Natchez native settles into work as potter

Natchez Staff

Published Saturday, May 26, 2001

Saturday, May 26, 2001

The Natchez Democrat

The move from corporate to art world came from gentle stirrings

within him, Natchez potter Conner Burns said.

His master's degree in physiology from Wake Forest University

led him to Connecticut, where he managed ergonomics, health initiatives

and the health and family services department for the giant Champion

International Corporation.

Not until about 10 years ago did he enroll in a pottery class

and begin to spend some spare time trying his hand at the art.

"I was so focused on science that I didn't have time to

take a class," he said, acknowledging that the interest always

had been there, perhaps as far back as his boyhood when he watched

his father, Charles Conner Burns, work in clay.

Now an award-winning potter, the younger Burns, 34, is back

home in Natchez, building his own kiln and continuing to create

pots that reflect his style and taste - not flashy and ornate

but, rather, subtle and richly textured.

"I'm glad it happened when it did. It was the right timing,"

the young artist said. The desire to create pots continued to

grow, nudging him finally into a decision to take some time off

from the corporate job and delve deeper into art.

"I left Champion in 1998. At first I was going to take

just a couple of months off; then it became a year. Then I realized

that making pots was what I wanted to do," he said.

A workshop at Steven Hill's Red Star Studios in Kansas City,

Mo., led to an invitation by the owner to become artist-in-residence

at the studio for a two-year term. Burns said that he jumped at

the chance.

"This was a wonderful experience. Steven still is my mentor.

I call him when I have questions. As artist-in-residence, I was

able to experiment with different styles," Burns said.

His work has evolved into a distinctive style that pleases

him for now. He hastens to say, however, that he knows his work

will change as he grows and matures as an artist. He prefers earth

colors of tans, browns, greys and blacks. "I like for my

pots to be not flashy or ornate but instead to have a subtle richness,"

he said.

He makes pieces that have a function that he understands, he

said. "I think you make what you understand, and most forms

just grow from a general feel at the wheel."

His pots include vases, trays, small footed pieces, bowls in

many sizes, teapots and cups and saucers. A recent honor came

from the National Council of Education in the Ceramic Arts, which

purchased a cup and saucer for their permanent collection and

presented Burns with a merit award for the piece.

The cup and saucer were selected from more than 400 ceramic

cups submitted to the organization's national conference in Charlotte,

N.C.

Burns likes to make pieces that people will use. "Nothing

makes me happier than for someone to tell me 'I eat cereal out

of that bowl every morning,'" he said. The clay is white

stoneware. He frequently alters the pieces by hand after the initial

forming on the potter's wheel, he said.

Coming back to his hometown has been a thrill for him, said

Burns, a 1985 graduate of Cathedral School. To see old friends

and to be near his family has been exhilarating. And to walk down

the street and receive encouragement from people who remember

him from his youth - that is a treat, he said.

His work is on sale at Brown-Barnett-Dixon's on Main Street,

at Chimneyville Crafts Gallery in Jackson, at Red Star Studios

in Kansas City and in other galleries.