I make work that is motivated by my obsessive interest and personal relationship with wildlife within an urban setting. I approach the city landscape with much the same curiosity and persistence as the Victorian naturalists did in amassing their collections of curios. Both of my parents worked in the zoo while I was growing up and their appreciation and curiosity for the natural world entered my psyche. I use many different approaches and work at a range of scales from installation to objects, juxtaposing different visual vernaculars to highlight science as a social construct in relation to the everyday world. I use a scientific methodology of observing, collecting, researching, and experimentation to generate ideas. My work often engages directly with specific places, exploring the human/natural-world interface of different systems, environments and scenarios. My route into ceramics has been a gradual one but for the last few years it has been gaining momentum. The tipping point happened in the pursuit of 'growing' light bulbs. I began using porcelain paper clay to hand build glass-like forms that could replicate the material properties of a light bulb but could be easily manipulated. Following this, I then made a set of work that resulted in a tea service decorated with drawings of bacteria and other medical imagery, influenced by my working in a hospital. I subsequently developed both functional and non-functional ceramics, which shared the same concerns. Drawing has always been an important part of my practice, and it links my work as a fine artist to the designs in the ceramics I produce. My recent work has resulted from a journey that involved following the 220-mile course of the river Severn from its source to its estuary. Documenting the process, I collected river mud, artifacts and other raw materials, which I am still working through. The sediment content of the mud changes along the river due to a convergence of geological, social and industrial histories. When creating tiles from the mud collected I starved part of the tiles of oxygen, and the patterns produced by the impurities in the mud contrasts with their regulated arrangement. I am interested in the level of uncertainty when using river mud due to unknown factors affecting the process and the outcome.