Cancer Treatment

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To all that don’t yet know, I’m sad to share with you that I’ve recently been diagnosed with high grade DCIS – an early-stage breast cancer condition – after I woke up to find a painful ropey area in one of my breasts earlier this year. After numerous tests the Breast Clinic at Ysbyty Gwynedd found high grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in a 4cm lump and 10 days ago I underwent a single mastectomy 🥺

As someone with medical phobias, this has been already been a particularly difficult and challenging road. However, until the pathology report says otherwise, there is still a small chance that this surgery will be the end of my cancer treatment and I will simply have the rehabilitation from the operation to go through 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 I’m lucky in many ways that Ysbyty Gwynedd have a great treatment programme and my surgeon Miss Hwang is excellent. I was hugely relieved that my dressing looked so neat and tidy without any major swelling, and that I still felt like myself. I’m still scared to see the actual incision but so far I’ve just focused on my exercises and recovery. Taking it one day at a time is enough.

I’m particularly gutted by this diagnosis because after a lot of effort improving my health through food and exercise I was finally feeling great again after a pretty horrible perimenopause 🥹 But I’m also still really glad I made those changes as I come into treatment as fit and healthy as I can be. And although you can do a lot to lower risk, you can’t get rid of it completely – perimenopause gave my immune system a battering, and just being a women, of a certain age, without children, with dense breast tissue increased my odds.

I’ve had to step away from the workshop and will need to pause making for the next few months to focus fully on my treatment and, hopefuly, recovery – both physical and mental.

As I’ve not been able to work for a while (it seems dealing with this has become a full time job!) I’ve set up a GoFundMe page. This is to help me cover some daily living expenses and all the extra costs involved during this uncertain period, and also to raise money for the wonderful Macmillan Cancer Support. They have been vital in helping me navigate this traumatic experience and their support is crucial for people in my position.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-louises-breast-cancer-surgery-and-recovery-fund

I would also like to say a massive heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported my campaign. Whether you have donated, shared my link, or kept me in your thoughts, your kindness means more than words can express. Your generosity has already made a real difference with my living and recovery expenses, allowing me to focus on healing after my mastectomy. Thank you for giving me hope and strength 💪 ❤️

I now wait anxiously for my dressing to come off and hear the results of my full pathology report tomorrow.

Hopefully my margins will be clear and no invasive cancer will have been found and I will be able to get back to my creating very soon🤞🏻

Coed Coexist Exhibition at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw

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I’m excited to share that my piece Coleoptera Fagaceae will finally be part of the Coed Coexist exhibition at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw, Llanbedrog, Pwllheli on the Llŷn Peninsula (@plasglynyweddw) from 16 May to 12 July 2026.

Initiated by Plas Glyn-y-Weddw in partnership with Pen Llŷn artists Junko Mori (@junkomori44) & John Egan (@making_little), the project reflects on the vital role of trees and woodlands and our connections to and responsibilities for these ecosystems.

Over 80 artists have been given wood from a beech tree that fell on the gallery’s grounds and this exhibition is wonderful celebration of everything that has been created by them from it’s wood.

Plas Glyn-y-Weddw is the oldest in Wales. It is a really beautiful place if you’ve never visited before and the drive to it across the Llŷn is always stunning!

Opening event: 16 May 11am – 5pm. All are welcome, with activities throughout the day.


Creating the Coleoptera Fagaceae Box

When I first received the piece of beech wood, I couldn’t help but think of the tree it had come from – reflecting on its long life, and all of the creatures it had nurtured throughout its living years.

Revered as the Queen of the Forest, the beech tree is a cornerstone of wonderful diversity, a vital habitat to a vast range of species, from birds and mammals to invertebrates, lichens, mosses, and fungi. So it seemed only fitting to transform some of its beautiful timber into a beetle box, to celebrate the deep connections between the tree and the myriad forms of flora and fauna it has sustained, while preserving its memory for future generations.

Wizardry in Wood 2025

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There’s still time to get tickets for this year’s Wizardry in Wood, The Worshipful Company of Turners quadrennial celebration of woodturning and wood art!

When: Tuesday 28th October to Friday 31st October

Where: Plaisterers’ Hall, One London Wall, London, EC2Y 5JU

Timings:
Tuesday 10 am – 4 pm
Wednesday 10 am – 7 pm
Thursday 10 am – 4 pm
Friday 10 am – 3 pm (competitions prize giving at 3 pm)

Tickets: Book now through Eventbrite or also available to purchase on the door.

I have again been invited to take part in the The Master’s Exhibition. The theme ‘responding to the environment’ is based upon the Company’s commitment to sustainability and the environment.

So for this exhibition I have created A Collection of Mills. Creating unique, functional pieces has always been a priority for me—it’s my way of responding to the environmental challenges posed by our disposable culture. I strive to enrich daily life with meaningful objects, each mill a treasured item, often repaired and cherished over many years.

The unique qualities of each wood piece foster a deep connection to the natural world. This collection features a variety of British woods: oak from an old Lloyds Bank, mahogany from Horeb Hall, ash from a nearby forest, and yew from a friend’s garden. I intentionally emphasize any imperfections, inspired by the philosophy of Kintsugi, which honors their journey and history. Each item is further enhanced with plant-based oils and natural pigments, reflecting a commitment to sustainability and craftsmanship.

I will also be entering a piece into the Yeoman’s competition, new to this years WiW. This competition honours the courage, determination and resilience of Liveryman Julian Scott and the theme matches the Lord Mayor’s priorities which for 2025 are: ‘ambition, renewal and growth’.

I will be going down to London to visit the show myself this year so hopefully will see some of you there!

The Coronation Muscinae Capsule

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This piece was recently made for the latest Worshipful Company of Turners’ biennial turning exhibition which took place on the 18th – 19th October 2023 at Pewterers’ Hall, London.

New for this year was a Master’s Exhibition, selected by invitation only. This exhibition aspired to showcase the finest woodturning in the UK, and had leading artists providing for the first time, an exciting and diverse display of turned artwork, using sustainable or reclaimed British timber.

The theme for this year was Coronation, which we were able to interpret in any manner we wished, whilst being respectful of the Worshipful Company of Turners’ core values and long-established Royal Charter.

The Coronation Muscinae Capsule

My piece was inspired by King Charles’ Coronation and his life long interests in environmental issues and the natural world, which I am also incredibly passionate about. The box was very challenging, particularly as it was the first time I had soldered silver on this scale, but I was really happy with the finished piece despite the struggle!

The form originates from Muscinae – the original scientific name for mosses – the oldest land plants on earth at 450 million years. It echoes the mosses seed capsule, and the piece contains seeds from the Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil, Northern Ireland’s shamrock and English rose, unifying the flora of the four nations of the Untied Kingdom.

The colouring of the body of the piece represents King Charles’ use of his grandfather King George VI Coronation robes with ermine trim in his bid to be more sustainable. It is painted with milk paint, an eco-friendly finish that has been used for thousands of years.

The capsule’s lid symbolises the St. Edward’s crown with it’s precious metals and purple velvet. The original crown was thought to be silver and date back to the eleventh century saint Edward the Confessor (as seen on the Bayeux Tapestry), before it was melted in during the English Civil War in 1649 and remade in gold by the Royal Goldsmith, Robert Vyner in 1661.

Eco-friendly materials were used throughout, including the peristome made from recycled silver and a gold ball created from my grandmother’s wedding ring, and responsibly sourced English sycamore. The silver was hallmarked at the Goldsmith’s Company Assay Office with the extra Coronation Commemorative mark. The sycamore cap was coloured with sustainably produced Lucea organic plant based watercolour paint, ground from logwood giving it a beautiful subtle purple shade, embellished with water-based resin dots.

English sycamore, recycled sterling silver, recycled 18ct gold, stainless steel, rubber, recycled paper, seeds (daffodil, thistle, dog rose, clover) and milk paint, organic plant based logwood watercolour and resin.

19cm length x 6.5cm wide £1950 + shipping

Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing – thank you!

Clay Barn 40th Anniversary

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I will be back exhibiting at Louise Darby’s Clay Barn again this year from the 9th – 11th June 2023!

It will be her 40th Anniversary of opening her studio to the public, with other invited artists, and sadly the last year that it will happen. It’s always a lovely show to do down near Startford-upon-Avon, and hopefully this amazing weather will continue this weekend as Louise hopes to have musicians playing in her beautiful garden.

I have been making new mills for the show and amongst other work will also be exhibiting my moth lamps, made in collaboration with Chlöe Augusta Needham.

We welcome all visitors to join us for tea, nibbles and a wonderful range of art and craft!

Parking is at the Stag Pub – B49 6NQ.

Form/Content POP Exhibition

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My Radiolarian Vessel IX is about to be auctioned at this years Amercian Association of Woodturners symposium in Louisville, Kentucky, USA on Saturday 3rd June 2023 at 13.30 (their time).

There is still time to bid online at https://auction.woodturner.org/AAW-Contemporary-Wood-Art-Auctions-2023_as89144

When I thought about the exhibiton theme Form/Content I decided to go back to a radiolarian as the starting point for this piece. The forms of these incredible microscopic sea creatures are so wonderful, and pieces I have created previously using their inspiration have pinpointed some important moments in my career, from the photographing of Radiolarian Vessel I by Tony Boase for his book, to the recent acquisition of Radiolarian Vessel VII by the Renwick Gallery.

The blue interior, or Content, represents the sea – so fundamental and precious to our life on Earth and the lives of these beautiful organisms.

The piece is turned and carved from rippled English walnut. It has a pierced sterling silver insert and has been painted with acrylic paint in the interior. It is 15cm across.

Renwick Exhibition

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I realised that it’s been a while since I posted and that I’d forgotten to add my exciting news about having two of my pieces selected for the permanent collection of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Art Museum in Washington, USA! They are now currently part of the exhibition at the Renwick called ‘This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World and will be on show until 2nd April 2023.

At the end of 2020 I was contacted by wood collectors Judy Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein. They told me that having lived and loved their collection for many years they had decided they would like to donate some of their pieces to the Renwick’s permanent collection. After several years of discussion with multiple curators, the current Renwick curators, Mary Savig and Nora Atkinson, were given the green light by the Smithsonian to begin the process of selecting objects from their collection, and two of my pieces were chosen – Radiolaria Vessel VII (2004) and Cinachyra Box (2000). As well as being very honoured that I was now part of such an important collection of craft, I was really happy and relieved that the pieces chosen were ones that I was still proud of. I was also very surprised as I had no idea who had bought these pieces when they were first exhibited in the USA. When you put your heart and soul into your pieces you always hope that they will go to a good home!

Unfortunately I was not able to make it to the opening but perhaps I will get a chance to visit them before the exhibition closes next year… At least I now have a copy of the beautiful catalogue that accompanied the show.

Wizardry in Wood 2021

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It’s the last day today of the 2021 Wizardry in Wood exhibition, normally held every four years by the Worshipful Company of Turners. I thought that I would be able to take part this year after it had been postponed from last year because of Covid but sadly I had to withdraw.

Like so many women I have been suffering with various symptoms that going through the menopause brings. It’s a very unpleasant time which throws up many challenges – particularly when it comes to trying to maintain your work levels. Not only have my energy levels and general mojo been down, my immune system has also been thrown out of wack and with Covid still very much with us I did not feel that it was a wise idea to travel to London and be at a show (hopefully) filled with people!

I did make a couple of sets of salt and pepper mills to send to the show which the organisers were kind enough to exhibit on their Bursary stand.

The pink and black mills were inspired by the beautiful Japanese magnolia trees, Magnolia Liliiflora. They began on a visit that I made to Bodnant Gardens in North Wales. This beautiful National Trust property is famous for its collections of plants from all around the world and among them are more than 500 magnolias. I love their large dramatic flowers graduating from a deep pink to white and so I used this as inspiration on the deeply carved sycamore base and top.

I also love the process of Shou Sugi Ban – the particularly striking method of preserving wood by charring which originated in Japan in the 18th century. Burning wood gives it a different softer black to colouring it with paints or dyes and accentuates the grain. So for the other mill base and top I scorched the surface of the turned elm and wire brushed it to bring out the beautiful three dimensional grain texture.

There is also a wonderful sunken pool surrounded by plants of all different purple hues which is one of my favourite parts of the garden. One of them is Osteospermum Purple Sun, with stunning flowers graduating out from purple to pink to yellow. The photos that I took of them led to this new second set of mills that I made for Wizardry in Wood. The bases of the mills are turned and carved before being airbrushed to match these vibrant colours, and the tops have a ‘blobbed’ texture to represent the centre of the flower.

I hope that all the other makers had a great show!

#wizardryinwood2021

Haeckel revisited

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Collosphaera Pin

It’s been a while since I last made a piece inspired by the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, so it was really nice to get a commission from a previous customer to make a pin using images from Haeckel’s ‘Art Forms from the Ocean’ as a starting point.

I love the delicate lattices of the Collospaera and the different layers and textures. I wanted to capture the feel of the images themselves as well, with the colours that Haeckel used to tint his prints.

The pin is made from boxwood, sterling silver and resin and measures 65mm across.

New Mechanisms from Prokraft

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After a very strange year of Covid, Brexit and the perimenopause I am really pleased to finally be using these new ceramic mechanisms for my salt and pepper mill sets from Jon Whateley at Prokraft!

I needed to buy a new batch and after quite a lot of research I decided on these as they had a slightly more refined high quality ceramic grinder, contained no plastic parts and I have been able to work with Jon to develop a custom made brass knob for the top. He has been fantastic, and couldn’t have been more helpful, making sure that I was completely happy with the design.

It feels like there has been a massive shift in the world. Certainly for me I feel that it is even more important to be making hand made, sustainable, high quality pieces that people can use and enjoy in their homes for many years.