James Watkins
James Watkins is best known for large double-walled stoneware vessels, or caldrons; he also has made teapots, platters, tiles, and other functional pots. Surface techniques include terra sigillata as well as stannous ...
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Typical Marks
About
- Biography
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James Watkins is best known for large double-walled stoneware vessels, or caldrons; he also has made teapots, platters, tiles, and other functional pots. Surface techniques include terra sigillata as well as stannous chloride fumed gold and platinum luster. Watkins experiments with alternative firing techniques, using metal and aluminum foil saggars to create black surfaces with flashes of graduating tones.
Watkins is inspired by memories of his childhood in rural Alabama, the Southwest landscape, his African-American heritage, John Coltrane’s music, and his belief in the strength and energy of dreams.
- Apprenticeships & Residencies
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2005
Senior Fulbright Scholar and Professor, Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
- Primary Work Experience
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Potter
1978-1983Director, McKenzie Terrace Pottery Center, Lubbock, Texas
1983-2020Professor, College of Architecture, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
2021Paul Whitfield Horn Professor Emeritus, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
Other
- Public Collections
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Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shigaraki, Japan
Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota
White House Collection at the Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, Arkansas
- Bibliography
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Davis, James T., and James C. Watkins. Architectural Delineation: Presentation Techniques and Projects. United States: Kendall/Hunt, 2001.
Davis, Spencer (Ed.). “James Watkins.” Ceramics Monthly, 29, no. 4 (October 1981).
Dean, Chotsani Elaine and donald a clark. Contemporary Black American Ceramic Artists. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2022.
Hopper, Kippra D. A Meditation of Fire: The Art of James C. Watkins. United States: Texas Tech University Press, 1999.
Knapp, Jessica (Ed.). “Skin of the Vessel.” Ceramics Monthly, 69, no. 3 (March 2021).
Sasser, Elizabeth. “James Watkins.” Ceramics Monthly, 34, no. 8 (October 1986).
Watkins, James. “Pots Made of Memories.” Ceramics Monthly, 40, no. 6 (June-August 1992).
Watkins, James. “Reflections on Legacy.” Studio Potter, 42, no. 1 (Winter/Spring 2014).
Watkins, James C. “Reflections Made of Memories.” N.p.: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2020.
Watkins, James and Paul Andrew Wandless. Alternative Kilns & Firing Techniques: Raku, Saggar, Pit, Barrel. New York NY: Lark Books, 2004.
- CV or Resume
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McGee, Donna
- Website(s)
Citation: McGee, Donna James Watkins, "The Marks Project."
Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/james-c-watkins
