As a professional potter since the 1970s, a visit to China in 1978 was an abiding influence in both my thrown porcelain and larger garden ceramics. On my first visit to Japan in 1992 I visited many gardens and temples and was struck by the number of small gardens, water features, sculptures and children's play areas which were open and available for anyone to sit by, use and enjoy. My return to Japan on a Churchill Fellowship gave me the opportunity to explore more fully the work of people who design and create for spaces, such as Shunmyo Masuno, Isamu Noguchi and Tadao Ando.

I have always been interested in the subtle 'sound' of water, visual and auditory. When visiting the temples in Japan, there is often a ladle for you to pour water over stones where the sound echoes back at you as if from within a cave. This I captured for an acute mental illness hospital. I sited one of my large vases over a trough of water where a pump gently circulated the water within. Not seen but heard. On a visit a young man came to me and said, 'I come here often, it's very peaceful.'

The Fellowship is a way to extend and share your collective experience.