Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Namnoum.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I have always thought of myself as a maker/artist; I began drawing, painting, sculpting, and sewing in elementary school. Taking the usual art classes in elementary and jr. high was not enough, my parents supported my passion and sent me to private painting instruction. I took the only art class available in high school and considering the lack of instruction it provided, I decided to be an art teacher. After college, I began teaching elementary art, eventually middle school art and then spent most of my 23 public school art classroom years teaching high school ceramics. After leaving the classroom, I became an administrator, serving three years as a dean of students and nine as an assistant high school principal.
All the while, I maintained a ceramics studio in my home and produced work at a modest rate, showing in juried and group shows and occasionally having solo exhibits. Since retiring from education in 2014, I have been producing much more work and am finding that my ideas seem to flow more easily than while teaching. I have immersed myself in my work, spending most days in my studio or involved in other art-related activities.
Please tell us about your art.
Over the many years that I’ve been making wheel thrown sculptural forms, my work has evolved, one series leading to the next. Never really interested in making functional pottery, from the beginning, I used the potter’s wheel to make sculptural forms. I have cycled back to forms inspired by plants more often than not and over the past few years have been making covered jars whose lids are covered with succulent-like and various leaf-like forms. These forms are inspired by desert and under-the-sea plants as well as vegetation reminiscent of growths one might encounter in a backyard garden or in the forest.
Throwing on the potter’s wheel is central to my forming process, offering the possibility of fresh and spontaneous creations. Each of the individual parts of my sculptures is formed on the potter’s wheel and then is altered and or assembled. The forms that come off the wheel allow me to make creations that look alive as if they are growing, twisting, and even wilting. In the current jar series, the main vessel becomes the host and the lids of these vessels grow sprouts from the surface or are meant to appear as though they live inside.
My interest in historical ceramics and world pottery has informed my work: the subjects of my early forms were classic pottery vessels and then eventually evolved to being about and reflecting various natural forms – plants, bugs, human beings, and even cellular-like forms. Meanwhile, they evolved from representational to varying degrees of abstraction. Whether partially abstract or representational, the final pieces represent my own vision of plants, bugs, or other natural forms.
Surface and color are also integral to the finished forms. My experimentation in making glazes allows me to add texture, interesting layers and colorful surfaces that can bring the forms to life. Recently, I began pushing my own limits of size and scale, ranging from very large forms to rather small forms. As I change the scale of the forms, it forces me to question the basic qualities of the pieces while revealing new ideas and possibilities.
I am always aware of the uncertainty of how a piece will turn out, making the whole process of creating, from throwing the forms on the wheel to assembling the parts to finishing the surface, an exciting adventure. My goal is for that uncertainty and experimentation to be visible in final work.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
Joining an artist’s co-op or guild has been really helpful to me. I also teach an adult pottery class at a local art league which has provided a number of important connections for me.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work can be viewed on my website at www.donnanamnoum.com.
I regularly show at Gallery on the Green, Canton, CT. I have also recently shown at the Underground Gallery, Collinsville, CT and at the Guilford Art Center, Guilford, CT.
Contact Info:
- Address: 146 Cherry Brook Rd
Canton, CT 06019 - Website: www.donnanamnoum.com
- Phone: 860-212-3914
- Email: donna.namnoum@gmail.com
- Instagram: Donna Namnoum-ceramics
- Facebook: Donna Namnoum-ceramics
Image Credit:
Donna Namnoum
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