Donna L. McGee

1952 Born Chicago, Illinois

EDUCATION

1974 BS Re-creation, Art and Society, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois

1977 Jacob Cramer Centre for the Arts, Leeds, Yorkshire, England

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1978—present  Studio Potter

2011-2014 Assistant to the Editor, Studio Potter        

 2015-2020  Research Consultant, The  Marks Project 

2020 -present Research Manager, The Marks Project

BIOGRAPHY

Donna McGee works in wheel-thrown or slab-built, low-fire, red earthenware clay. The surfaces are decorated with slips, underglaze pens, pencils, stains, and chalks. Surface decoration begins by applying a layer of slip, then scratching through layers of slip using the sgraffito technique.

The drawing forms the base she uses to structure the rest of the surface work. These spontaneous drawings are based on her sketchbook drawings of the human figure, fields, farm, and domestic scenes. McGee fires her work in an electric kiln in an oxidation firing. Drawings and motifs on her pieces are inspired by constant sketches of people, places, domesticity.

McGee also experiments with her first clay, stoneware, fired in wood or gas with soda or salt. 

Public Collections

American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), Pomona, California

Bibliography

Butler, Ruth (Ed.).  Ceramics Monthly International Competition. The American Ceramic Society, Columbus OH: 1999. 

Fairbanks, Jonathan and Angela Fina. Best of Pottery. Boston, MA: Rockport Publishers, 1996.

George, Phyllis. Crafts in America. Fort Worth, TX: The Summer Group, 1993.

Fina, Angela and Christopher Gustin. Best of Pottery, Volume 2. Rockport, MA: Rockport Publishers, 1998.

Website: donnamcgee.com

Donna McGee

Southern Highland Craft Guild