Grundy museum now home to Morris artist’s famed porcelain

Art lovers around the world have discovered the exquisite porcelain pottery of Tom Turner, a fourth-generation Morrisonian, whose retirement brought him back to his hometown seven years ago. About 150 works he considers among his best and most challenging now comprise the permanent exhibition newly opened at the Museum of the Grundy County Historical Society in Morris.

“This collection represents a full circle: I started in Morris and I have ended in Morris,” Turner said, glad his best works are being safely preserved.

The pieces Turner donated are impressive, said Mary Collins, the museum’s executive director.

“We converted our old conference room into the Tom Turner/Joe Corsello Gallery,” Collins said, noting Corsello was Turner’s high school art teacher and mentor.

Turner is grateful for the guidance and support of Corsello, who set the passionate young potter on a successful career path. Several of Corsello’s paintings are on loan by the family of the late artist as part of the exhibition.

Corsello helped Turner build his first kiln and encouraged him to attend Illinois State University for its arts program.

Turner credits synchronicity for all the contacts he would meet who further shaped his path. They include those who recognized his talents and pulled strings to have him teach ceramics, enameling, jewelry, lapidary, leather and painting while he served in the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. That led to being asked to establish a ceramic art program for the school of architecture at Clemson University in South Carolina. He did so in 1971, and taught there until 1976, when he resigned to work full-time in his studio. From 1976-2014, he was a studio artist producing museum-quality porcelain pottery.

“I was a tenured assistant professor and I resigned,” Turner said. “I wanted to funnel all of my energy to my art, but I never gave up teaching, as my reputation got me invitations all over the United States to teach … workshops.”

Turner formulated and invented two porcelains. Unlike natural clay used for certain pottery types, high-fire porcelain is manmade of raw materials from the earth to achieve its translucence and whiteness.

“My training was in a classical, English, Japanese aesthetic,” Turner said. “First, you start with a beautiful form and then you apply a beautiful glaze. And if you do other types of decoration, be careful not to confuse the form. My pots are quiet, generally speaking.

“The porcelain is much more challenging,” he said. “It’s like painting on a white canvas. [You] get much more brilliant color. I always enjoyed the challenge.”

Among them is being an expert at achieving the highly difficult red copper glaze that requires drawing oxygen out of the firing process for scarlet results.

“I always use gas-fired kilns (up to 2,350 degrees) and that allows me to create a reduction atmosphere, meaning there was carbon monoxide which is starved for oxygen – and that pulls the oxygen out of the clay and the glaze,” he said.

Among his career highlights is being invited in 2009 to visit Jingdezhen in China as an international porcelain master.

“It is the birthplace of porcelain,” Turner said. “That was quite an honor. I worked there three weeks – 12 of us from all over the world working together.”

At the start of his career, he produced inexpensive, functional pieces, such as stoneware teapots. His signature work is in another category altogether.

“Collectors, including myself, buy pottery to look at,” he said. “And I always felt if it’s visually satisfying you, it’s functioning.

“I never wanted to do anything that was easy, and I never wanted to follow anyone else,” Turner said. “I followed my nose and did a lot of research. That’s what got me in 40-plus books written in eight countries.”

His works are displayed around the world, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, museums across the U.S., in China, Australia, Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan and U.S. embassies.

Without needing to travel far, one can view Turner’s local exhibition at the museum at 510 W. Illinois Ave. in Morris, open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and by appointment. People can call the museum at 815-942-4880 to arrange for a special look at the pieces personally led by Turner, who’s president of the museum board. Learn more at grundycountyhs.org.

“A big part of collecting is sharing,” said the artist, who also welcomes pottery fans to reach out to him to see more of his works at his home by calling or texting 815-922-0057 or emailing tom@tomturnerporcelain.com.