Steve Woodcock

I started out on my pottery "career", aged 12, in the appropriately-named potting shed of an old people's home in Essex. The Saturday morning session was run by a kind lady, Mrs Timms, who loved children, animals and teaching pottery. Most of my ceramic creations blew up, although some survive to this day and have developed names and stories of their own.

The intense and imaginative effort of those early days inspired a passion in me for creating "life" using clay. And this same energy is still with me decades later.

Having enjoyed a long career in advertising, I have now chosen to step back from the stresses and strains of the business world and, instead, enjoy the days in my own studio in rural Oxfordshire, as well as attending workshops at Warwickshire College's Ceramics department.

My work has been shown to acclaim at various exhibitions in the region. In June 2013, I was proud to be selected to demonstrate at the prestigious International Ceramics Federation's annual national festival in Aberystwyth.