As a child I wanted to be a taxidermist, working with fur and feathers, trying to bring something back to life. Although, I have always considered the division between life and death to be vague. At Brighton, I was introduced to Wood, Stone and Clay and I discovered that I could manipulate forms more plastically, to my own ideas. Tactility whilst making and in the finished sculpture is of primary importance. The physical nature of materials, objects and beings, the weight, mass and form are perpetual concerns for me. Being and presence is always an ambition. Making sculpture for people and with them has been a vital part of my practice. It seems my sculptures are popular with communities and children. I love the idea that they have engaged with material and that I might have shared the joy of animal life and form with them. (Some of my wooden sheep have worn away and have had to be replaced!) Quoting Picasso on cave art “In 15,000 years we have invented nothing”. If I could get remotely close to Paleolithic art, the life and the energy, I might be happy.