I was born and grew up in the rural south of England. As a child, I was given every opportunity to nourish my imagination with the landscape, with books, music, poetry and paintings. Images summoned by language; words evoking pictures. Such was, and still is, the fabric of my inner world.

My university degree added a framework of intellectual enquiry to this early response to nature and art. I was drawn to beauty and emotion, but I also had a fierce need to understand and order my thoughts. I studied French language and literature, with an option in art history, at Exeter University. I learnt to analyse text, think critically, research, reference and present a reasoned argument, gaining a BA (Honours) (2.1) in 1996.

No real surprise, then, that I stumbled quite naturally into French-to-English translation in 2013 when I moved to France. It is an exercise that requires a feeling for language and the skill to craft it, underpinned by rigorous process and attention to detail.

From 2013 to 2016, I ran a freelance translation business, then from 2016 to 2020 I worked in-house for an agency in Rennes, Brittany.

As time passed it became clear to me that I could put my skills to better use by specialising in the subjects with which I felt some intellectual and emotional connection. I wanted to translate, yes, but not for its own sake: I also wanted what I was translating to mean something to me and to learn from it.

I left the agency in September 2020 and re-established myself as a freelance translator, translation reviser, copy-editor and proofreader specialising in the visual arts. Recent projects include artists’ monographs, exhibition catalogues, and wall texts and visitor guides for major exhibitions.

I am a member of several professional organisations and refine my skills through CPD. Both work and ongoing training offer me new tools and insights to explore the cultural differences in the way art is written about, exhibited and received in anglophone and francophone societies. As a translation and editorial professional, I strive to bridge these differences with intelligence, economy and grace.