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Nuala O’Donovan was born in Cork City, Ireland. She received a MFA from Crawford College of Art and Design in 2008 and worked in Australia and the United States before returning to Britain in 1997.
Her work mixes regular and irregular patterns found in nature. Each element is individually made, constructed slowly over a period of weeks or months, and fired a number of times in the process. The finished forms are a result of intuition and handcraft.
Scarred and broken surfaces found in nature stand testament to the ability of living organisms to respond, recover and continue to evolve, she says. Imperfections are evidence of life force in living organisms.
O’Donovan was received numerous awards, including the 2011 Golden Fleece Award, Merit Prize and first place in the 2010 RDS National Crafts Competition.