I remember carving small boats out of balsa wood, I think I was around nine years old. I wasn’t very adept, and the knife was very sharp. With time and practice, it became a more enjoyable and less painful experience. An early lesson in persistence perhaps!

Aged six I moved with my family from Ireland to Australia. I spent the first few weeks squinting and keeping my head to the ground. It was another world of colour, texture and space; a sensory overload. At first it was too much, but later I couldn’t get enough.

A comment from a gallery owner at one of my first big shows. After looking at the work, he uttered, “nearly, but not quite,” then walked away. I remember being upset at the time, but criticism is part of the deal and has to be accepted, and can lead to improvement.

What is special, is that, as a material, its nothing special. It’s the earth beneath our feet. Used through the ages by diverse cultures, to produce a staggering variety of objects for all aspects of life. From the start I was attracted to its malleability and mutability.