One Year On

摘要

Following the path of many ceramists, I stumbled upon my love of clay not knowing that I was actually searching for it. In fact, despite having always found great pleasure in playing and making with my hands, I somehow managed to avoid the pursuit of a relationship with art, not helped by a schooling that devalued it as a career. It was during a career break due to ill health in my early twenties that I took a class at my local college. This provided me with a twice weekly, no-pressures opportunity to 'play' with clay, and inspired a passion that has dramatically changed my life for the better. Somehow, twice a week became a full-time art foundation course at Stockport College, followed by the three-dimensional design degree at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), from which I graduated in 2008 with first-class honours. Five years after first getting my hands dirty, I have just come to the end of my first year working as a professional ceramist.