LEON . . . In 1996 my wife, Heather, and I started a business designing and producing specialist decorative interiors culminating in forged steel furniture design that was hand forged by Stan Pike, a traditional blacksmith who still works at his homeforge in Northumberland. (See an article on him at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2261927.stm) Another honourable craft steeped in tradition, but this one is in danger of becoming extinct. My background is mainly musical having been a writer, producer and instrumentalist since the late seventies. I've kept my guitars just in case I get the chance to play in a pub band but the other love of my life is creating things out of mud. I was heavily influenced by tribal pottery especially after my year in west Africa in 1985; this provided an almost spiritual connection between making pots and making music. It's all about rhythm and atmosphere. There are so many historic styles of pottery that form the bedrock of my visualisations that it is difficult to pinpoint a single theme that colours my ideas. I tend to like experimenting with reactive glazes and I have ruined the odd kiln shelf or six in my electric and raku kilns. Sometimes I'm a bit like a kid with my first chemistry set In 2006 I moved to a wonderful part of the country in the southern Scottish highlands. The area was in itself a huge source of inspiration. Unfortunately the workshop was never completed but my time there was by no means wasted. It's not difficult to imagine if you see my photographs that the visual imagery and magical environment will be a permanent source of inspiration on my creations.