I’m a ceramicist making simple but striking pots and vessels in stoneware and some porcelain, from my small studio in rural East Sussex..

I feel fortunate and very inspired by the beautiful nature of the Ashdown forest , the wide skies , high wealds and wild downs.

I’ve been an actress for 30 years but when I moved out of the city with my family 10 years ago I became intrigued by the naturally occurring clay underfoot. Next thing I knew with a handful of freshly dug clay I enrolled in classes .. but on some level I felt like I’d done it before….

It might have been a tonic to the transient ephemeral life of an actor, but I just loved the alchemy of it all… the earth, water and fire, the magical transformations and a connection with all peoples in all cultures ancient and new. Potters too, are so humble, hard working and true, and who give the best hugs. I love the physical challenge of centring , being present and the meditation that comes with focus on precision and detail. I love, after weeks of effort elbow deep in mud and dust , the thrill of opening the kiln to jewels of vibrant colour and timeless forms that have beauty but serve a simple everyday function..

Most of all I think I love putting together all these elements to make something that could be around for a thousand years….

In ceramics there’s vast amounts to learn, so many possibilities and processes, and as such the final work is so remarkably expressive of the individual. Its incredibly moving seeing an craft fair collection of ceramicists work, revealing their souls in 3D..

Anyway, my chief influences are, firstly, my mother, who was a Finn who gave me an aesthetic taste for striking but simple colour and form. After she died I had a dream in which she said “My love is like a red berry in Winter. It gives fruit when all around is frozen.” This has become a symbol of love and home for me - the red berry. Hence my first red bowl and a passion for this colour and shape.

Also, a few years ago I lost my eyesight briefly, which was pretty scary, but I got some comfort from believing I could still work with clay even when blind . But then… by a miracle I regained my sight again, actually better than ever before!. Now, I value more than ever the sense of touch and how you perceive through your hands, and I feel so grateful and utterly overwhelmed by the beauty of colour…. from my children’s eyes to the wondrous colour of the sky and every bloom in the garden, and all of nature…..The colours I make and use now reflect this feeling of wonder. I use a couple of commercial glazes but the rest I have made through study and trial and error.…its so extraordinary that the play of light and mineral compounds can produce every colour of the rainbow.

I had the good fortune of touring around the world with plays and spent a lot of time looking at local ceramics, galleries and museums, and the images have really stayed with me ….. and I’ve always felt a curious connection between the Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetic, and I’ve learnt Japanese carving techniques of fluting and faceting, which I love now. These need just the right tool, and a lot of meditative focus and stillness, and I hope, on some level, this energy stays the final pieces….