I was thrilled to be asked to sit on the selection panel for the Ceramic Contemporaries 4 exhibition. Arriving at Harrow the four of us were shown to what was to be our home for the rest of the day, a darkened room where we were to view all 250 plus entries on slide format. I must say congratulations to the team who managed to co-ordinate this enormous task with very few hiccups.

Having been a designer in industry for 10 years and not having taught for 4 years I did feel a little nervous. Passions for what I would call craft and sculptural ceramics had been lying dormant for some years as my career and interests have led me down different paths.

A good friend once advised me to judge by my first instincts and I took her advice and selected what instinctively appealed to me. As a designer for products for the home I could not help consider how certain entries would fit into different environments. I am drawn naturally to the 'real' rather than the 'abstract' and can honestly say I was happy to take a back seat in the selection of these elements in the exhibition. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Tanya, Andrew and Edmund's passionate debates and justification for these items. I did however appreciate the skill, passion, technique, and challenge in these entries and look forward to seeing every piece selected in reality and finding out more about the ceramicists themselves.

From the very first filter in the selection process I believe we all had a good idea of our individual favourites. After many hours of consideration the final selection was made and I was pleased that my colleagues agreed with me on the following entries:

Rebecca Caterall's delicately quilted vessels evoked other material qualities. These forms are beautifully constructed and geometric, yet at the same time organic in their fluidity.

Ailsa O'Leary for her monumental modern entry, its function open to interpretation.

Hanne Rysgaard's floral ceramic 'Tupperware' for me brought an element of wit.

Geoff Wilcock's swirling porcelain vessels brought movement and tactility.

Marion Anderson's pebble lighting installation evoked in me a sensitivity and gentleness that brought colour and texture through the simplest of forms.

The one area where I felt disappointed in the entries was the tableware section; this was echoed by the other members of the panel and hence reflects the small amount of tableware selected.

Finally I would like to say how much I enjoyed the opportunity to view the entries. I was privileged that day to view the work of this country's foremost practising ceramicists. I hope the exhibition we selected reflects this huge cross section of skill, styles and expertise.