Nuala O'Donovan builds sculptural forms in porcelain clay based on the patterns and geometry of living organisms. She has won many awards including the Golden Fleece award and her work is in many important public collections including the Irish National Art collection.
Nuala chats to Éadaoin Glynn about her early career in architectural design as a facilitator of travel, returning to Cork and doing a self-directed MFA, how the regular irregularity of the geometry of nature inspires her and her deep love of pattern.
Nuala expresses her ideas by creating sculptural structures in porcelain clay. She loves the plasticity, affordability and transformative quality of clay. Her work explores pattern and form, taking patterns from nature as her source material and working within rules and constraints of classical geometry to build it.
Nuala describes her studio and how she plans to work there by creating a dialogue between pieces. She talks about the challenges of funding, writing about art, rejection and her advice for emerging artists.
instagram: @nualaodonovan
Instagram @eadaoin_glynn