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1-3. Living Room, 2006, porcelain, wallpaper, found and altered furniture, paint, wood
        trim, 96" x 63" x 21"

4-5. Bedroom, 2006, porcelain, wallpaper, found and altered furniture, embroidered sampler,
        dressmaker's dummy (porcelain head and feet, jewelry, ceramic objects, 96" x 63" x 30"

6-7. Exuberance is better than taste, 2007, porcelain, wallpaper, 90" x 50" x 4"

8. Birthday Party, 2008, slipcast and handbuilt porcelain, 3-1/2" diameter x 3"
9. Cornflower, 2008, slipcast and handbuilt porcelain, 4-1/4" diameter x 5"
10. Water Lily 2, 2008, slipcast and handbuilt porcelain, 4-1/4" diameter x 4"

11. Yellow Hubcap, 2009, white earthenware, 13” diameter x 4”
12. Hibiscus Hubcap, 2009, white earthenware, 14” diameter x 4”
13. 100 Ws, 2009, white earthenware

14. Installation view, Abington Art Center, 2009, dressmaker’s dummy, cheesecloth, porcelain objects
15. Installation view, Abington Art Center, 2009, white earthenware objects based on hubcaps, utility
        covers, and doilies

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Contact Information
e-mail: sldonovan@gmail.com
www.shannon-donovan.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Biography
My background in art history, in particular in European art and architecture of the Middle Ages through the 19th century, comes to bear on my artistic expression as I blend visual inspiration from these sources with the debris and decorative follies of 21st-century life. My installations combine unexpected interior and exterior objects with the aim of awakening their floral potential—discarded hubcaps bloom into wallflowers, doilies wrap themselves around utility covers, and wallpaper patterns sprout colorful porcelain growths. My work crosses boundaries of taste and expectation in rendering the functional decorative, and in challenging traditional ideas about the appropriate use and meaning of ceramics. By transforming unremarkable elements of the urban landscape and cultural detritus into domestic objects, I promote interplay between nature and artifice, foster a cycle of cross-pollination between outdoors and in, and champion the notion that exuberance is better than taste.

Education
2006
The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
BA, Design

1994
History of Art, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
MA

Professional Experience
Associate Artist, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA

Representation
Kolok Gallery, North Adams, MA

Awards and Honors
2007
The White Gallery Prize, Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland

Publications
2009
500 Ceramic Sculptures: Contemporary Practice, Singular Works, Lark Books, 2009
Juror: Glen Brown

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2009
Abington Art Center, Abington, PA

Group

2009 - 2010
Functionless Form, Functional Décor, School 33, Baltimore, MD

2009
Biennial Juried Ceramics Exhibition, Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ
Juried Exhibition

The Ground Beneath Your Feet, Fringe, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

Personal Boundaries, SAGE Projects, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

Associate Artists Group Show, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition

Installation, Walters Cultural Arts Center, Hillsboro, OR
Juried Exhibition

Jersey Shore Clay National, m.t. burton gallery, Surf City, NJ
Juried Exhibition

24/7 Access: Ten Associate Artists of the Philadelphia Clay Studio, Anne Reid Art Gallery, Princeton Day School,
Princeton, NJ
Invitational

2008
All Fired Up, MCLA Gallery 51, North Adams, MA
Invitational

Associate Artists Group Show, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition

The 17th San Angelo National Ceramics Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
Juried Exhibition

Fiber Artists: Philadelphia, #5, DaVinci Art Alliance,
Philadelphia, PA
Curated: K. Pannepacker

2007
International Juried Exhibition, Kolok Gallery, North Adams, MA
Juried Exhibition

Society of Scottish Artists Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
Invitational

Design Colllective, Glasgow, Scotland

Tree by the Kelvin, Temporary outdoor installation, Glasgow, Scotland

2006
Degree Show 2006, The Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland

Wigs for Trees in Winter, Glasgow Monuments to Fallen Leaves, Forth & Clyde Canal, Temporary outdoor installation, Glasgow, Scotland
with Andrew Eastwood

2005
Grassroots, Glasgow, Scotland

Poppies in Town and Country, Temporary outdoor installation, Glasgow, Scotland
with Andrew Eastwood

2004
Lost Cities of the Forth & Clyde, Forth & Clyde Canal, Temporary outdoor installation, Glasgow, Scotland
with Andrew Eastwood

2002
Annual Members' Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA