Working from a shared studio in Sydney’s Glebe Holly Macdonald channels a sense of nature and decidedly non-machine made style in her work, recalling the Japanese notion of wabi-sabi, an aesthetic philosophy that accepts and celebrates the transient nature of design, and the inherent imperfection in life.
Macdonald comes to the world of ceramics following an initial design passion in architecture and engineering before studying fine art, majoring in ceramics at the National Art School in Sydney.
Growing up between the city and the country, Holly’s work channels her strong connection to the country, with “the natural systems that govern the land” cited as an influence over her work.
Holly Macdonald uses the ancient ceramic moulding technique of handbuilding to create her unique and playfully organic forms. Handbuilding lets the physical nature of the clay to come through in the final design of the product, which is paired wonderfully with the delicate handpainted motifs each product receives.
We’re very excited to be featuring Holly in 2016, which is set to be a big year for the designer and artist. “At this point I am saying yes to everything” she says, including her first solo gallery show in July at Sabbia Gallery in Padddington.
Holly is also working on a number of collaborative projects with kil.n.it Experimental Ceramics, so there’s more to look forward to.
Images taken from Holly’s Instagram
Holly Macdonald
instagram.com/h_o_l_l_y_m/
