The Fuller name is well known around Antigua and Barbuda, and artist Jill Fuller is just one of the "ever-growing" group that has given back so much to the community.

I have never been formally trained but I have been fortunate to spend time with some great teachers along the way, notably the Canadian watercolour artist Pamela Wright, the British painter Hilary Beauchamp and the New Zealand potter John Dawson. I have exhibited and been awarded for painting, photography, collage, and sculpture in UK and Antigua, and my work has found its way into many publications. Apart from that I was born in UK but have lived in Antigua for most of my adult life and am part of an ever-growing family on the island.

The masks are made from some clay that was give to me years ago by [friend] Kim Derrick, and had sat in a bucket under my gallery gathering cobwebs and dead bugs! I reconstituted it by soaking it in water then drying it out on a plaster bat, then it had to be wedged by hand to squeeze out the air. I sculpted in my "crevice time" between work for Adventure Antigua and my counselling clients. Both Kim and Mike Hunt from Cedars Pottery helped me out with the firing and for the decorations, I beachcomb and gardencomb (if there is such a word) looking for suitable materials.

I love working with clay and find it quite therapeutic

Some of the masks are painted with acrylics and some were treated with underglaze while the clay was leather hard before they went in the kiln. Never having made them before I was unsure of which techniques would work best but I knew I wanted to hand-sculpt and not work with moulds. My artwork always tends to be a bit experimental. Right now I just have 12 pieces for sale, but I guess in the new year I will begin to make some more.

I love working with clay and find it quite therapeutic. It is impossible to think of anything else during the process. Luckily there is still some old clay in my bucket. When that is finished I may try using local clay and I would certainly like to try smoking some masks in an earth kiln with different types of wood shavings. I understand that different effects can be achieved depending on the amount of resin in the wood. Lots more experiments in 2012.

*** Learn more about Jill Fuller's work from her website www.jillfullerarts.com or by cell 268.725.5455. Remember, there's only 12 masks available.

You can see Jill's masks down at Art on the Ridge at Sugar Ridge Resort and Adrian Kirby's new surf shop "Turtles" at the Dockyard.