability to observe my surroundings with a fresh eye.

I enjoy being able to express myself imaginatively through my work as an artist.

Ceramics

Working in clay for me was literally born out a reaction to my professional work as a theater and film designer. I found that I was becoming more and more removed from the tactile quality of creating with my hands.

I hand build all my pots from a very rough coil method, that is the basis of all African pot making. I often let the pot as it grows; determine its own shape, although I do draw my shapes from classical and sometimes more organic forms.

With the decoration, I like to carve and scraffito my pots, as if drawing and I am interested in a negative positive design, often painting the pots with a dark slip and then carving into them to allow the natural color of the clay to show though. I do decorate some with colored glazes that I paint on in a free painterly brush stroke.