Artist: Tuilelaith-Fionnuala
Tuile-Fionnuala, CANADA
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Bio:
In a beautiful old limestone church in Kingston Ontario, Tuile’s self-directed and unschooled life informs her creative practice. She draws, paints and hand builds functional ceramic work that exudes joy, youthfulness, strong emotions, fantasy, humour and playfulness.
Her narrative work unabashedly tells stories born from her wild imagination. Although only 13, Tuile has been a working artist for 4 years. Recently she has had a solo show at the Dust Evans Gallery in Ottawa and a collaborative show in Kansas City at the Belger Arts Centre. Tuile regularly sells her work in group shows at the Charlie Cummings Gallery in Florida and Clay Akar Gallery in Iowa; she has also had work in a show at Primary Projects in Florida and an upcoming collaborative work for the 2023 NCECA’s Confluent Tradition show.
Tuile is currently focusing on creating large scale sculptures, functional ceramics, wood burning, painting boxes and drawing. In her spare time she has been having a blast creating digital artwork.
Recently, Tuile and family have travelled across Canada with their 1970’s Trillium camper trailer and to Northern Quebec, where she has bought land to build a ceramic retreat.
Artist Statement:
Some of my earliest memories are of being at my parents’ summer art camps and playing with clay as the older kids worked on ceramic projects. During the year my mother would do clay with the children in her daycare, and in the evening work on her own ceramic projects but she wouldn’t get far before I insisted on partaking.
I draw, paint and sculpt on slab built or coil built clay pots creating colourful functional and sculptural ceramic objects that have tons of personality. I take inspiration from my interests in science fiction, pop culture, our animals, food I love, graphic novels and everyday emotions.
Currently, I obsess over the never ending possibilities that clay has to offer. That obsession translates into complex colourful, multilayered work that is forever getting busier. I like a pot that has a lot to say and offers new discoveries each
time you use it.
Awards and Notable Achievements
2019-2021 Ongoing Ceramic Line for regular shop updates and commission workcoder
2019 Published Art Autumn’s 2019 Yoho! Little magazine
2019 Profile Published September’s People to Watch Profile Kingston Magazine
2020 Collaborative Work with Roberto Lugo, Ryan Reich, Chanakarn Semachai and Ryan Hurst
October 2020 Juror 30-day Instagram Ceramic Plate Challenge
2020 Third Runner-up, Wemaju Cup and Mug Contest Clay Voices Online
2021 Hosting Monster Mug 30-Minute Challenge Ceramic Congress, Online
Exhibitions
2019 Solo Exhibition at Mera-Qui Gallery, Kingston ON
2020 Two-Person Collaboration with Chanakarn Semachai at Companion Gallery, Humboldt, TN.
2020 Invited & Participated, Mug-Madness, Saltstone Ceramics Gallery, Seattle, WA
2020 Invited & Participated, Yunomi Invitational XVI, Clay Akar Gallery, Iowa, IA
2020 Invited & Participated, Exquisite Cups Exhibit, hosted by Bryan Wilkerson. Kingston, TN
2020 Invited & Participated, Cup the Intimate Object XVI, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL
2020 Invited & Participated, Incase of Emergency Drink Waterbed, Lefebvre & Fils, Paris France.
2021 Invited & Participated, Mug-Madness, Saltstone Ceramics Gallery, Seattle, WA
2021 Invited to Upcoming, Yunomi Invitational, Clay Akar Gallery, Iowa, IA
2020 Invited, Yunomi Invitational XVII, Clay Akar Gallery, Iowa, IA
2021 Upcoming Two-Person Collaborative Show with Paul Maloney, Belger Crane Yard Studio, Kansas City, MO
2021 Upcoming Solo Exhibition at Gloucester Pottery School, Ottawa, ON.
2022 Invited to Participate in the Residency Program at Lefebvre & Fils, Paris, France.
2022 Upcoming Solo Exhibition Lefebvre & Fils, Paris, France.