Tell us a bit about yourself and your work.

I'm an art and photography teacher, currently in North Yorkshire, but originally from Brighton. I trained as an illustrator before my PGCE so my first passion is drawing. When I was younger I used to carry a journal with me every day, and I would use art as a kind of therapy and a way of expressing myself.

I have been part of Sketchbook Circle for 3 years now, but I guess in a way I have been sketch-booking since I was about 9 years old! Since being in the circle, my style of working has really changed, and now incorporates a lot more collage. I enjoy the texture of layered ripped paper and working on more interesting surfaces than a white blank page. I have recently discovered the joys of gelli plate printing so have been playing with that in my most recent works.

Where do you get your inspiration?

I am a big fan of typography, so graphics and letter forms are always a source of inspiration. If I'm really stuck I will start on Pinterest to find something I like. In my sketchbooks I get inspiration from something my partner creates, like a part of one of the pages, so that I can really 'respond' to what they sent that month. To do this I will often photocopy, enlarge, and work over a section to start the idea process. Right now I am continuing to work on gelli printing and acetone transfer printing, which is a continuation of the sketchbook circle workshop I attended in Oakham in February.

Learning new techniques was very inspiring so I am working on continuing those into my current sketchbook practice.

What’s your biggest challenge as an artist?

I often find the white blank page quite intimidating! Working on top of something that already exists, or creating some background usually helps.

What’s the first arty thing you can remember making?

When I was about 3 years old I 'painted' yoghurt on the wall with my twin sister. Apparently even from a young age we were so creative it couldn't be contained!