Shawn O'Connor
Shawn O’Connor’s utilitarian woodfired objects are tailored specifically to allow the kiln to color and mark their surfaces. No two pieces are the same as the flames path records distinct marks on each piece. Incredibly smooth to the touch, always warm and inviting, the Shawn’s pots seem extend a sense of comfort and welcome to all who use them.
Available Pieces
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
No Longer Available
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Shawn O'Connor at MudFire
Solo show Daily Conversations: Shawn O'Connor, January 2012 Featured artist interview, February 2012
Shawn O'Connor Artist Bio
Shawn O'Connor was born and raised in Minot, ME. Shawn completed his BFA at the University of Southern Maine in 2005. After Undergraduate studies, Shawn went on to be a resident and staff member at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME. He also completed a six-week residency at the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation on Westport Island, ME. In May of 2010, Shawn received his MFA in Ceramics from Syracuse University. The main focus of his research in graduate school revolved around wood firing. While at Syracuse Shawn designed and constructed a Train style wood kiln. He later went on to publish an article about his kiln in the Log Book, an international Journal devoted to wood firing. Shawn most recently completed a year long Artist-in-Residents at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, in Gatlinburg, TN.
Shawn O'Connor Artist Statement
A home cooked meal is still the essence of good, nourishing food for the body and soul. Society as a whole has forgotten that handmade pots can offer the same thing. The benefit of using handmade pots is that they contain the idea of human endeavor. For embedded within the handmade pot that we use every day resides the memory of our human evolution, an idea that transcends ethnic and racial, economic and class, cultural and national boundaries. The biggest success of hand made pots, unlike other art forms is that it is approachable and accessible. It is an art form that represents conversation between maker and user, and enters the home with the ability to affect and interact with the inhabitants on a daily basis.
My focus on utilitarian objects fills a desire to create useful objects for service in the home. My home growing up was strongly focused around the family. Family dinners were important and rarely missed growing up. My extended family gathered quite often for social events such as birthdays and holidays that always revolved around food. I would like to extend this sense of comfort and warmth through my work to others who use it.
Firing with wood also came with my upbringing. I was raised in a rural Maine home that was heated with a wood stove during the cold winter months. This meant that the fire was constantly being fed in order to heat the house. This required a lot of work and attentiveness to the fire. Preparing a winter's worth of wood required many days of hauling, splitting, and stacking. This process was instilled in my life from an early age. I have always found the physical labor, the rhythm, and the sense of accomplishment that comes with this process, enjoyable.
The work I make is tailored for the process of wood firing. During the making, I leave the surfaces of the work quiet and relatively unmarked to allow the flame to create the modulated surface that I desire. My desired surface comes from looking at my rural environment. I am interested in worn river rocks, the erosion of land, the old weathered farmhouse, and the rich colors of leaves as they change in the fall. These are all records of time, change, and decay much like the surface of my work in the wood kiln. The pieces are marked by the flame, colored by the kiln atmosphere, christened by ash deposits, and freckled by erupting impurities. I am fascinated with the rich surface left by this process. No two pieces are exactly the same as the flames path records distinct marks on each piece. The wood fired surface is much like the way wind and water erode rock and earth. The flame moves through the kiln wrapping in and around the work, leaving a mark dependant on what is next to, touching, or above that particular piece. The path of the flame can be controlled when stacking the kiln. Great time and care is spent on each piece as it is loaded, as this will dictate the way the flame moves over and marks the surface of this piece.
