Kelly, Chris

Chris Kelly, a ceramic artist from Tennessee, completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Montevallo in Alabama.  Next, apprenticing in Japan, he lived in the Echizen Pottery Village, one of Japan’s Six Ancient kiln sites with over 800 years of history. In Echizen, he studied with Fujita Juroemon VII, learning coil-building and wood-firing techniques unique to the area. Upon returning to the States, he earned a Master of Fine Arts from The School of American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology. He taught at several colleges and then came to Piedmont University in 2008; Chris chaired the department until 2022 and continues to teach Ceramics and Sculpture. While at Piedmont, Chris continued a close relationship with Echizen by building an anagama (wood-firing) kiln with the help of Fujita Juroemon IX and leading travel study trips to Echizen. Recently, Chris established Piedmont’s Fabrication lab. Chris exhibits his ceramic work nationally and internationally and writes articles on wood-firing for various exhibitions and publications. He and his wife, Kathryn, live in the Northeast GA and have three children.

https://www.ckellyceramics.com