James Makins

I received my BFA from Philadelphia College of Art in 1968; attended the Penland School of Crafts for three months during the summer and the Brooklyn Museum Art School in the Fall of the same year. From 1969 until 1971, I served an apprenticeship at the Byron Temple Pottery. In 1973, I received my MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and moved to New York City where I established a studio in the Soho District. From 1973 until September 1990, I functioned primarily as a studio artist making commissioned dinnerware. During the summer of 1990, I participated in an International Ceramics Workshop in Tokoname, and in September 1990, I accepted a position as Associate Professor in the Ceramics Department at The University of the Arts. I received a Fulbright Fellowship to Japan during the 1993-1994 Academic Year, and spent the year in Tokoname, where I established a second studio. In 1997 I received a promotion to Professor of Art. In 2000/2001, I received a Japan Foundation Fellowship Award. I have participated in International Workshops, and conducted workshops, and lectured in The United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. I received the Silver Prize in the 49th Faenza, Italy International Ceramic Competition, and the Grand Prize in the Izushi International Porcelain Competition, Izushi, Japan. My work is represented in many private collections and in museums such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, among others.