NUALA O'DONOVAN

Ireland

Nuala O’Donovan was born in Cork City. She spent a number of years living and working abroad and returned to Cork in 1997. She studied ceramics at the Crawford College of Art and Design, graduating with an MA in 2008. Since graduating her work has been purchased for public and private collections in Ireland, the U.K. and Europe and has been published and exhibited nationally and internationally. She currently lives and works in Cork City, Ireland.

Artist statement

My work combines regular pattern with the characteristics of fractal forms from nature. Each element of the pattern is individually made, the form is constructed slowly over a period of weeks or months, and fired a number of times during the making process. The finished forms are a result of an intuitive response to the direction that the pattern takes as well as the irregularity in the handmade elements of the pattern.
The result of using the characteristics of fractal geometry in making decisions regarding the form of the sculptural pieces is that the form is resolved but retains a sense of potential growth. I hope that the viewer engages with the piece by allowing their own personal experiences to influence their view of the outcome of the form and/or future possibilities. This aspect of my work also refers to the transitory quality of living organisms, which combine traces of history, the present and the future in the patterns found in their surfaces and forms.
I am interested in the narrative quality of irregularities in patterns in living organisms. The history behind a scarred or broken surface is what fascinates me. The evidence of a response to random events visible in patterns in nature is testament to the ability of living organisms to recover, to respond, and to continue growing and changing. It is the imperfections in the patterns caused by a unique experience that are evidence of the life force in living organisms.


Education

MA by Research - Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork. 2008
Post Diploma Studies (Ceramics)  - Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork. 2005
BA (Hon’s) Three-Dimensional Design  - Middlesex University, London U.K. 1994
Diploma Construction Studies, (Architectural Drawing & Detailing), C.I.T., Cork. 1983

Awards

Business to Arts, Commissioned Artist for Awards. 2010
Golden Fleece Award -Short listed, (One of eight artists).2010
Hallward/Millcove Gallery, Annual Irish Ceramics Award 2009
RDS National Crafts Competition.  1st Prize -Contemporary Ceramics 2009 
RDS National Crafts Competition.  Ceramics Ireland Award 2009
RDS National Crafts Competition.  Crafts Council of Ireland Purchase Award 2009
Crafts Council of Ireland/Irish Arts Review Emerging Maker Award 2008/09
C.I.T. Post-graduate Scholarship/Research Award 2006-’08

Publications

‘Portfolio’. (Crafts Council of Ireland Publication - Selected Makers). 2010
Wild Design. Dr. A. Marshall, Curtin University of Technology, West Australia 2009
Random House Publishers, Berkeley, Ca., U.S.A. July 2009
‘Organic Geometry’. Ann Mulrooney, Ceramics Ireland, Issue 2 08/2009 
‘Art Meets Science’. Sarah Morey, The Learning City, Volume 10 Issue