I was born and
brought up in London, and was always interested in all things
artistic - drawing and painting for my own pleasure at every
opportunity. It was not until I married and moved to Surrey that I
began to develop these talents though. I secured a place on a
foundation course at Art School, but found that it could not really
cater for my diverse needs. So there was only one solution - to
establish my own studio, pottery and workshop. I then started
designing and producing silver jewellery, and hand-thrown and
sculptured ceramics, in addition to my paintings. My love of the
English countryside has always influenced my paintings, and many of
my other items of craft work reflect the natural colours and
textures that I see around me. I taught art at an Occupational
Therapy Unit for the severely physically handicapped in Surrey for a
number of years, during which time I also developed my own skills as
a water colour painter. About this time, I fell in love with the
Lake District, and spent a lot of time there, walking, sketching and
painting. Many of my paintings were exhibited in some of the
galleries there, and others in the U.S.A. The range of my work then
extended to include miniature oil paintings of landscapes and
flowers on ivorine or vellum.
I also went on to teach "Painting on
China".
My love affair
with glass started when I visited glass factories in the West
Country and in Cumbria. Then I got a copy of an American magazine
called Bead and Button, and in it was a picture of an amazing bead,
which was made of Polymer clay. I decided to try, and had a modicum
of success. The next copy of the magazine had a chapter about an
American glass bead maker, and hey presto...I was hooked. I was
taught by a fabulous teacher, Diana East (do check out her
website) and also joined the GBUK (Glass Bead Makers of
the United Kingdom), and the ISGB (International Society of Glass
Bead makers), and started on the most exciting journey into the
glorious world of lampwork glass bead making. I normally use very
high quality Italian Effetre glass, but am now moving up to
Borosilicate glass, as i can create such gorgeous colours with it.
As a painter
and potter, I love the colours of nature,
and my beads often reflect
the colours I see around me.
