Long Island Ceramics Artist Stacks for Beauty Over Function
January 12, 2026
Bonnie Shanas sculpts stories by breathing life into steel wire mesh.
“My art is about capturing those intimate moments and being able to convey them. When other people come up to my work, they often say, ‘Oh, I get that!’” says Bonnie, a longtime artist at Rose Squared Art Shows.
Bonnie was 11 when her parents moved the family from the United States back to Israel, where she remained for 30 years. She held multiple jobs in business, which left little time to pursue anything creative.
“But I always loved art,” Bonnie says. “If there was a free day, I went to the museum.”
Walking by a sculpture, “I have to touch it!” she says.
The long hours of corporate life wore on her, particularly seeing her children only when she put them to bed. She opted to become a stay-at -home mom.
“I’ll give you three months!” her husband, Yaron, joked, insisting she’d go stir crazy.
Bonnie’s first day at home while her kids were in school, she inquired about an art class.
Making one phone call, she found one a class that met at 10 a.m., the next morning.
Debating in her mind, Bonnie thought, “I need to ease into this.”
Yet the next morning, she called back to find the address of the class. An hour later, she was its newest student, learning from an instructor who specialized in wire mesh.
That started a journey that became Bonnie’s own. After several months, the instructor suggested she advance her art by studying under a renowned artist in Tel Aviv.
She began to study under Shulamit Hartel, whose method used mesh as more armature incorporating cement. Those pieces were done in the full round.
“I loved the mesh; I hated the cement,” says Bonnie, who moved to New Jersey with her family in 2009. “That made it easier to depart from that.”
Stone involves carving. Clay involves adding on. Drawn to the figurative, Bonnie preferred to work only with mesh in its natural, naked state. No molds or casts are used.
“When I’m thinking of something, to create, it has a human form, ”she says.“ It has a story, and I go with the story.
”She never wears gloves as the feel of the mesh is integral to her art. Nearing the end of a project, she’ll use a wooden knife to make some of the creases. She uses a pair of pliers before finishing off the piece with paint.
Bonnie compares the process to origami, which evolves into different shapes all from one piece of paper. Similarly, she doesn’t add on to the mesh.
Dance with its own unique language inspires her as do her global travels. The flamenco dancers in Spain enchanted her to sculpt endlessly when she returned to the States.
Bonnie’s process is slow and intentional. “The mesh has a memory and if I make a mistake, I start over,” she says. “You can’t undo a line.”
Bonnie’s art assumes the form of a relief. Her finished pieces are mounted on silk mats and framed.
Art remained a hobby for Bonnie, though Yaron began photographing it to compile it an album. He suggested showing it to galleries. Bonnie was reluctant.
It was Yaron who first brought the photo album to a Philadelphia gallery owner, who offered her a show after seeing her work up close. “He gave me a contract to sign and I was blown away,” Bonnie says.
One gallery turned into more. Today Bonnie’s award-winning sculptures can be found all over the world in public and private collections. Since 2012, she has participated in numerous invitational art residencies in Poland and France.
Bonnie later added outdoor juried art shows. In addition to increasing her exposure, she welcomed that the shows allowed her to interact with people visiting her booth.
“When you make art and you bring it into the public eye, you’re bringing in a part of your soul,” Bonnie says. “There’s something really beautiful about being able to express and answer questions and share. It makes it all the more meaningful.”
Find “Wire Mesh Sculptures by Bonnie Shanas” at the Rose Squared Spring Rittenhouse Square Fine Craft Show (May 8-10, 2026) and Rose Squared Spring Chester Craft Show
(May 30-31, 2026).
