up-and-coming | sharon o’donnell ― ceramics | altered state

image details: sharon o’donnell, teaset, 2023, midfire clay, dimensions variable

Things are definitely not what they seem when you gaze upon the intriguing ceramics of Sharon O’Donnell.

Inspired by cherished childhood memories of her father as he tinkered with cars, her work appears as weathered vessels crafted from tin, but the reality is something entirely different. Pick it up, and you are totally surprised to feel it is made of clay. “This process of wonder and engagement where a person is compelled to touch and feel my work is what inspires me,” Sharon reveals.

It was as a single mother, raising four sons, that Sharon had her epiphany. “When my boys were young a weekly three-hour ceramics class was my escape from reality, but it was also where my love affair with clay began.” Fast forward three years. Sharon threw herself into a fine arts degree and her ceramics practice. “I can never foresee a life without making art and developing my own voice.”