My Biblical ceramics are inspired by stories: mainly Old Testament stories but other stories too. The ancient art of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Bible lands, as well as Middle Eastern architecture, are important sources of inspiration. The amazing little head of a king, found in northern Israel in 2018, is an incredibly evocative piece. Likewise, I’ve found the ancient Cycladic sculptures very inspiring, as well as Sumerian art (art from ancient Mesopotamia). Many modern artists, including most famously Picasso, have taken inspiration from the simplicity and abstraction of ancient art.

Indeed, while making these pieces, I feel I am in a dialogue with ceramic artists of the ancient world.

In making the more kingly ones, I have been trying to convey something of the sense of immutable and timeless majesty I feel when looking at ancient Assyrian or Pharaonic sculptures. Or at least, that is what I feel while working on them! There’s something intrinsically painful, but ultimately satisfying, about it.

Others of my sculptures are more whimsical and light-hearted, and these are easier and more fun to do. I should probably do more of these!