Pat O'Leary trained as a ceramicist in Ireland and worked as a production thrower there and in Australia before setting up her own studio in Wales.
She later retrained and pursued a career as a graphic designer. Pat O’Leary Environmental Graphics, the studio she founded, has designed exhibitions, signage and architectural graphics for a diverse and eminent client list in the UK and internationally.
After a twenty-five year hiatus, O'Leary has returned to ceramics, producing a range of deceptively simple pieces that explore elementary contemporary forms with contrasting finishes. Wheel-thrown in black and buff stoneware clay, these elegant and refined bowls and vessels are finished with opaque gloss and semi-matt glazes.
Of her work, O'Leary says, "as I am making I like to imagine how the piece will be used and how it will be held."