Nuala O’Donovan

Ceramicist

©Janice O’Connell_F22 Photography

Finding stories in nature

Nuala initially trained in architectural drawing
She was drawn to the 'immediacy' of ceramics
Her travels have fuelled her interest in natural patterns

Nuala O’Donovan is fascinated by structural patterns in nature, particularly irregularities and imperfections that tell a story, such as a growth on a tree formed in response to a branch being cut off. “I am always interested in seeing what happened, how it responded and how it goes on. That’s the amazing thing about nature, it just goes on,” she says. Her hugely detailed sculptures in unglazed porcelain are inspired by these irregular patterns and natural forms, and are constructed in a slow, repetitive and open-ended process. “I don’t really like knowing the end at the start,” she says. “The excitement is in not knowing how it will turn out.”

Where

Interview

Where do you get your ideas from?: I look at nature on a micro scale, in particular seeds and plants and structures. It’s interesting to see the forms and growth patterns. My main source here in Ireland is the Teasel plant, but really any plant that has a structural element to its flowers or its seeds, or the way it grows.
How does travel influence your work?: Travel makes you look at things in a fresh way. When you live somewhere you tend to not see things, or you stop seeing. You go somewhere new and it just gives you a fresh perspective, even on your own environment, because it highlights the differences and the similarities.
Your work is very repetitive – what do you enjoy about that?: There is a point where it is almost muscle memory. You are totally absorbed in it, in the here and now. And then when it gets past that middle stage and it’s coming up to the end I will work past hours just to get it to that point, because when you are finishing it’s the most exciting part.
Is it satisfying seeing people enjoy your work?: If someone likes it and buys it, there is a connection with them on a level that goes beyond nationalities and culture. When I travel I tend to buy something from the place I’m in, directly from the person who makes it, and every time I use it, it reminds me of the connection I have with that person.

Nuala O’Donovan is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2008