Artist Educator for the community, family and schools programmes

I studied Fine Art, specialising in Sculpture and Printmaking at the City and Guilds of London Art School. It was a time when students were taught traditional and transferrable sculpture and drawing skills which enabled me to work in diverse areas including Hand Made Films, Spitting Image and productions for Theatre, Opera and Museums.

Drawing has always remained important to me, and I have exhibited and sold works, and now lead drawing classes in my home studio.

Whilst working in the creative industries I became very aware of the disparity in access to opportunities in the Creative Arts. I increasingly felt the importance of sharing skills with others who had not had the same opportunity to engage in an Arts Education. With a strong passion to use the Arts to support young people to access the curriculum beyond the school gate, I moved to work in the Education Sector. I studied specific teaching techniques whilst studying at the Helen Arkell Diploma in Teaching Learners with Dyslexia/SpLDs and later a Postgraduate Certificate in working with Arts and Autism at the University of Chichester. I have found my combined experience of the Arts and SEND have helped me introduce and support young people explore their own creativity within and outwith mainstream education including the criminal justice system.

Can you tell us about your creative practice?

My own creative practice is very much influenced by the people I work with. I take time exploring pathways and mediums to inspire and bring the joy and relevance of the creative arts to each individual in the most imaginative way I can. I don’t consider myself so much of an artist but more of a collaborator and educator with a passion for sharing and encouraging self-belief and the relevance of the Arts.

What inspires you to create art?

I combine my drawing and printmaking practice using texture, colour and pattern. I’m particularly inspired by nature, how our place in nature has influenced our individual histories and how that influences our sense of self and place.

Where is your favourite place to feel inspired at Watts Gallery?

It’s impossible for me to say what or where most inspires me at Watts Gallery, but I never fail to feel a surge of pleasure and excitement for the day ahead as I walk alongside the glorious, multisensory spectacle of the Sculpture Gallery border. The colour and pattern of tile, brick, pot, flower and grass creates a tapestry of texture that energises me. I sense a trace of George and Mary, their creative energy is infectious.

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