From Here to There is a personal meditation on the cycle of life and my deliberate act of seeking profound beauty in darkness. Quietly pinching porcelain into 3000 delicate winged creatures, I embraced the time to ponder love, loss, and all that connects us to other beings.
I find myself squarely in the middle of my life—witnessing the growth of my children and the aging, and death, of my parents. The rhythm of this cycle, despite moments of unsettledness and deep sadness, feels logical and natural. In February 2014, that logic was radically disrupted by the death of a 23 year old student and friend, Talia Goldenberg ’12, following a surgical procedure to combat the complications of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
In medicine, the term “zebra” is used in reference to a rare disease or condition. Doctors are taught to assume that the simplest explanation is usually correct to avoid patients being misdiagnosed with rare illnesses. Doctors learn to expect common conditions.
“When you hear the sound of hooves, think horses, not zebras.”
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is considered a rare condition and so EDS sufferers are known as medical zebras.
Dedicated to the memory of my mother, Terry Stinnett, and my friend, Talia Goldenberg, this work was created with generous support of the McKnight Foundation, Northern Clay Center, and Carleton College. Special thanks to Danny Saathoff for installation assistance.
From Here to There, 2015
Porcelain, twine, stainless steel, stoneware
15′ x 15′
From Here to There (Detail), 2015
Porcelain, twine, stainless steel, stoneware
15′ x 15′
Kelly Connole, Associate Professor of Art
University of Montana, B.F.A., San Francisco State University, M.F.A.
Kelly Connole is a studio artist and educator living in Northfield, MN. She earned her MFA from San Francisco State University and her BFA from University of Montana. Her work combines the tactile nature of clay with images of memories and emotions addressing relationships within environments: natural and constructed, human and animal. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries across the country. She is the recipient of many awards including a McKnight Residency, a Jerome Project Grant, a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, and a 2014 McKnight Fellowship.
