About me
My earliest memories include sitting next to my father's piano as he played.
'What's the story of this one?' he'd ask and I would draw, act and tell the story along to the music.
I went on to study a degree in Contemporary Arts. Although I'm a third generation artist, I have a wider family that encompassed everything from circus performers to miners to rabbis - life was never dull growing up!
Experimentation and discovering new skills and media are core to my practice. I do write and illustrate my own books but am also very happy to separate those skills and work with other creatives as well. I have a love of traditional arts and crafts and creating a sustainable future for heritage skills is important to me.
Teaching in primary schools, I developed my understanding of small children and how to engage them on a range of topics. More recently, I have taken part in the courses run by The Good Ship Illustration alongside other art courses to develop my technical skills further. I received mentoring from author-illustrator Claire Alexander in 2023 and Giuseppe Castellano of The Illustration Department in 2024. I also set up and lead an online critique group for author-illustrators. I am currently a student on the Masters in Children's Book Illustration with Cambridge School of Art.
In my spare time, I sing in a local band and I'm a huge fan of The Beatles (fun fact - Yoko even wrote back to me a few times and I spoke to her once on the phone!). As a family, we love travelling and getting out and about in nature. I also provide support and advocacy for local SEND families.
Now living in Hertfordshire, UK with my husband, four young sons, two dogs, a kitten, a gecko and an invisible hamster, I have come full circle. I regularly make up new tales and characters alongside my children. Music is played and stories improvised; squiggles take on a life of their own as characters are met that join us on our adventures.
Would you like to hear more? Please contact me