I am fortunate to live in Cornwall, a beautiful county in the southwest of the UK. Surrounded by woodland, sky and light, my practice centres mainly on sculptural vessels — large bowls and hollowforms — turned on a lathe from local timber taken from dead or dying trees. My aim is to give material at the end of its natural life a renewed presence.

Originally trained as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, my work is rooted in an exploration of the relationship between interior and exterior; what we hold and process privately and what we re-present to the world. For me, the vessel form offers a tangible metaphor for emotional containment — particularly when that container is compromised, scarred, breached, or in need of repair.

Many pieces begin as quiet, resolved forms which I then subject to stress — fire, freezing, bleaching, carving, texturing — allowing the material to respond. These interventions are more investigative than decorative. They test structure and meaning, asking what survives, what is lost, and what becomes visible when the container fails or is disrupted. They also touch on themes of resilience, reparation, and recovery.

Ultimately, I explore the tension between what is seen and unseen — presence and absence — and how a vessel can hold, transform and reveal through what it encompasses, exposes, or releases.

My practice also extends to teaching and demonstrating. As an approved tutor for the Association of Woodturners of Great Britain (AWGB), I share these processes and ideas with other makers.

 

Thank you for visiting and engaging.