Donna Balma was a writer and artist born in Victoria, Canada. A self-taught painter, Balma is known for surreal, dreamlike compositions. A longtime resident of the Sunshine Coast, Balma published fiction and art history, and worked as a registered massage therapist. Her life and practice intersected with important movements in Canadian and international ceramics and visual art, shaped in part by her time in St. Ives, England, during a pivotal era in studio pottery.