A ceramic artist from Taiwan, China living in Stevens, Pennsylvania in Amish country, Cliff Lee is known for his intricate, detailed carving of porcelain vessels, many of them in teardrop shapes and with lotus flowers, dragons and other motifs reflecting his Chinese heritage. His specialty in glazes is celadon, oxblood and imperial yellows.

He came to the United States at age fifteen and took his early training in neurosurgery at Hershey Medical School in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In 1976, when he was twenty-five, he enrolled in a ceramics class in Harrisburg, Virginia at James Madison University. "There he encountered the two loves of his life---studio pottery and his wife, jewelry designer Holly Dobring Lee." (McCarthy, 43) With her support, he left his medical profession and became a full time ceramist. With two small boys, they moved to their rural home site in Pennsylvania and set up adjoining studios in 1978.

In his new endeavor, he put his chemistry background to good use when creating his glazes, and "his surgical dexterity is evident when he carves his pots and uses tweezers to attach tiny clay filaments", which he laughingly describes as "surgical implants". (McCarthy, 44)

After some 'toughing it out' years, he had a breakthrough in 1990 with the acquisition of his work by the Smithsonian Institution. Several years later, his work received more prestigious attention with it added to the White House Collection of American Craft, Yale University Art Gallery, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the National Museum of American Art.

However, when success was coming his way, Cliff Lee had a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and not only unable to create his ceramics but unable to feed himself. From this setback, he fully recovered and also modified his work habits so that he had less stress and more time with his family.


Sources include:
Cathleen McCarthy, "Delicate Transformation", Art & Antiques, December 2006, pp. 43-46
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Lee_(potter)

Cliff Lee was born in 1951.

Cliff Lee came to the United States from Taiwan at the age of 15.

Lee pursued medicine and while practicing as a neurosurgeon, he decided on a whim to enroll in a ceramics class at James Madison University in 1976. He subsequently left his career in medicine to dedicate his time to ceramics.

Lee studied Sung-dynasty glazes and reinvented the ancient Chinese formulas for celadon and Imperial yellow. Lee says ‘I love yellow so much that I was almost possessed by it’.

His work has been recognized by world leaders, such as United States President Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton, who asked Lee and other artists to contribute to the White House Collection of American Crafts.

Additionally, his ceramics are included in several permanent collections of important institutions, such as the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian, The Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Metropolitan Art in New York.