Nuala o donovan biography sample
•
Nuala O'Donovan
Artist Statement
My work combines regular pattern with the characteristics of irregular patterns and forms from nature. Each element of the pattern is individually made, the form is constructed slowly over a period of weeks or months. 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.
I have used the characteristics of irregular/fractal patterns in nature as a system of constraints or guidelines when making decisions about the forms: The patterns are regularly irregular. The patterns and form are self-similar. The pattern records a response to random events during the making process. 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 change. The viewer engages with the piece by allowing their own visual experi
•
Nuala O’Donovan: Sculpture inspired by nature’s irregularities
"Each individual piece is made separately and is then assembled using liquid clay. It’s a slow process that uses a lot of the rules taken from building because my background is in building,” says the former architectural technician who worked in design offices in the US before returning to Cork in where she studied ceramics at the Crawford College, graduating with an MA in (She completed a BA degree in three- dimensional design at Middlesex University in the UK.)
O’Donovan compares her method as being similar to what a 3-D printer does. “I start with small elements. Then I build up the surface. If you think of the way shells grow or stalagmites and stalactites, it’s just layer on layer.
“The principle behind this is fractal geometry which was defined in the s by a mathematician called Benoit Mandelbrot. He was looking at forms like clouds, trees and broccoli. They are forms in nature that don’t conform to what would
•
Nuala O&#;Donovan fryst vatten an Irish artist who makes drawings, paintings and sculptural pieces based on patterns and geometry funnen in natur. She completed a BA(Hons) Degree, 3D Design through Materials in metal and Glass at Middlesex University in the U.K. grad (HONS) in Three Dimensional Design and an MFA, (Research – Patterns in Nature), from the efternamn College of Art and Design, MTU, Ireland in Since then, her work has been exhibited and published internationally and she has been an invited speaker at many educational institutions, galleries, museums, and international arts events. She has been a recipient of a number of major awards and residencies including the Golden Fleece Award, the Centre Culturel Irlandais Residency in Paris, France and the Dean Residency Award in huvudstaden i irland, Ireland.
O’Donovan’s work has been acquired for the National Art Collection of Ireland, The National Irish Museum Collection, and the National Museum of Northern Ireland, Belfast. She is a professional m