ABOUT ME –

Hello, I’m Val!  I’m glad you found me, and want to share my world with you. Welcome to my website.

I was born in the ‘Creative County’ and grew up on a dairy farm in Staffordshire, just a stones throw away from ‘The Potteries’ in Stoke-on-Trent.

I grew up in a family that ‘made’ things with their hands.  My parents had always got a project on for things that they needed for our home and farm. They were always eager to teach us their ways, and pass their skills and knowledge on.

Long lazy summers were shared with family and friends around a table laden with home grown food contained in beautiful ceramics. 

There were special plates and bowls that came out just for Birthdays and Christmas. Tiered cake plates and enormous trifle dishes sat next to huge sharing platters of my mothers home cooked food.

Some of them were hand me downs and others were pieces that had been given as presents or purchased from special places, each had a story, a memory, attached. 

Art and Pottery at school were an early influence in my childhood, but as I grew up I also found myself being further drawn into my farming heritage and the surrounding countryside.

 Many years later, and whilst teaching at a local school I decided to focus on my own art. I completed a BA in Fine Art and graduated with a 1st class honours degree, specialising in printmaking.

After my degree, I joined  The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) as a printmaker and exhibited in their gallery.

Within a few years though, and following a short course of informal studio sessions  with a local craft potter, the lure of the potters wheel became too strong to ignore. 

Since then, I have taken further inspiration from masterclasses run by acclaimed potters.

During 2016, I decided  to concentrate solely on ceramics, and began to repurpose my print studio for pottery.

In between teaching, my spare time is now devoted to ceramics development and production from my studio location in rural Shropshire.

From here I have created my first artisan pieces, these include home and table ware, lighting and exclusive fine art ceramic sculpture. 

The items in my shop are a reflection of my journey so far exploring different clay bodies, glazes, colour, texture and form.

With the launch of my website I feel it is the beginning of my journey, I don’t know where it will go to, but at the moment I am enjoying making vessels that can be used for families and friends and will hopefully hold memories of their own with you.