About

Biography

Born in 1946 into a highly creative, working class, northern family. My parents were both socially and politically conscious. There was an example of working hard and playing hard.

Through the 1950s I was fortunate to enjoy a very broad education curriculum which valued the contribution that less academic children were able make in rebuilding post-war Britain. Creative skills and the resulting independence and self-reliance were highly valued and recognised, celebrated and rewarded.

I can describe my journey as a rapid zig-zag of irresistibly challenging opportunities.

At fifteen in 1960, I moved to Nottinghill Gate, London. A multicultural, small but very significant vibrant centre celebrating social and cultural change. I had the opportunity to explore the artist area around Portobello Road and was intrigued by the Caribbean families and their music in Ladbroke Grove.

I trained as a dancer with Dame Marie Rambert and performed classical repertoire in her company for two years. We learnt not only the discipline of a demanding technique, but also endurance and stoicism - necessary strengths required to survive in the arts. I went on to dance independently in Europe where my interest in the visual arts was initially ignited by exposure to the painting and sculpture made between two World Wars and during the rise of Nazism. Expressions of life in all its reality; artists who looked below the surface.

Home in London my career change was confirmed and I began my education, much aided by regular visits to all the major museums and art galleries including The Welcome Trust and The Imperial War Museum. Free adult education in three separate institutes enabled me to compile a comprehensive portfolio. Admission to Wimbledon School of Art rewarded me with an M.A. in printmaking in 1975.

Exhibiting in commercial venues, employment in education across a diverse creative network and collaborating on projects, followed. These related activities helped develop my primary interest in assembled sculpture investing in the often denigrated hand-made approach which allowed me to express emotion immediately. This process is much favoured by Art Brut. Elements of risk and uncertainty are inherent in my work. referencing themes around the human condition and particularly the disadvantaged, reaffirming the attitudes prevalent in my postwar childhood.

In 1990 an unimaginable and unanticipated opportunity for a parallel career emerged. I was catapulted into the world of theatre design.

Having retained my contacts in contemporary dance I was offered my first design commission from Ballet de Geneve, Switzerland. The production was ’Rooster’, choreography Christopher Bruce, sound track The Rolling Stones. This opened the gateway to a future international career spanning 35 years. My second commission took me to Houston Ballet, Texas and the Wortham Theatre, designing not only costumes for a stage full of brilliant dancers, but a huge painted backcloth. These two productions taught me most of what I know today. ‘Troubadour’ in 2026, choreography Christopher Bruce, music Leonard Cohen, is my latest costume creation.

London studio life and relentless networking educated me in the art scene and by 1996 I decided to move on from the restrictions developing in the commercial art world and therefore reduce some pressure from my escalating career as a theatre designer.

I relocated to Somerset.

I opened ‘The Parlor Contemporary Art’, a not for profit artist-led venue in the conservation area of Frome. The work attracted the interest of writers, poets and alternative thinkers, reinforcing my ambition to contribute and share creativity avoiding constraints necessarily imposed by commercial galleries in the cities.

Running residential workshops led to group projects in industrial buildings and outdoor locations - all were well attended and welcomed. Paula Hammond, director of The Merlin Theatre, allowed me to build an installation on the stage for 3 consecutive summers.

Traveling for theatre design and to exhibit occupies part of my time, but essentially I continue to develop my own work. Interesting projects are always on the horizon.

I began painting collage on canvas in 2024 and some of these have been chosen to show in The Pedestal, Frome, from October 2026.

Christopher Bruce and I have been together for 60 years. We have 3 children and 7 grandchildren.

Concertina, Ballet Rambert, 1963