My early years were spent in County Durham where I grew up in a close-knit coal mining community. The rugged countryside and proximity to the sea gave me a deep love of nature in all its glory.

As a child I lived in a tiny, tied farm cottage without electricity or basic amenities and was left to wander alone with my imagination. I loved creating things from anything I could find. The heavy clay soil I dug up with my hands and made small figures of animals which I dried in the fireside oven.

I left Durham in 1972 to live and work in Germany where I met my husband Richard.

Moving to the local area in 1988 we brought up our 3 children who attended Minchinhampton  school. I started painting and completed an arts course at Stroud College in 2014.

Now that I’m retired I have more time for art, creating things that inspire and give me pleasure.