French, born in 1947 in Savoy
Lives and works in Cluny, France

Jean Girel was born in Savoy in 1947. As a 14 year-old boy, he learned the potter's craft from a traditional potter. After studying Fine Arts in Mâcon, he went on to complete a degree in visual arts in Paris. These studies initially led Girel to become an artist and a teacher of visual arts. In 1975 however, after discovering Song ceramics Girel found his vocation and decided to work exclusively in ceramics.
Girel's creative talents, which bring together Western know-how and the age-long ceramic tradition of the Far East, give birth to recipes for clay mixtures and glazes, firing procedures and the invention of tools and instruments as need dictates.

The kiln he now uses in his workshop near Cluny is the seventeenth that he has designed and built for his personal use.

Jean Girl was awarded the French title of Master Craftsman in June 2000.
Girel's work can be found in the collections of The Palace Museum, Beijing; Musée National de la Céramique, Sèvres; Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris; Musée du Cinquantenaire, Brussels; Fondation Baur, Geneva; National Palace Museum, Taipei; and Celadon Museum, Ganjin, Korea; amongst others.