Jane's work is inspired by her own busy household of cats and a childhood home where the family cat had his own place at the Christmas dinner table. She currently has four cats of her own.

She was self-taught at first and subsequently trained in ceramics at Loughborough University becoming a full time ceramic artist in 1998.

Her work has a gentle sense of humour and does not try to be accurately representational. She seeks to capture the character and spirit of the animals she makes, and says she actively avoids the `cute'.

Her range of work is wide and can be seen at Melbourne Contemporary Arts, the South Derbyshire gallery she set up with her partner in 2003.

Jane's most recent work has a darker feel to it, evoking the wild landscape of the Peak District where she grew up.

By Jane Adams