Donna Nicholas
Donna Nicholas primarily produced sculptural pieces that were constructed of various clay bodies particularly porcelain and white earthenware. The sculptures were constructed with slabs with the addition of extrusions and press molded ...
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Typical Marks
About
- Biography
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Donna Nicholas primarily produced sculptural pieces that were constructed of various clay bodies particularly porcelain and white earthenware. The sculptures were constructed with slabs with the addition of extrusions and press molded elements. Multiple glaze firings used to enhance the forms were an ongoing part of her practice.
Nicholas introduction to ceramics occurred as an outgrowth of her time teaching English in Japan. While in Japan she studied with numerous potters in a number of pottery areas. Upon her return to the US she studied with Paul Soldner at Claremont. Beginning in 1986 after a tornado touched down in her town a number of her sculptures were made of 2 pieces with the negative space between then representing a tornado. Late in her career she turned to the figure in mixed media sculptures.
" - Apprenticeships & Residencies
- Primary Work Experience
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1959-1960
English Instructor, Doshisha Women’s College, Kyoto, Japan
1960-1964English Instructor YMCA, Kyoto, Japan
1965-1966Instructor, Claremont Unified School District, Claremont, California
1966-1969Instructor, Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan
1969—Professor of Art, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Other
- Public Collections
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California State University, San Luis Obispo, California
Erie Art Museum, Erie, Pennsylvania
Flint Institute of the Arts, Flint, Michigan
Lowe Gallery, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Plains Art Museum, Moorhead, Minnesota
Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Bibliography
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Nicholas, Donna. Video, WVIA-TV. PORTRAITS of Pennsylvania Artists. Allentown, PA, 1990.
_____________.“The Ceramic Nationals at Syracuse.” Craft Horizons (December 1972).
_____________.“A Potters’ Dozen.” NCECA Journal (1980).
_____________.“From the Inside Out.” NCECA Journal (1988).
_____________.“Gaigin.” Studio Potter (winter 1992).
_____________.“Japanese Women Ceramists-Part I.” Studio Potter (winter 1994).
_____________.“Japanese Women Ceramists-Part II.” Studio Potter (winter 1995).
- CV or Resume
- Website(s)
Citation: Donna Nicholas, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/donna-lee-nicholas
