Louise's love of animals , domestic and wild , greatly influenced her artwork. She inject an element of fun and quirkiness into her sculptures, and wants them to have a real expression on their faces, and to not look like they have been made in a mould. Therefore, she does not smooth out the clay too much, so there is lots of texture, which really adds to the individual look of the sculptures.
Louise likes to work with stoneware and porcelain clays , After the sculptures have been bisque fired she applies the colours in the form of oxides, underglazes and limited application of glazes. She prefer her animals to have a matt finish and glaze is only applied to areas such as the eyes. The sculptures are then fired again to 1250 degrees for about 10 hours.
Louise has a couple of scruffy Lurchers who inspire her sculptures, alongside the hares and foxes that she see on her daily walks.
"I can't imagine a life without my dogs and doing the things I love most which is sculpting.
Although I am self taught, so are many artists including famous ones , and I feel that if you have some natural talent this can be nurtured by practice and determination".
