I heard about Cove Park years ago, when I saw it advertised in A.N Magazine. Then more recently I was invited to a lunch to meet the resident silversmith at the time, Lucien Taylor and as if that was not enough to convince me, a colleague had suggested that I should apply a few months ago.

HOW HELPFUL DID YOU FIND THE RESIDENCY?

I found the residency really helpful in lots of ways, with my work it gave me a bit of space and time to reflect and personally I think it has helped me feel less guarded towards others. Look out world!

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON WHEN YOU WERE HERE?

I spent most of my time beach combing. I liked finding things on the beach and then incorporating them into my work in some way. And I tried to do some drawing.

DO YOU PLAN TO DEVELOP THE BEAUTIFUL ANIMAL DRAWINGS YOU WERE WORKING ON AT COVE PARK?

I would love to develop the drawings of the animals. In a lot of ways they are more enjoyable than working in silver; more immediate which is satisfying. I never meant to do the drawings it was not planned I just found it the best way to respond to my immediate environment.

DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA HOW THE EXPERIENCE MIGHT IMPACT ON FUTURE WORK?

I hope that the experience will make me more confident in my abilities as an artist. Silversmithing can be so abstract that it can sometimes get lost in its own glare. I hope that by including elements of the drawing work that I did, talking to other artists and being critically reflective the residency is guaranteed to have a positive impact on future work.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST REALISE YOU WANTED TO BE AN ARTIST?

Thankfully it was the only thing that I was good at when I was at school.

WHO ARE YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCES?

For a while it was Muhamed Ali and a few other boxers. Artistically I like the usual suspects Ben Nicholson, Picasso, Hockney. I think that Joan Eardley is amazing. I like people who can draw honestly and from the heart. I used to quite like the actor Peter Ustinov for a while he seemed really intelligent and funny and made the best Poirot. Is this what you mean?

HOW DID YOU END UP SPECIALISING IN SILVERSMITHING?

It seemed the closest thing to a trade also I used to know this girl who did it and I think that is really why I chose it as a subject, a burd!

CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAYS YOUR INTEREST IN THE SEA TRANSLATES IN YOUR WORK? WHY IS THE SEA SUCH AN INFLUENCE?

I’ve always felt comfortable with sea. When I used to go holiday as a kid I could not imagine going somewhere where we wouldn’t be close to a body of water. Don’t know why, it just seems so energy giving. You can paddle in it, you can swim in it, you can collect it, everything to do with it has a certain shape and colour and that always excited me. Adventure! I always dreamt of having a boat, anything a bath tub as long as it floated and allowed me onto the water. My dad got me a canoe once and I couldn’t believe it was mine. I would spend hours out on the water just drifting around among the rocks, I loved the way the salt would be left on my arms from the splashes. I tend to crow bar any boat references into my work really, I mean the shape of a boat hull is only a small part of it and I think it means more than that to me.

YOU’VE HAD SOME PRESTIGIOUS COMMISSIONS, ie YOUR 2000 COMMISSION FOR THE BUTE HOUSE MILLENIUM SILVER COLLECTION, THE MILLENIUM LINK FOR THE LORD PROVOST’S CHAIN OF OFFICE. WHICH OF YOUR CREATIONS HAVE YOU BEEN MOST PROUD OF?

I’m not really proud of any of them. I’ve never been happy with what I did. Maybe the Robbie Coltraine whisky set cause it was so shiny and I liked working with the wood.

YOU GRADUATED FROM GLASGOW COLLEGE OF ART AND LECTURE AT EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART. HOW DID THE TWO COMPARE?

Glasgow for me is about attitude, and the people have it in abundance. My family are from Glasgow and it has always intrigued me, they just don’t seem like Glaswegians and they used to live in Drumchapel! Glasgow is a can do place and Edinburgh seems to have a lot of very posh voices however in terms of departments I think that Edinburgh has the edge over Glasgow. Edinburgh allows the students to learn how to draw in metal or any material for that matter which is essential whereas Glasgow students spend too much time designing and not doing enough work with actual materials. This may have changed now ( he back-tracked)

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE WORKING ON NEXT?

I am working on a trade fair in London which lasts for a week called Goldsmiths Fair. And at the same time I am taking part in a three silversmith show which is really exciting as one of the silversmiths was short listed for the Jerwood Prize and I don’t know who the other one is. It takes place in Wales at the Glynn Vivian Museum.