Potter’s Work Stands Out for Difficult Style

Professor Jim Connell looks to the past for ideas and inspiration. He loves Chinese ceramics, particularly from the Sung Dynasty, the Prehistoric Neolithic and Tang Dynasty and the teapots made in Yixing.

Jim Connell’s pottery pieces can be spotted quickly. The prolific artist creates pottery distinctive for its color and shape in three distinct styles: stoneware, porcelain and Raku.

His more than 34 years’ experience with ceramics has earned the fine arts professor a national reputation. His pottery can be found in eight museums, including the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Minneapolis Institute of Art and two overseas museums – the Taipai County Yingge Ceramic Museum in Taiwan and the Yixing Ceramic Museum in China.

His works, mostly bowls, teapots and vases, are showcased in more than 20 exhibitions annually and are available for purchase at Winthrop’s annual December pottery sale.

First drawn to pottery as a college student at Loyola University in Chicago, Connell loves ceramics for its beauty and elegance. “On my very best days in the studio, I get glimpses of it, and it keeps me going,” Connell said. “It is all about that eternal elusive quest for beauty.”

Connell, whose work is inspired by nature and guided by historical precedent, adds that “there aren’t any potters out there that do the type of work I do.” His style of carving is unique and even though he demonstrates it at workshops, he rarely sees anyone attempting his style. “I strived from the beginning to stand apart and be original.”

He has demonstrated his passion to Winthrop students since joining the faculty in 1987. "I love teaching and connecting with the students. After all these years it’s easy to spot the interested student. You either have the passion or you don’t. Those that take to it have a curiosity and a desire to keep doing it. And those that don’t have it are always ready to wash their hands, literally, of the mess,” Connell said.

Connell recently found out that his work had been juried into the 17th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, the premiere functional national show. His inclusion marked the 16th out of 17 times that his work was selected for the show, a record that no other ceramic artist in the United States holds.

In addition, Connell’s work was juried into six out of the last eight National Council on the Education for Ceramic Arts Clay National Exhibition, the nation’s top ceramic exhibition. Consistent acceptance into this show is rare, and Connell’s record is shared by only one other fellow ceramic artist.