Carving a Maori style pendant at
my home in Stoke-on-Trent.

Picture taken by Sandra Adlington.

About Me

I originally studied sciences with the intention of achieving a career in medicine. But during my degree I came to realise that it simply wasn’t for me. Having always enjoyed some amount of creativity I eventually turned my sights to Graphic Design. Once my degree was over I enrolled on the Foundation Art course at Newcastle-under-Lyme College where I became unexpectedly torn between Photography and Graphic Design but decided to specialise in the latter as I had originally planned. This was then followed by a HND in Fine Art where I was able to explore Photography further.

Once I’d left college and took on an office job I began to feel as though my creative energy was ebbing away as I became bogged down with routine and the dark nights were closing in around winter time. I was rescued by Rhoda who runs Rhubarb Rhubarb in Birmingham, after speaking with her during a portfolio session she suggested I break out of the routine completely by travelling somewhere on my own. The idea took me aback as I’d never travelled abroad on my own before and I’m not the sort of person who’d know what to do if I did. But as I sat on the bus on the way home and went over what she’d said I realised that she was absolutely right. That night I started to look into volunteer work abroad and eventually came across conservation work in New Zealand. I jumped at the chance and because it was so far away I decided to go for three months, which I later extended to almost 6 as I loved it over there so much.

In New Zealand I found inspiration for my Photography and discovered a new joy in carving, the tactile nature of the craft renewing my creative energies at last. All of the work you see today is primarily inspired by shape, form and texture, particularly those found in nature where ever it may be found, the bone carving is inspired by these directly and indirectly through the Maori culture and their use of symbols to convey meaningful messages and stories.

Through my work, I hope to help inform people about their environment and where the jewellery is concerned to also let people know about the Maori and to share some of the stories they have to tell.