“My journey to becoming a professional sculptor of dogs began in 2000 when, on a whim I decided to recreate, in clay, a sketch I had recently produced of our family Jack Russell. I enjoyed the process so much I decided to try more sculptures of another of our dogs, a gorgeous scruffy mutt. Encouraged by receiving a positive response to my small collection at the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate, I decided to explore the area of dog breeds for inspiration, and soon became obsessed. Ten years, two children, and countless shows later in the UK and more recently France, I am still excited by my subject and continue to be inspired by dogs I see in books on the web or while out walking my greyhound. My favourite stage of building a dog sculpture is applying the facial expression. It is at this point that the piece really comes alive for me. I often like to make the dog’s head a little bigger in proportion to the body to really accentuate its personality."