Journey
My work until now has been a search for ways in which to transmit my longings. I work in an intuitive way, treading an uncertain path which I hope leads to adding a personal drop to the collective consciousness which is constantly feeding us. We are a product of our surroundings and the time in which we live.
As years progress I change, as does my work. I need a continual stimulus so as to discover new themes that will move me in a visual way.
Forms evolve, paintings find more neutral colours. Simplification is the route I choose to try and decipher that for which I am searching.
We know where we come from, an immense diverse and rich heritage which awakens our senses, but it is where to go next that is our constant quest. It is that which pushes us forward looking for answers.
En route we shed many different layers, loosing our skin in a process of continual renewal. Hopefully, by a combination of intuitive force and an awareness of our being, we find the essence of what is important in our lives. That which gives a twinkle to our eyes!
Awakening
I was born in 1956, the youngest of nine children in Melilla, Spanish North Africa.
At seventeen I decided to leave my home in Malaga, landing in London in the mid 70's .
With my squatter friends, many musicians, photographers and artists in the making amongst them, we led a meagre existence but breathed an atmosphere of great creative drive and freedom to follow our dreams.
Early years
I quickly found my direction, combining part-time jobs with classes in ceramics and drawing.
These helped me gain entrance to Camberwell shool of Art, where I studied from 1976 untill 1981.
I then had the good fortune to be admitted to a three year Masters at the Royal College of Art, London, where I could count on a number of charismatic teachers such as David Hamilton, Elizabeth Fritsch, Janice Tchalenko, Eduardo Paolozzi and Alisson Britton amongst others.
First studio
Having finished my masters I was helped in setting up my first workshop in 401 1/2 Studios with a grant from the British Craft Council. Also around this time I gained invaluable experience working in the studio of the artist Carol McNicoll and Colin Deeks.
Exhibiting
From then on, I exhibited both individually and collectively in various places, such as the Institute of Contemporary Arts (I.C.A.), Contemporary Applied Arts (C.A.A.), Sotheby's Decorative Arts, and Olympia International Arts Fair. At this time I also worked closely with a number of private galleries, principally in Britain.
Farewell to the Island
On my arrival back in Spain in 1988, it gave way to the opening up of new horizons, with individual exhibitions in Holland, Germany, France, Japan, and of course in my country of birth. It also coincided with a re-encounter with an old passion for etching and painting.
Transformations
My previous ceramic pieces often had their surfaces etched with drawings of various characters and creatures. With the new work, these disappear, coming back to life in etchings, prints and canvases, or in sculptural pieces that bit by bit have been evolving until today.
