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A native of Montana, Kelly Connole earned a BFA with honors from her home state university in 1991. She then moved to the West Coast and received a Master of Fine Arts in ceramics from San Francisco State University in 1996. Since moving to Minneapolis the following year, Kelly has been a welcomed addition to the art community of the Twin Cities. In addition to teaching throughout the area she has been a feature artist with the Edina Art Center, Bloomington Art Center and an artist-in-residence at Plymouth Middle School.

I am intrigued by the relationships we choose to cultivate with animals, loved ones and strangers, and American culture. In my most recent work I've chosen to explore these connections through examination of life in the circus. In this environment, outcasts from the greater norm are celebrated and honored, animals and human collaborate in mysterious manners, and humor exists both in the garish public arena and in the dark shadows behind the big tent.

I began creating my own bestiary as a kid in rural Montana. Animal companions were so prevalent in shaping my understanding of the world that I often see myself as just another creature in the collection. I began making rabbits when I moved to Minnesota as a peace offering to those devouring my garden and I've not yet grown tired of these cautious subjects. Additions of crows, horses, and humans teamed with my absolute love of clay as a material, fuels my work and my curiosity about my place in the world.

Kelly recently joined the Art and Art History faculty at Carleton College and teaches ceramics and metals. Prior to her arrival in Northfield, she taught at Hamline University in Saint Paul and numerous other institutions in Minnesota and California. She has been a recipient of a Jerome Fellowship and a McKnight Residency Grant and has shown her work throughout the US and in numerous publications.