About Me

 

Who am I and what am I about?

Simply put I am a female, African American, retired Chicago police officer turned artist, one woman operation. My name is Donna Marie Adams, I use my maiden name, Shannon to honor my father.

My clay journey began in the mid-70's I learned how to throw in college and I loved it! Then life happened.

Once retired, I began doing genealogy and exploring the lives of my Ancestors, free and enslaved. My research impacted my view of so many things.

When I decided to revisit working in clay, I rediscovered that clay can be challenging on many different levels! While I do not have a formal education in the art of ceramics I have researched everything I can find on the subject and will continue to do so. I couple that with what I can remember from school and the good old trial and error (that is such a good teacher)!

I don't throw on the wheel, think of the movie, Ghost. I hand build. That means I use slabs and coils of clay, I use my hands to push, pull and smooth to create my work, along with various tools, some of which came from my kitchen! I use two different colors of clay, a white and a rich dark brown. The white clay allows me to use a range of glaze colors. The dark brown clay is perfect for when I want the piece to stand out on it's own or when I'm creating a sculpture that represents an Ancestor or an African American.

The reason I prefer to create non-functional pieces is it affords me the opportunity  to allow my imagination free reign!

I get such great joy when others see my work and get a "feeling", be it joy or sadness or maybe it causes them to view life or even themselves in a new way. Art, my art is meant to touch you in some way.

My work is all hand built one at a time and always evolving. I am a woman who will push her own boundaries knowing that Art Has No Rules except the ones I place on myself! 

A proud achievement, my art was selected to be shown in both the 2019 and the 2021 Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry!

I hope you enjoy my art as much as I enjoyed creating it!