I am an artist and mosaicist working in North West London, Dollis Hill. I have lived in London since 1989, and before that in the little town of Dieuze, in the French county of Lorraine, which I visit regularly. Dieuze is set in striking countryside, where the vivid greens and yellows of the fields create an ever-changing mosaic depending on the seasons and the crops. The forests are always in the background, and I love walking through the filtered light of the trees and discovering secret ponds and clearings. The atmosphere is magical and this is where I get my inspiration for my art. Nature is everywhere and there is a lot of wildlife, deer, foxes and badgers, as well as a stork sanctuary. I enjoy reproducing this life in my mosaics.

I owe my cousin Véronique the bug of mosaicking: she has always had a flair for home decorating and her house is covered from floor to ceiling with tiles, mirrors, eclectic car boot sale figurines and statues, and I love the magic of her home. I started with this art nearly by accident, repairing a broken mirror. I enjoyed the process and continued in this vein, using recycled kitchen tiles, ceramic found in skips and broken crockery, and smashing them with an ordinary hammer. The pleasure of working with colourful little sweet-like pieces, the craftmanship required to cut properly, the zen-like meditative state when mosaicking for hours, all led me to try and learn more about this amazing art, and to the London School of Mosaic. After a first 12 week course, I knew this was where I wanted my life to go, and gave up my 30 year job as a technical translator to enrol in the London School of Mosaic Diploma course and become a full-time mosaic artist. I have learnt so much from this course, and owe a debt of gratitude to my fellow students and teachers who have helped and advised me in invaluable ways.

I spend my days walking or running with my dogs Asti the deaf Border Collie and Mika the cheeky Labradoodle, and working in my mosaic workshop in Dollis Hill, London, and in Dieuze, France.

I am a long distance ultramarathoner, and have been lucky to visit places such as the Atacama desert in Chile, the Namib desert and its skeleton coast, the Gobi plains of Mongolia, and the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. I take inspiration from my travels to produce artwork for myself and fellow runners. My next trip will be Antarctica, from where I hope to bring back many wonderful mosaic ideas.