Kathleen studied Fine Art Printmaking at the Limerick College of Art & Design, before training as an art teacher. She teaches art fulltime in Dungarvan College and returned to study Ceramics at Crawford College of Art in 2018.
Kathleen’s practice is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes that surround her where she lives in West Waterford; the simplicity of both land and beach scapes capture her imagination. She focuses on the subtleties of colour, texture and light and examines how different materials transmit these qualities. Kathleen sees the vessel form as a canvas in the round and uses porcelain to create that sense of stillness and refinement. Her work evokes a sense of clarity, simplicity, and inner peace. Working in visual conversation with things in the natural world, Kathleen strives to imbue the works with a sense of lightness and poise.
The forms are slip cast using liquid Porcelain, and once bisque fired, they become the canvas to create the secluded, calm, and serene scenes using brush on underglazes. Kathleen applies underglazes like watercolour, mixing and layering on colour to create depth and atmosphere. The outside is left unglazed enhancing the quality of the porcelain, the inside is glazed for functional purposes.
