Colourful surface pattern and exuberant forms that retain a functional dimension are characteristic of McNicoll's work from the 1980's. McNicoll grew up in Birmingham and graduated from the Royal College of Art, London in 1973. She slip casts her work using moulds. The possibilities opened up by this technique continue to be a major aspect of her recent work, which recycles 'found' objects like ornaments and souvenirs, transforming them by repetition and placing them in a new context.