Clay is my passion. Decoration is my language. Since 1990.
Happy New Year! 2021 marks 31 years of me working full time in clay and I love doing it more than ever.
I am still not sure what the year has to offer in terms of exhibition opportunities. I write this from my studio in lockdown, so my store is not open in Williamsburg. For the winter season you can find me Sundays at the Ottawa Farmers' Market in the Aberdeen Pavillion at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. This runs through to April 25th, 10 to 3. And, of course, I am always open online! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this page so you don't miss a website update or sale! Yes, sales!
Welcome to my spiffed up website. You can look at my work through the Catalogue and accompanying "tags" list or through the Collections. All the same work, the "Collections" has just grouped it. No doubt there are things that need some tweaking, but mosey your way through the menus, I think you will find it a fun journey. Enjoy, Diane Sullivan, MFA.
Hot Out of the Kiln!
Free Delivery, Curbside Pickup, Free Shipping and SALES!
FREE DELIVERY As I navigate the wonders of this new website I am happy to offer free delivery to those living within Ottawa, the burbs or South Dundas. Your address will trigger this option at checkout, and I will be in touch to confirm delivery time.
FREE PICK UP is also available at the Williamsburg store. Use this if you want to grab it online first to guarantee it's there for you when you come to the store. Enter the discount code FREEPICKUP at checkout, you won't be charged shipping and I will know the piece is sold and hold it for you.
FREE SHIPPING is applied to all purchases over $400.
E-TRANSFER PAYMENT is now an option in the checkout process. Just click Bank Transfer and follow the instructions.
SALES!! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page so you don't miss any of my pop-up sales or shop updates.
ARABESQUE POTTERY: THE BACKSTORY
My earlier work sought to decipher decoration’s meaning and relationship to our current world. In 1996, I created Arabesque Pottery, a studio line of functional and non-functional forms that complement my larger one-of-a-kind pieces. I make the work on the potter's wheel or by hand building slabs of clay then decorate when the clay is still wet either by carving in to the clay or applying a print transfer technique.
‘Arabesque’ literally means ‘arab-like’ and was coined by Europeans to define movements in the arts influenced by Islam. You’ll find an arabesque in poetry, dance, music and architecture. I am using it for the visual reference to an architectural detail known as an arabesque, or in layman’s terms, a ‘curlicue’, which you will find in a lot of my work. The arabesque suggests the beauty and continuity of life.
In 2006, I had the great pleasure of traveling to China for a residency. The result of that visit has been the return to larger scale sculptures, now incorporating figurative references. And I still create the pottery line. Both the sculptures and the pottery have historical references to European and Asian ceramic history as well as everyday Canadian life.