Originally I trained as a jeweller. I apprenticed since I was quite young and then went and did a

degree in Sheffield and then I did my masters at Royal College of Art doing

goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork and jewellery.

This is the first time that we've actually had a contemporary art exhibition at the Stonehenge visitor

center, so it's quite exciting for us. What does it mean to have your art in a

quite a different place where you normally might display it?

So it's really exciting to work with English Heritage because usually my work is shown in

galleries and museums, so this is quite a different audience actually who are

coming to Stonehenge to see the monuments and hopefully be able to then

, after seeing the exhibition, look at the monument through fresh eyes.

What can visitors expect to see when they go and visit the exhibition?

In the exhibition there are going to be 40 vessels, all of which together hopefully give a snapshot

of the place. So, I've created a palette of references I guess which is looking

at both historical visual imagery and modern people who are working in the

area. So, working with all of this research I've started to feed that into

these 40 vessels and they're going to work together to show little hints of

texture from the area, some colour, some references of the tools that are used in

the place and also obviously some historical references as well for shape

of beakers and grape cups and things like that.

You said that you've been talking to local people, so how have they have been inspiring you?

So I've met quite a lot of different people in the local area who are

using tools, who are using vessels every day and who are working in the...they're

influenced by working in the local place, so those are people from the

thatcher, to the tailor, to the barbers, to people working with leather.

All different types of people who work and respond to the local area.

Vessels are something that as archaeologists we're really interested in finding out about

pottery decoration and forms and it really helps us to not only date but

also kind of understand food and activities that people are doing. Often

they get included in graves. Now I understand you've been to two local

museums to have a look at some of the prehistoric pottery vessels. How have

those been inspiring you as well?

Yes, I've been to Wiltshire Museum and

Salisbury Museum to look at their different collections, particularly in

Wiltshire Museum I was looking at the beakers and in Salisbury Museum I was

looking quite a lot at their ceremonial grave Goods, sort of the miniature

vessels which were really fascinating and that really helped me get a kind

of a wider understanding of the types of vessels that have been used and made in

the local area and also the decoration that was on them. It's been really

interesting to look at vessel making as pottery and then obviously translating

some of those visual references into metal.

There's a particular burial near

Stonehenge which is quite famous at least amongst archaeologists - a man we

term the Amesbury Archer - and he was buried with seven of these highly

decorated beaker pots but he also was buried with metalworking tools. Now, I

understand you went to see him on display at Salisbury Museum so what do

you think about his grave goods?

Yeah, so it was great to go to the museum and to

see him and also how he was buried with those tools. So obviously a really

important part of his identity was that he was a metal worker and I think I'm

right in saying it's the first part of gold in the UK, first example of gold in the UK.

So he was buried with some of the

earliest copper and gold objects that we know of in the British Isles.

And I understand you've been to the Stonehenge Visitor Center and you've met

with some of our volunteers and with some people who are making replica

prehistoric pots now. How was that?

So I was lucky enough to go on a holiday

period, so at Stonehenge there are usually events and things for the

general public a little bit even more extra special on the holiday period so I

was missing the gentleman who makes the replica beakers and pots and talking to

him about how he actually has to make his own tools so it's really fascinating

to meet someone who's in some ways working in quite a similar way to me

looking at tool making and vessels.

What is it do you think about Stonehenge that means that artists and writers

have been so inspired by the monument?

I was fortunate enough to go inside the stones and actually going very close

(obviously not touching!) and seeing the lichen and the colors and the textures

are really interesting and also the carvings of the metal objects as well.

Do you hope the exhibition will help visitors look at Stonehenge in a new way?

Well I hope that all the vessels, the 40 of them, work together to give a snapshot

of the place. By looking at the exhibition and then going out to the

landscape it might prompt people to see it through an artist's eyes.