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Biography
Born and raised in Hawai’i, I am the daughter, sister, and granddaughter of artists who followed a different path—into science and journalism. After more than three decades in that career, a few ceramics classes and a wood-firing workshop at a kiln in New Hampshire compelled a dramatic shift in focus. In 2019, I established my ceramics studio, and in 2024, I built an anagama, a single chambered wood-burning kiln, in Ashton, Maryland, with expert potter and kiln builder, Jordan Taylor. We fire our kiln for 48 to 120 hours three to four times a year. My work reflects the influences of my family’s fascinations — with the arts of Asia and Oceania, and with the cosmology and legends of the Hawaiian islands. Workshops with various potters and a residency have served as my technical education. My recent work focuses on using minimally processed “wild” clays and simple glazes that invite strong interactions with wood ash during firings. I continue to write about science and medical policy occasionally for national outlets.
Artist Statement
The pots that resonate for me echo the power and mystery of the natural world. Such objects connect me to my own history and to the world around me, and in so doing they can open a portal between the ordinary and the sacred. I see my artwork as a way to explore connections between the material and immaterial, between human community and the environment that enraptures and sustains us. A carved platter evokes the forces of wind and rain on stone while simultaneously providing a sense of communion when it is piled with food. A large pot compels the viewer to move around it, just as water navigates its way around a boulder as it flows downstream. Wood firing reinforces the history of clay as dirt and water, and the effects of heat and time on stone. I want my work to open a window on the profound beauty of everyday objects.
Why Hinalea?
I grew up in Waimanalo, Hawai’i, on Hinalea Street, a street name that is rich with meaning in the Hawaiian language. Hinalea derives from Hina, one of the most prominent and ancient goddesses in Polynesian mythology. Hina represents the moon, the silvery gray light of the moon, divine femininity, motherhood, and healing. Hinalea is the name of the psychedelic wrasse, a small, colorful reef fish found only in the Hawaiian islands. The Hinalea can change sex from female to male in midlife, when it transforms from a lovely brown little fish with white spots into a dazzling creature with an orange head and turquoise blue stripes. The Hinalea was my mother’s favorite fish to see while snorkeling, and using that name for my website honors her and the culture of the islands.
Representation
Charlie Cummings Gallery https://charliecummingsgallery.com/represented-artists-a-c/shannon-brownlee.html
Starworks School House Gallery https://www.starworksnc.org/school-house-gallery-online-store
Scope Gallery http://www.scopegallery.org/
Group Exhibitions
2026 Workhouse Arts Center 16th Annual Clay International Ben Carter, juror, Lorton, VA.
2026 In Hand III Allison Palmer, juror, Art School at Old Church, Demarest, NJ.
2026 Shino Odyssey, Matt Hyleck, juror, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD.
2026 Kansas City Clay Guild Tea Bowl National 2026, Minsoo Yuh, juror, Kansas City, MO.
2026 Labor Day Art Show, juried exhibition, Glen Echo Park, Bethesda, MD.
2026 Wichita Ceramics National Exhibition, Julia Galloway, juror, Reuben Saunders Gallery, Wichita, KS
2026 Finely Crafted, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
2025 The Intimate Object XXI, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL
2025 Strictly Functional,Mark Hewitt, juror, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA, winner of a Juror’s Choice Award
2024 Strictly Functional,David MacDonald, juror, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
2024 Southern Miss Ceramics National, Juried exhibition, Elaine and Tom Coleman, jurors, Southern Mississippi University Museum of Art, Hattiesburg, MI
2024 Firefest Exhibition, Invitational exhibition, Starworks School House Gallery, Star, NC
2024 The Art of Coalescing, NCECA Concurrent Exhibition, Richmond, VA
2024 TableTop 2024, Juried exhibition, Naomi Clement, juror, Art League, Alexandria, VA
2024 Labor Day Art Show, Juried exhibition, Glen Echo Park, Bethesda, MD
2024 Exquisite FormsVI, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL
2023 Exquisite FormsV, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL
2023 Cohorts Art Show, Invitational, Good Earth Pottery Gallery, Bellingham, WA
2023 Earth & Fire, Juried exhibition, Jen Allen, juror, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Wheeling, WV
2023 TableTop 2023, Juried exhibition, Lindsay Oesterritter, juror,Art League, Alexandria, VA
2023 34th Biennial Exhibition, Juried exhibition, Jaimianne Jacobin, Lynda Smith-Bugge and April Wood, jurors, Creative Crafts Council, Washington, DC
2022Exquisite Forms IV, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL
2022 Animalia, Juried exhibition, AnneMarie Cooper, juror, Good Earth Pottery Gallery, Bellingham, WA
2022 Labor Day Art Show, Juried multimedia exhibition, Zoma Wallace, juror, Glen Echo Park, Bethesda, MD
2022 Bethesda Row Arts Festival, Juried art fair, Bethesda, MD
202111th Annual Intl. Juried Ceramics Exhibition, Workhouse Arts Clay Center, Kevin Snipes, juror Lorton, VA
2021 Annual Popcorn Gallery Show, Juried exhibition, Jeff Kirk, juror, Glen Echo Pottery, Bethesda, MD
2021 Inspired by Malcolm: A Passion for Shino, Juried exhibition, Matthew Hyleck, juror, Sandy Spring Museum, Sandy Spring, MD
2021 33rd Biennial Exhibition, Juried exhibition, Aldeide Delgado, juror, Creative Crafts Council, Bethesda, MD
2021 Women of Woodfire Show, Juried exhibition, Eutectic Gallery, Portland, OR
2020Kindled Spirits, Juried exhibition, Simon Levin, juror, Good Earth Pottery, Bellingham, WA
2020Wild Things (multimedia), Juried exhibition, Cape Cod Cultural Center, Truro, MA
2020Annual Popcorn Gallery Show, Juried exhibition, Jeff Kirk, juror, Glen Echo Pottery, Bethesda, MD