'Why don't you do some sculpture for yourself?'

It was this throw-away remark from my partner in 2013 that set me on my current exciting journey... With over 30 years’ experience working as an artist, mainly in puppet animation and model making, I now concentrate on sculpting portrait heads of humans and animals in clay. I just love the forgiving nature of clay and also its ability to hold very fine detail when necessary.

I sculpt from both life and photographs. The finished models are moulded in silicone rubber and then cast in resin. I've developed a technique of combining jute fabric with the resin, which gives my work a porosity and sense of fragility. The resulting works can be unsettling, haunting, beautiful but always subtly peppered with personality.

Drawing inspiration from my own life, darker themes occasionally embody my sculpture. Maybe it's a form of catharsis, although humour often emanates as well. I gravitate towards theatricality and experimentation, often provoking quirky bold compositions.

I was delighted to take part in the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition 2019, with my sculpture 'Cheeky Chester'. In 2020, my sculpture of Ena Sharples (Coronation Street ITV) was selected by the Society of Portrait Sculptors for their show 'Face 2020'. I also appeared holding my Ena Sharples sculpt in a brief video, as part of Grayson Perry's 'Art Club' on Channel 4 in 2020.