WELL-known Parkend potter Mary Rose Young has gone two-dimensional with her art in a display of her pastel sketches of Dean scenes at Taurus Crafts.

The ceramicist is known far and wide for her highly colourful china, which sells throughout the world and has some famous fans including Lady Gaga, but this is the time she has revealed her sketches to the public.

The exhibition at Taurus Crafts, near Lydney, runs from December 1-January 6.

Most of the works depict villages and communities rather than woodland scenes.

She says: "The Forest has a wonderful character of its own and to me it has got little to do with trees or streams or beauty spots.

"This has always been an industrial area and everything that's unique stems from the communities – houses thrown together at random that aren't picturesque in themselves at all, but yet with a flavour that's so deep in our sub-consciousness that they're crying out to be painted."

This is the Forest of Dean through the eyes of somebody who trudged up these streets to school or who meandered around them on a Sunday afternoon searching for something to do, and as usual Mary Rose's ever-present sense of humour helps bring these familiar village scenes to life.

"When I went to Venice last Easter on holiday I did not expect to return as a rejuvenated and newly inspired artist, but something about the beautiful coloured houses of Burano, the canal bridges and the architecture inspired me to become just that," she said.

"When I returned to the Forest the 'bug' was still there; I was soon finding bright colours in the water at Lydney Docks or on the roofs of Pillowell.

"Every evening and weekend since has been spent on a roadside with my sketch book and pastels. 2012 has been a great year and now I've been given the opportunity to present the best of my new pieces at this exhibition, which I am naming 'Coloured'.

"To hold an exhibition in my home town, just a few hundred metres from the school where I sat doing art, means far more to me than the more 'showy' destinations in the USA where further exhibitions will inevitably follow.

"Fun and exuberance have always been my inspiration while making pottery, and I hope those assets shine through in this framed collection. Any form of artistic expression will always betray the inner character of the artist far better than they could ever do themselves in words, and I think my inspirations will be exposed for all to see.

"As a teenager learning my trade, I always had a vision of the 'adult me' being an artist, so with 'Coloured' I'm returning to my first love."