Sean O’Connell is a full-time studio artist creating handmade pottery, wooden utensils, as well as paintings and other crafts for everyday use and enjoyment. Currently, Sean is a Long-Term Artist-In-Residence at the Penland School of Crafts in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Sean has been involved in the arts & crafts since an early experience apprenticing with silversmiths in his hometown of Fayetteville, AR. He attended college at the Kansas City Art Institute, and upon completing his BFA in Sculpture, he became increasingly dedicated to making functional pottery. Sean pursued his MFA in Ceramics at the School for American Crafts, Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State in 2009. Sean was the 2009 Salad Day’s Artist-in-Residence at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME and between 2011-2013 completed a two year Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT. In 2013 he was named one of Ceramics Monthly’s Emerging Artists and in 2016 as one of six Emerging Artists at the annual NCECA conference in Kansas City. He has taught at numerous universities, colleges, and Art Centers. Most notably at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary, AB, Canada, and the Penland School of Crafts. Sean exhibits his work nationally and regularly gives workshops and lectures throughout North America.
