Bless this Mess began with a single female form sculpture in 2020. I sat at my work table (previously used for editing photographs on my laptop for clients) and played with a small ball of yellow clay until it slowly became the one thing that is most familiar to me in this world…my body. I didn’t have any expensive tools or extensive training in pottery, just a few wheel throwing classes up my sleeve and a very distinct drive to create something from nothing with my two hands.

With every female form ceramic piece that has come since, I have felt the same swelling pride I discovered after finishing the very first one.

I overcame a lot of internal battles sharing these creations with the world. The nasty critics in my head, perfectionism and my old friend imposter syndrome liked to rear their heads. These days their voices are nothing but a fly during summer that I swat away with ease. Bless this Mess can be seen as a sentiment relating to finding gratitude in the process of creation, no matter the means or outcome. As a mother of multiple young children I’ve always hummed this phrase or sung the song by Lisa Mitchell whilst cleaning up toys and food from every corner and crevice of my home.

Done is better than perfect.

My works are a deeply personal experience and an act of radical feminism. My desire is that you might find yourself within these ceramic pieces. I endeavour to take up space and normalise the existence of female bodies as they come. My own body has seen me through enormous transformations and back.