My work has developed through my love of Africa and African art and is informed by experience gained while travelling and working in Africa during the 1980’s. Other influences include work by western sculptors particularly Giacometti and Modigliani.
With my ‘Tall Ladies’ I try to capture the natural grace, elegance and fluid movement of the female form. The ladies are 65-70cm tall with the flare of their long dresses creating a base diameter of 10-15cm. They carry a variety of fruit, possessions on their heads including bananas, pineapples, fish, baskets of fruit, clay urns and cloth bundles. Some have babies in arms.
My ‘Seated Ladies’ mirror the grace and elegance of the standing figures and display beautiful curves and shapes.
The ‘Dancing Ladies’ are full of character and humour. Their plump, rounded figures contrasting sharply with the elegance of their taller ‘sisters’. They are 25-30cm tall and portrayed in various stances.
Animals sculpted using the same technique feature regularly, cats and chickens being a favourite.
Each piece is sculpted entirely by hand using a grogged earthstone clay body fired to stoneware. The pieces are heavily textured and decorated using a combination of slips, stains and oxides built up during a multiple firing process to provide layers of colour and pattern.
