The wishbone, or furcula, is a fascinating object, its delicacy belying its strength.

Furcula is Latin for ‘little fork’ from the shape formed by the juncture of the two clavicles, and this fused bone makes the skeleton strong enough for flight. To me a wishbone represents not only strength and flight, but also wishes, family and food (and by extension how this food is produced and eaten).

This work highlights the detrimental consumption patterns of our age whilst also embodying hope for a better future for our children and the planet. To me the monochrome palette of the black bowl and white bones represent this tension.

When my youngest child left home, I started keeping wishbones, unbroken, in a box. I have used all of these in this work. Some were fired and crushed to be mixed into the black clay of the thrown large ceremonial bowl, others remain intact and form part of the sculpture, encased in slip and glaze, and “broken” in the firing thereby releasing one wish.