Having lived and worked in Oxford all my life and with my children leaving home I decided it was time to branch out and pursue my interests in crafts.  I started with textiles which I have always been interested in and began creating bags and small items which I started selling at craft fairs.  I have made my own patterns for some of my bags and love the challenge of creating something that is fit for purpose and beautiful to look at. 

I then decided to follow my interest in glass.  I first became interested in glass after having seen artists at Art in Action in Waterperry.  I was drawn to the glass artists during Oxford Arts Week and having bought and enjoyed their pieces decided I’d like to have a go myself.  I did my first glass course in July 2014 with Siobhan Jones in Worthing which I loved.  I then did a couple of other courses with local artists and did a two-day course with Shirley Eccles at Ardington.  During a subsequent trip to Cornwall, I stumbled across a craft fair and a local artist was exhibiting her glassware and we got chatting.  She told me she had started off with her first kiln in her dining room which made me think that anything was possible!  I came home and converted my study to a studio and bought a kiln.  Since then I have had a lot of fun experimenting and trying different techniques.  Although relatively new glass I have learnt a lot from talking to other artists and by trial and error.  The internet has also been a great source of inspiration.