James Makins (b. 1946) is a ceramic artist originally from Johnstown, PA, who has been throwing pots in a loft in New York's Soho neighborhood for many years. As a child he studied Tap dancing and as a result, learned the tradition of repetitive practice that has served him well behind the potter's wheel.
Indeed, he has said of his work, " I attempt to synthesize a complex set of references from the history of ceramics, and to fuse them with contemporary issues in music, dance, painting and sculpture. Through the employment of focused attention...heightened awareness and constant decision making,...a vocabulary of mark making is established through gesture, finger pressure and varying wheel speed. The resulting choreography of overlapping time sequence... ultimately convey feelings from the artist to the object...feeling equals form equals feeling".
James Makins, Ewer, G.Lloyd C. Solly II Photograph, GLCSII Studios
He earned a B.F.A. from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia (where he currently teaches) and an M.F.A. from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. His work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Arts and Design, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, among others.
