Featured work by Mandy Long

I am the youngest of four children; born and brought up in Devon, I grew up by the sea. My dad was a head teacher of a primary school and my mum was from a generation of women who were primarily mums, and for that I thank her. She painted and drew for pleasure, and was really good at making pretty much whatever we kids demanded of her. 25 years on, I found myself doing the same thing with my own children. My love of using my hands to make things definitely comes from her side of the family.

My first introduction to clay came at the age of 7, in Mr Smart's art class. For my first piece I made a swan. I absolutely loved working in this medium; there was, and still is for me, a touch of magic in this process; where the cold, grey, malleable clay turns into a hard ceramic, that can last a thousand years. Due to the specialist nature of working with clay (requiring a kiln), after school I only came into contact with this medium at evening classes. I didn't know any artists and never dreamed back then that earning a living producing art would have been possible for me.

Upon leaving school, I went to university in Edinburgh to study French, then embarked on a number of careers, starting with retail management at Marks & Spencers in Brighton, then working as a residential social worker in Hounslow, before deciding to study for a primary teaching qualification in Bristol. My daughter Alex and eldest son Peter were born in Bristol, and Stephen arrived a little later when we moved down to Exeter.

It wasn't until we moved up to Leeds in 2000 that I did some soul-searching about what I really wanted to do, and enrolled to do a BTEC at Harrogate College in 3 Dimensional Design, specialising in ceramics. My tutor, David Oxley, was inspirational; he instilled in me a proactive approach to create work in clay and gave me the confidence to push boundaries with this medium.

Supply teaching has allowed me the flexibility to earn a wage whilst developing my sculpture, but my greatest ambition is to be able to devote all my time and energy to my art.