Jim McDowell (ceramic artist)

Jim McDowell, born 25 September 1945, is a ceramic artist based in Weaverville, North Carolina, who makes face jugs and utilitarian pottery.

[1] McDowell's four-times Great Aunt Evangeline was an enslaved potter in Jamaica who made face jugs.

While he was in the Army stationed at Ansbach, Germany in the 1960s, he had a part time job at the base craft shop that had a kick-wheel pottery wheel.

[2] "When I first made... [a face jug], I gave it Black features, sometimes exaggerated, thick lips and a broad nose with flaring nostrils.

"[2]McDowell's face jugs pay homage to David Drake, an enslaved potter that lived in Edgefield, South Carolina.

[4][5]"I make my face jugs to honor my people who came to this country in bondage through the Middle Passage and not only survived but thrived.