Background
Grotell was born in Helsinki, Finland, and emigrated to New York in 1927.
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Maija Grotell
Edit ProfileEducation
After arriving in New York she studied at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.
Career
She is sometimes described as the “mother of American ceramics”. Grotell retired from Cranbrook in 1966. She died on December 6, 1973, in Pontiac, Michigan.
Grotell was considered to be an innovative and gifted teacher, and was known for her experiments in glaze technology.
Indeed, at the request of Saarinen, she developed the glaze that was used on the ceramic exterior walls at the General Motors Technical Center. During her career she had solo shows at (among others) the Art Institute of Chicago (1950), the Cranbrook Museum (1952), the Joe and Emily Lowe Art Center of Syracuse University, and the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (1967).
Maija Grotell: Works Which Grow From Belief, by Jeff Schlanger and Toshiko Takaezu (1996)
Ceramics Today Featured Artist
Studio Potter Magazine Book Review.
Achievements
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She won a number of awards during her career, including the Diploma di Colabrador at the Barcelona International Exhibition in 1929, the silver medal at the Paris International Exhibition (1937), and the Cranbrook Academy of Art Faculty Medal (1966). She also received the 1999 Excellence in Teaching Award (posthumous) from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.
Connections
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Born
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Died
December 6, 1973 (aged 74)