The processes I use to make my work are powerful propllants in its development, interacting with ideas and intution and suggesting possibilities. They are not merely a neutral means of realizing a predetermined image or idea . Sometimes the development of forms and surfaces is guided by intuition, other times the conscious introduction or development of materials or techniques suggest a whole new universe of references and aesthetic qualities which I can  choose to explore or reject.
      Since the mid 1970s I have intentionally focused on making large, coil built and raku fired vessels. I love this way of working as it  gives me round, volumetric forms which serve as a wonderful three dimensional canvas upon which the surface incident derived from the raku firing can play. The hollow vessel form acts as vehicle to bring to expression of my ideas and feelings as an artist and human being.
      Althouth I enjoy and admire the work of many potters making functional ware, my work is not concerned with usefulness. I am, however, very committed to making vessels as they give focus, direction and context to my  ceramics . There is also a fascination with the potential of the simple pot form to hold, carry and imply layers of meaning and references. The formal language of my work reflects the hand built ceramics from different periods and cultures, for example storage Jars of West Africa, and ritual vessels from Pre-Columbian America or Bronze Age Cyprus. For me the vessel represents a touchstone, a constant, a point of reference and an expression of timelessness in a world of flux and accelerating change.
    I use the raku process as it gives me a consistent and controllable tool in the orchestration of the strength, and pattern of carbonization. The surfaces are not merely covering the form but penetrating deeply into the wall of clay resulting in a fusion of form and surface. At present I am not concerned with colour but with the way richness of tonal variation can enhance and define form. These surfaces are derived from two phenomena: the control of crackle and spotting patterns resulting from the physical and chemical changes that occur during the rapid heating and cooling of the raku process, and self generated incised and applied linear patterns. These marks both refer inwards to the vessel as a record of the energy of the process to which it has been subjected and outwards as a sign or  indicator towards the landscape.