The inspiration for these pieces came out of an idea for creating a Bestiary. Medieval manuscripts were often concerned with beasts of all kinds. The Mysterious monsters in this series are divided into the elements, earth, air, fire and water. There are different monsters which inhabit each element.

They came during my studying of animal forms. My studying of actual animals made me wonder what beasts would look like if different animals were put together. So the series of Mysterious Magical Monsters was born. We have the combination of, for example a lion and a fish. This strange animal needed a name and Lish seemed to describe what had been created.

My study of heraldry can be seen as evident in each of the individual creatures and the way in which they have been designed. Heraldry was an ancient art which designed motifs for knights to bear on their arms as a means of identification when jousting or on the battle field. The shields would often be painted with terrible beasts and there would be a three dimensional sculpture of the same beast carved in wood or cast in metal and worn as a crest upon the helmet of the knight in his armour. Often the caparisons, the protective clothing of horses would be adorned with the same beasts.