When I first heard of Jim Spires I pictured a homey older gentleman that had made pottery his life. I wasnít expecting anything too elaborate ó I was wrong.
Jim Spires was born and raised seven miles east of here in Dalton, Ohio.† His family didnít have much and Spires worked with a potter after school to help contribute.† After high school he joined the Navy and served during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Eventually, in 1966, he moved on to the College of the Ozarks where, for three and a half weeks, he received his only formal training in pottery from an Oklahoma potter by the name of David Greer.
Greer provided Spires with the fundamentals: how to use the kiln and the wheel and how to put two pieces of clay together.† He has carried these with him ever since.† Spires continued on to get his Masters at Wesleyan University in Conn. in Design and Sculpture.
According to Spires his time spent at Wesleyan opened his eyes to a ìnew dimension” which included more sculpture.† He found himself inspired and fascinated by artist and sculptor Pablo Picasso. Although Spiresí love for pottery was developing his hobby was not something he chose to make his life, yet, ìI always did pottery on the side no matter what I did” says Spires.
Following college and the Navy Spires applied to the Eastman Kodak Company in their automation project.† If hired he would be working on their newest project, ìThe disk camera project.”† Spires was hired on the spot and moved with his wife to Rochester, N.Y. to begin work immediately.
Shortly after arriving at Kodak, Spires was promoted to writing technical manuals; again, Spires was promoted, this time to Supervising Graphic Designer for consumer and Photofinishing Products worldwide.
From this point on his accomplishments are endless. He designed and patented the multi-color camera, the Mickey-Matic camera, he was the creator of the gold strip film in the Kodak Gold program and, incredibly, he is responsible for designing and patenting the first disposable camera. As I sat there somewhat stunned he relayed the story.
He and friend Bill were driving down to Watkins Glen racetrack to see Paul Newman.† Halfway there they looked at each and realized neither of them had a camera. That was when Spires dreamt up the camera that we all use so frequently today. He thought, wouldnít it be nice to have a camera that you could buy for one-time use and have developed afterwards? The rest is history. Spires returned to Kodak after his weekend excursion and designed and patented the first disposable camera.
The most amazing part of his time at Kodak is that despite these work-oriented ideas he constantly had flowing out of his brain Spires still had time to keep in touch with pottery and wood sculpture.
Tired and burned out, Spires left Kodak in 1990 and moved back to the area as a design consultant for Fortune 500 companies. After searching around for a house, Spires settled for one in Wooster in 1993. The best part, the home came equipped with a potterís wheel and a kiln in the basement, and thatís when Spires got ìback in clay.”† 7
Within two years Spires was selling pottery.† In 1997, while on a trip to North Carolina to take in the southern style of pottery, Spires made a chance acquaintance with a zoo board member for the zoo located in Ashburrow.† This board member asked him to create an animal sculpted piece for their annual fundraiser. He has continued this tradition every year since then raising thousands of dollars for the zoo.
Spires gained tremendous recognition through his accomplishments and numerous collectors became interested in his work.† Due to his large success in the Wooster area, Spires opened a gallery in downtown Wooster where it still stands today.
For the past nine years Spires has been participating in various craft and art events.† This year he is making his second appearance at Biennial International Contemporary Art Exhibition in Florence, Italy.† This prestigious exhibition is the largest contemporary art competition in the world and this year Spires will be the only American ceramic sculptor.
As the interview wrapped up, I questioned Spires about his generous gifts and donations to various charities including the American Heart Association, the Cancer Society and recently the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.† Spires commented that in this case both parties benefit.
ìNot only am I doing something good, but its good exposure.† When you work in the community and they support you, as Wooster does, you give back what you can,” said Spires.
Who knew that someone that has contributed so much to society through not only his pottery but his accomplishments at Kodak, had found his niche in Wooster, Ohio?