A little about me...

I hate having my photo taken and hoping my discomfort is not too tangibale!

As much as it is tempting to use AI to make my photo better, or to help me write posts and create adverts, it is something that I avoid as much as possible. I coordinate the workshops in The Broadspace, so I am generally the person who you will contact if you want to book in a workshop. I make the posters, I advertise on social media and generally make sure you have everything you need for your workshop.

My background

I have always been a keen artist, which is something that defined me when growing up, and it was something that I always thought would be at the forefront of my career. However, as I got older it became apparent that creativity is a complicated beast and I found that at times it either felt lost to me, or it was not friendly enough to feed me. So although it may always have been there, at points I've had to cage it up so it doesn't make a mess of my life and at other times, it's hiding under the sofa and inexessible.

I have a strong belief that creative practice can help people in ways that other activities can't. This is why I have been involved in community workshops as much as possible and why I would like to continue to help people access art in places where they might not have found it before. I have been very lucky in having access to a good education. I graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in 2005 with a BA in Graphic Design (Animation) and an MA in Animation & sound Design in 2010. My specialism is stop-motion animation and my body of work has been largely influenced by artists like Jan Švankmajer, Yuri Norstein, Jiří Trnka and Brothers Quay, so rests heaviliy on the dark side of animation.

I have been a workshop facilitator since 2003 and a lecturer since 2006. I have worked doing scenic work for theatre, festivals and events including producing animated content for performances since 2008.

My workshops

My workshops currently run on Tuesdays with a drop-in-and-draw on Tuesday morning, which is free and a Folklore art workshop on Tuesday afternoons which is £15. The drop-in-and-draw provides a space for you to create anything you want, to connect to other people and to have a cup of tea. We provide basic materials but you are welcome to bring your own.

The folklore sessions go over a different folklore or legend each week and you will be provided with materials to make a mixed media piece based on our folklore discussion. This is not a 'paint-by-numbers', instructional workshop, it is for people who want to explore their creative response to a given theme.

We have a life drawing session once a month at The Black Swan Theatre, usually on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Life drawing has long been a passion of mine and these sessions are largely 'untutored', so again, you will get as much creative freedom as you need.