Holly Hawthorn

With a name seemingly drawn from a woodland forest, it’s not surprising to find Holly Hawthorn’s work full of natural elements. A sculptor, printmaker and ceramicist, Hawthorn works in many mediums her work is playful and thought provoking, cheerful and memorable. She studied art in the United States as well as Italy and Greece. Her current porcelain sculptures reflect her love of oceans and beaches. Her prints evoke serenity reflective of mist, fog and water themes. She maintains a studio at the American Fabrics Building in Bridgeport, CT.

Anyone who makes their home in the Fairfield County area is more than familiar with seashells, this is the bounty we live with. Hawthorn carefully crafts and conceals individual unique petite porcelain portraits within shells found from Maine to Ireland. These works are meant to conjure a smile and a memory of walks on the beach. One’s experience of beach walks can be forever changed by works like this.

“Walks on the beach and forest on soft grey days provide me with inspiration to create monoprint images showing the subtle colors and fleeting moment that only become visible in the misty atmosphere. Like the images created by the waves on the water edge, similar but infinitely different.

The seashell is a timeless symbol that for me evokes playfulness of time spent on the beach. The illustrative works I create are titled to amuse the viewer. I especially enjoy using ‘play on words’ to title them. They are ‘little celebrations’ of art.”