ON returning from the Easter break, it was with great sadness that colleagues at the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) and I learned of the artist Simon Carroll’s passing.

Simon will be remembered by many as a larger-than-life character whose presence in a room could not fail to be noticed. I first came to know Simon through Wally Gilbert, my predecessor at RNC, who had guided Simon’s climb to success as a ceramics artist. Simon had, before my time at the college, been the forerunner to our present artist-inresidence scheme. You could say he forged the way.

He certainly left a legacy, with stories of his highly individual working styles and rumours of being able to crush brick with his bare hands to add grog to his clay. I once asked him about this and he was overjoyed to hear that he was being remembered in this way! In 2004, Simon joined our modest team to deliver part of our (then new) ceramics foundation course. His creative abilities were well placed here, guiding the students through the fine art and personal product development elements of the course, where he encouraged big, bold statement pieces.

Simon’s legacy on the foundation course is still promoting great results and it was with a mixture of sadness and pride we had to let him go to show his work in the USA.

When he moved to St Ives, I was pleased to hear how the area and the galleries had embraced him and his work. I’m sure everywhere Simon went, many, many people have been touched by his strong individuality, and I for one, although saddened by his passing, am so very pleased to have known such a gentle giant of an artist.

SAMANTHA BROOKES, Teacher in charge – Creative Arts Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford