About

Hi there, it's lovely to meet you here.

A little bit about my journey so far!

Jazz

Presently - Autumn 2022 - I'm recording a new jazz / swing CD with renowned Brighton guitarist, Paul Richards, full of vintage classics.

I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you soon.

For many years I've had a deep love of jazz/swing, and have been performing jazz in and around the Brighton and Sussex area since 2002.

I'm greatly inspired by the music and sounds of Ella Fitzgerald, Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irvin Berlin, Peggy Lee, Doris Day, Teddy Wilson and Al Bowley, to name a few.

Dance

My first love was dance and I began taking classes as a young child.

I continued my studies at the Bird College of Performing Arts in Kent and the Royal Northern Ballet School in Manchester.

As a teen, I danced in professional pantomime productions at the Charter Theatre, Preston, and was thrilled to perform alongside music legend, Helen Shapiro and Guy Pearce from Neighbours!

I ran a thriving dance school in Lewes and taught 'Joy of Movement' adult dance classes from 2008 until the lockdown of 2020 when I felt things came to a natural ending.

These days I am passionate about Lindy Hop, and love to dance to 1930's and 40's Swing.

Singing

I began singing lessons as a teenager and in recent years I trained classically as a soprano under the tuition of Glyndebourne Opera singer, Anne Mason.

I taught myself acoustic guitar aged 16 and began singing folk and 60's rock songs at music festivals and around camp fires, after which I joined the band Spacegoats.

Whilst living in Glastonbury in the 1990's, I recorded as a session singer on many albums for different bands and was also involved in the recording of the chorus for 'This Land is Your Land' by Billy Bragg.

Later recordings include a jazz CD with musicians from Rockin' in Rhythm - a Brighton Swing band - and a trio album with Piers Clarke on guitar and Steve Thompson on bass.

In recent years I have offered one to one singing lessons/vocal release and also taught 'Joy of Singing' workshops.

I have sung at weddings, functions and private events of all shapes and sizes.

Folk

As a singer-songwriter and musician, I performed, recorded and toured the UK and Europe with well-known festival band, Spacegoats from 1994 to 1998 and I co-produced my two solo albums - Ordinary Day (2011) and The Wild Places (2014) with Matt Tweed (Spacegoats, Martha Tilston).

The songs I write are uplifting, intimate, dreamy, magical and are inspired by life, the wonders of Nature and above all..love.

Art

I love to paint, collage and make magical, handmade pieces of art inspired by the natural world, birds, botanicals, butterflies and places where nature and memories intertwine.

I collect vintage postcards of fairies, angels, Victorian/Edwardian actresses and interesting old books to use as subjects and love to find new ways to re-love them into new life.

I work with canvas, paper, watercolour and acrylic paints, pressed flowers, rubber stamping, faded antique treasures and curios, embroidery and costume remnants, interesting old buttons and antique lace, vintage watch faces, tiny casket keys, ephemera and natural history notes. I also love to pair my art with words, so I often add quotes or song lyrics.

I like to think of my collages as little portals of enchantment: entry points into another world.

Passion

I am passionate about Nature, animals, birds, skies, shadows and light, trees, hills and the sacredness of the land. I love writing about the original wildness of the human spirit and how we can tap into that ancient place inside us by simply noticing a passing bird, feeling the breeze upon our face, looking up to the night sky or touching the Earth.

I enjoy writing about the beauty of Nature and the sacredness of the present moment.

Some things I love

Stationery shops, cycling by the sea, animals, old dogs and cats, reading, writing, walking in the early dawn or under moonlight. Owls. Blackbirds. All birds! Butterflies. Cool autumn days, wearing scarves, hats and boots, kicking leaves, bookshops, the smell of woodsmoke, old-fashioned tea rooms, feeding pigeons in the park, volunteering at the local cat shelter. Dancing, painting, cinema nights, the poetry of Mary Oliver, authors and teachers - Eckhart Tolle, Thich Nhat Hanh, Clarissa Pinkola Estés.

Burning candles and sage, fairy lore and folklore, old vintage postcards, harp music, rubber stamping, the feeling of timelessness, nostalgia, ancient brick and flint walls, unruly ivy, old trees, historic ruins, train rides, black and white movies, Elvis!

Victorian lace, antique shops and waking up somewhere new...