Ceremoniously Functional
Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy characterizes her warm works in stoneware and porcelain as “ceremoniously functional.” The artist uses wheel thrown and hand altering techniques to create essential forms that she hopes will encourage the user to think, act and cook creatively while enjoying the aesthetic beauty of functional handmade pottery every day. Her pitchers, platters, covered dishes, and tea sets are fired in an atmospheric soda kiln, resulting in an array of beautiful orange, salmon, gray and pebbly surfaces. Of their decoration, the artist states, “The black gesture lines of glaze express the movement I feel while creating. Color, surface, and texture in and on the clay help describe the intuitive and primal directness I feel in my work.”
About Sandra Shaughnessy
The St. Louis Park, MN artist holds a BFA from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and an MFA from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Her work has been selected for exhibitions throughout the country at venues that have included Skutt Kilns in Portland, OR and Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, MI. Sandra is currently a ceramics instructor at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. In addition to teaching classes and private lessons, she is in the process of building her private studio in Ottertail, MN.
She has taught at numerous art centers and University studios including Winona State University, Eastern Michigan University the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis and the Ann Arbor Potters Guild to name a few. She participates in art fairs and galleries across the region.
Sandra throwing at a gallery’s pottery show
About Soda Fire
The stoneware and porcelain pottery are fired at a high temperature of 2340 degrees Fahrenheit, or in potter jargon, cone 10! The beautiful, warm, orange or gray surface comes from a combination of clay and baking soda. Different clays “flash” different colors when they come in contact with the vapors of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The result is a distinct, subtle, surface coating!
Lidded olive-oil bottles with copper wire handle.
Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy 