Knoxville Ceramicist Maggie Connolly Awarded IAF in Craft

By Krishna Adams – Director of Visual Arts, Craft, Media, and Design –

Maggie Connolly, a Knoxville-based ceramic artist and educator, has received the FY2026 Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship in Craft, an award recognizing her professional achievement and cultural impact. This prestigious award supports Tennessee artists whose work contributes significantly to the arts in their communities and beyond.

Connolly said she will use the IAF award to purchase land and reconstruct a wood-firing kiln she has been salvaging. She said the project will expand opportunities for community-based learning in wood firing and offer her a new level of autonomy in her evolving practice.

“This kiln is more than a tool—it’s a hub for learning and exchange,” Connolly said. “I want others to experience the joy and chaos of wood firing.”

Her practice is steeped in the heritage of historic ceramic centers such as Jingdezhen, Mashiko, and Yixing. Connolly’s work blends Eastern training with Western aesthetics. A self-described “mad scientist in the studio,” she experiments with wild clay harvesting, glaze formulation, wheel-throwing, hand-building and various firing methods. Her forms reflect the discipline of her training in Asia, while her color choices often embrace a vibrant American sensibility.

“Every piece is a conversation,” Connolly said. “I don’t always know where it’s going but I always know I’m searching for connection.”

Born in Dubuque, Iowa, Connolly earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Grinnell College before moving to Beijing. In 2013, she became the first American to earn a Master of Fine Arts in ceramic design from Tsinghua University. She later received a doctorate in studio ceramics from Tokyo University of the Arts, where she also served as a postdoctoral researcher.

Connolly returned to the United States in 2019 for an artist-in-residence program at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. She now teaches at Mighty Mud Studios in Knoxville and is developing a ceramics program at The Bottom, a nonprofit supporting Black creatives.

As a working ceramics artist, Connoly finds her experiences in the studio to be beneficial in teaching students.

“This has helped me to hone what I do on the wheel because I have to explain it to other people and teach different ways to approach clay because some ways are more successful than others,” she said. “It has become a great routine on how I approach my practice.”

Her work is in the permanent collections of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Tokyo University of the Arts’ University Museum and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

Connolly’s art is currently on view in the Dogwood Arts Regional Exhibition in Knoxville through Aug. 29. She has a solo show scheduled from March 5-April 3, 2026, at Chattanooga State Community College’s Denise Heinly Art Center.

She encourages artists to be persistent when applying for grants, including the IAF application process.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” she said. “Be prepared to apply more than once. I don’t get everything the first time, and that’s okay. Failure is part of the journey.”

A writer and presenter, Connolly has contributed to Ceramics Monthly and spoken at national and international conferences.

“Every vessel I make is meant to gather people,” she said, “to hold memory, and add meaning to the rhythms of daily life.”

Be sure to visit her website and Instagram for more information.