Recently, I have been investigating using a collage-like approach, using enlarged elements of my sketches, and tracing them directly onto clay surfaces. This process has resulted in my truest interpretations yet. The making process has begun to inform the composition, and I enjoy that.

It is important to leave traces of material identity on a piece to celebrate its uniqueness. This allows for brushstrokes and dribbles of slip, raw cut and torn edges, exposed joints, and considered application of glaze. When I have been too ‘controlling’, I find that the resulting piece often has a lack of joy in it.

I love observational drawing. It captures true character and style, and brings a different perspective to an object. In traditional sketching, people look at their drawing rather than the subject, so the brain fills in the blanks of what it should look like, and therefore it is not a true representation.

The process has succeeded when the origins of a piece are recognised yet have been freshly interpreted and given a new lease of life, not purely a copy of the original. I would like my work to take important historical ceramic collections to a new audience, finding a new home in contemporary culture for them.