About Sue

My name is Sue Donnellan, I am a member of the Irish craft council of Ireland and a self-taught artist.

What inspires me... besides the mystic blue sea and nature, being able to use my talents to help others. The sea inspires and moves me to capture the energy and joy of what I see and recreate it through my art in the form of stained glass

I never return to my workshop empty handed from a walk on the beach or a trip abroad, without bringing some organic shapes from nature into my work, beach glass, slices of agate, gems and semi-precious stones, ceramics from the sea shore are special collections that are inserted into each art piece to give it a special, personal meaning.

My Art is a reflection of myself, learning, growing, and constantly evolving.

Stained glass has a timeless quality, an ancient art form, it has the unmistakable mark of handwork. Creating stained glass is a labour of love, as each glass piece is hand cut and individually copper foiled and soldered by hand. I normally work with Uroboros , Youghiogheny Stipple, Kokomo, and Ring mottles glass because of it's traditional handmade craftsmanship. Another unusual feature of my glass work is that it's lead-free. When ever possible I only use organic products, working lead-free is a bit more difficult and costly, but I think the personal and environmental health benefits are worthwhile. I recycle 100% of glass waste by firing the off cuts in a kiln to make unusual jewellery.

It is a slow meditative process, a gradual building up of the image over hours of work. A piece may take anywhere from five to fifty hours or more to complete. All the unrelated pieces come together to tell a story.