I first fell in love with clay during my final year of highschool in 2002 creating a series of terracotta busts for a PES Art Studies assessment. I had originally planned to become an art teacher, moving from my rural hometown of Mount Gambier to Adelaide in 2004 to commence my BVA degree. I became completely infatuated with high-fired ceramics in my first year of study and haven't looked back since.
My interest in understanding glaze chemistry came about early in my degree having undertaken a Raku workshop offered as part of foundation studies at the UniSA Underdale campus. This was followed by my introduction to wheelthrowing and traditional Japanese, Korean and Chinese glazes and production techniques learned during my first year of ceramic classes and workshops with visiting artists. I went on to major in Ceramics, minoring in Textiles and Scuplture.
I completed my Bachelor of Visual Arts with First Class Honours in 2007, became a Design Associate at JamFactory Centre of Craft and Design in 2008 and later undertook my Graduate Diploma of Visual Arts - Masters by Coursework in 2009/10. After completing my studies I travelled and worked in various roles within the field while establishing my home studio where I have worked as a private tutor and artist since 2012.
I create wheel thrown vessels and functional pieces in porcelain and stoneware implementing a wide range of high-fire gas reduction glazes which I have developed over the years. I strive to evoke through my work a sense of the natural and organic; sometimes muted and understated, but predominantly colourful, playful and vivid. I am particularly inspired by the historic spiritual connections we have with our natural environment, and explore this theme in various ways through my exhibition work.
My obsession with glaze chemistry informs the development of my work, with each firing leading to new discoveries and possibilities. I love to explore the limits of the materials I use and in doing so create pieces which are difficult to replicate making each piece entirely unique. It is this endless process of experimentation which I find most exciting and fulfilling.