Oren Connell, Robin Connell, and Steve Connell

00:00 Cool

00:02 My name is Oren Connell. I'm 39 years old. Today's date is Friday June 19th, 2020. I'm in Austin, Texas and I'm speaking with my father Steve Connell and my brother Robin Connell.

00:19 Hi, my name is Robin Connell and 36 and I live in Kila Montana and I am speaking with my father Steve Connell and my brother Oren Connell and its June 19th 2020.

00:42 Your turn Dad. Okay. I'm next 79 June 19th in Polson Montana son, Soren and Robin.

01:00 Thank you.

01:05 Okay, sounds good. I guess we should get started since this is Montana storycorps. That's kind of where I started with some of the questions so that be okay to use TiVo. All right. So you moved to Missoula Montana from Salt Lake City. What did you think about Missoula and the University of Montana when you first visited and then eventually moved there?

01:38 I like the Missoula smaller much smaller town.

01:46 You're a couple of Faculty members said that I already knew Rudy audio and Ken Little Kim was a graduate student Linus and Salt Lake game up to the Missoula at the University and soft.

02:09 And I didn't see one.

02:17 You were teaching what were you teaching at the University of Montana at the time Ceramics and sculpture in the odd drawing class? What was odd about the drawing last name? Well, this is a delightful a semi awkward breakfast conversation so far.

02:55 Dad when you came to Montana there was a lot of influences in the state already as far as Ceramics go you mentioned Rudy audio already but your friend Peter voulkos was one of them and then the thriving Archie Bray foundation and how do you take that kind of migrate towards sculptural work?

03:25 Well, I think with orcas Rudy.

03:32 Somebody appreciated them sense cuz I think was teaching in Bozeman and ceramics.

03:46 Here and then it would basically moved to LA.

03:51 And being in Salt Lake City, I kind of going both ways and sculpture Ali John Mason who is teaching in Irvine?

04:14 Later became a mentor and a good friend.

04:19 And so that's where the for the for me the sculptural element came into the ceramic work and then also a shift to other materials based on what they had to offer over ceramics.

04:36 Was that what the materials had to offer itself about? I don't see those things.

04:48 You mean separate?

04:52 More collectively Ceramics is a material felt like maybe you could express the artistic ideas that you wanted to at the time right now.

05:08 And there, you know steel became an interesting way to go some of them some of the pieces we were linear so easy to begin to sort of draw with square steel tubing and then went in when you wanted to suspend something or and I'll leave her something out Ceramics. It doesn't lend itself.

05:37 It literally being broken especially as I recall when you've got two children running around your house. I feel like there was a lot of guilt associated with nice pieces of pottery what thanks. Thanks for that dead. How much how much of that was driven by your kind of interest in different craftsmenship as well. I mean, I feel like maybe you became quite accomplished at Ceramics and then got more driven through woodworking and and in steel manufacturing and Metallurgy and and was kind of the craftsmanship process part of that as well for you. Very important. Actually. I didn't want you want to make sure that those things are well made.

06:37 So and I enjoy working with my hands and when it works when it works.

06:48 Then answer the question around a little bit maybe from some art and stuff being in Montana provided a lot of opportunity for for some of your other passions. I believe in you have a entire list of them that you've gone through throughout your life. It seems like surfing and hot rods and Motocross and powder skiing the list goes on and on but I kind of feel like that. Maybe you left some of those in your past when you came to Montana and and picked up some other ones and maybe you want to talk about those those passions and

07:32 How they came and went sure. Well, I don't think there's any surf up here, but I was just lucky. I was a military dependent or a military brat. So travel with my father and mom took place about every three years in the started in Japan came back to Southern California enroll in Long Beach because it was next to the ocean and that's where I discovered the Arts.

08:15 Salt lake offered deep powder skiing and University of Iowa and time of the hot rods and Utah store silver passion. Nothing that I've ever experienced before and so I'm very happy here. I know you always complained about the scheme situation compared to Salt Lake City though. I don't know if you want that out there in the public but deep powders is the best

09:15 Oh, you just had you were not interested. I feel like you tell the story that you kind of got into fishing after that, which is not something that I ever got into with you but Robin certainly spent quite a bit of time fishing. What was that Montana where you kind of got into fishing a little bit or what was that like a lot of rivers and fishing rechallenging?

10:04 Well, I was going to say, you know, like these kind of recreation world was probably not available as much as soon as you got the Montana because you decided to buy a ranch and not kids and that's probably consumed a little bit more of your life than most Recreation opportunities and curious if you wanted to talk about what ranting was like for you what attracted you to it and what's still attracted to it?

10:36 Well you guys and the ranch was a good switch.

10:43 Couldn't have done it any other way, so I like the idea of

10:51 Animals in the outdoors

11:17 And I feel you could have done that in California and in the 40s, perhaps but

11:32 Robin

11:34 Yeah. Yeah, maybe maybe talk a little bit more. What what degrees are in seeing the mean I know that there was a point where you were actually more interested in being a cattle farmer than possibly a professor, but

11:52 There was a disconnect in the monetary values of the two I believe.

12:00 That's it. That's a modest understatement.

12:09 No, I got my interest in animals goes way back up. I worked for about and they were encouraging and I was in the room when I went to Long Beach and was introduced to the art department and that was a turning point for me. I think I'm six credits short of the BS.

12:37 General booty that one alone. We I remember how much of this do you remember raising sheep Robin much of that. I remember I remember packing will more than anything. But yes, I do remember sheet and the remnants of the sheet. As well the one pregnant you that escaped and then all of a sudden we had six sheep again. Why did we stop raising sheep?

13:18 They were more of a workload more intensive and

13:25 They were also about knee height are going to take you out. They got your knees.

13:34 I remember getting hit by a ram. I thought it was going to die.

13:40 But it is broke through the gate that I was next. He hit me I hit the gate and the gate broke. Holy cow. There's a good reason except I love lamb. It's it's very tasty. Where is being run over by a Ram or buy a cow you remember the ones?

14:15 Charolais Simmental cross

14:19 He almost got me.

14:24 I don't know. Come on Christi, Texas Tech news.

14:31 I know it would have been but we would have been better off. She's gone now. So she's in the backyard. So where were we? Oh we were discussing which was easier more pleasant to be run over by a cow or a ram sheep. It's a toss-up, but that that cow ER of the next morning. So I recall that you had a vendetta

15:09 Yeah, it's gone. Do you saved my life that day round bale feeder in Worcester like climbing into a shark cage.

15:28 I remember the rest of that summer. We carried bear spray around the field when we were changing pipe so that she wouldn't get us to the field quite a few times.

15:42 You are not you and she were both pretty mad about that whole encounter out of here. I think I feel like she took a double gates with her when she went as well.

16:04 Yeah. Anyway, I'd like

16:11 Animals SS the larger picture

16:18 Which do you think is harder teaching college students art or raising cattle?

16:26 Well, they're both fun and rewarding.

16:39 And I guess I guess teaching a longer lifespan than the fuhrer account.

16:48 Working at Gap

16:56 So baby, I miss it. I guess my relationship to the common relationship is that I care we're both.

17:03 Censored important cows and calves are hairy.

17:18 Is the two of you not was named after Harry Houdini who was able to jump fences and not give a clue as having how he got out. Anyway, it's just

17:31 It's it's pretty obvious that they're stuck with you, you know number 27 and Harry Houdini and is there a certain artist or or piece of art that has been stuck with you for your entire life? That's really kind of moved you and you carry with you and keep close to yourself.

18:02 Runs the gamut from architecture. Maybe Germany start of modern.

18:26 Crystal just died and fortunately like his work and big environmental stock tanks.

18:34 See Josef Albers is a favorite and his wife the great shakes.

18:49 Conceptual stuff great minimalism is great. Has this great you are rooted in put yourself into it.

19:08 I'm kind of thinking about photography now because if you could sort of take up, you know about something that attracts your eye and you can just click click. I don't know what an electron then you've got something.

19:28 So I'm done. I'm curious about maybe becoming a photographer.

19:39 What do you guys think about all this?

19:43 What's your reaction? Do you know?

19:48 Me and I've always thought it was pretty interesting to grow up and Rural, Montana.

19:57 Where many of my friends kind of came from an agricultural background or

20:06 And just kind of that.

20:11 The the difference in growing up with you and Christy as far as people who are exposing Robin and I two things I think probably Rob and I were one of just a handful of kids in our very small classes that knew about Ray and Charles Eames and Alexander Calder and who else did you force upon us as children? I am pay and

20:45 Kind of think I guess the ceramic stuff for sure is your major major influences for a lot of people?

21:06 In the olives Ceramics people we've mentioned earlier most of her dad now.

21:12 I think Rob and I were the only kids sorry Dad, excellent internationally known ceramicist who aren't with us anymore.

21:28 I was going to say I think Robin and I were the only two kids in Charlo Montana who had to move large steel sculptures around the yard in order to do I have enough space for a football game. Thank you for telling me.

21:52 Dad, I I really feel like that that you and Mom both created an atmosphere that you know, Lauren and I were allowed to think in a really broad kind of abstract thought process.

22:07 And I really appreciate that because I think it's allowed me to be kind of a little bit better adult and look at things with the little bit more of an open mindset. I want to thank you for that. And then I'm also curious if it's you feel that your parents offered the same opportunity and maybe you could reflect a little bit and then your childhood.

22:37 Sure. Sure.

22:42 I guess I was born in 41 and so 50s and 60s were tied to my parents moving with the Air Force every 2 or 3 years.

23:02 Over over all they left me alone. And then and then that way gave me some freedom to observe.

23:15 Their behavior in and other people in other cultures inserted draw my own conclusions, so I never really got any hard.

23:30 You know philosophical religious moral ethical direction from the

23:38 You know in a harsh way as that was left to.

23:44 Look at look at the examples around me and make my own choices about.

23:50 So maybe we mirror that with you to talk to your parents are and just a little bit about.

24:05 Sure, Dad was born in 1990 in listed in the Army which came became the Army Air corps, which became the Air Force. I think you stayed in the Air Force Headquarters company Commander we moved every time they needed him to be someplace else was born in 1910.

24:49 I don't know much about her private prior to 1940 West but she was always there for me and

25:01 That reversed itself a bit because she live to be a hundred bands, you know.

25:07 So the only way I can talk about it now has to look back and I really appreciate it though.

25:17 And a good life with

25:22 She moved to Montana. What was that? The late 90s, maybe mid 90s.

25:31 I can recall the exact time. How did you feel about your mom moving to?

25:41 The Tiny Town that we live we grew up in Charlo Montana and was accepted.

25:54 And it was fine fine with me because

26:01 She really didn't have a lot of stuff.

26:07 Friends or support any longer in in Riverside, California right next to the fire so she California transplant.

26:28 It was great that you guys got to know her.

26:32 Yeah, I recall kind of a transition being shielded always drive up from California around my birthday. So it was kind of a mixed feeling cuz I was excited to see her and excited for the

26:46 Birthday gifts I would get but also she would spend the whole summer with us and would make us do things like Wax the floors and clean out random stuff. And so it was kind of. Oh, yeah, Grandma's coming in. Our summer is not going to be just running around playing with sticks and getting dirty. It's going to be chores and golf lessons were fun eventually, but I think at the time kind of a what the heck we have to learn how to play golf.

27:21 What's good to eat in newer? I like to tell the story of her moving into that house on the gardeners property and all the snakes that she had to dispatch that also had also lived in that house with a snake on her after a nap and she can be nearly have those golf clubs close by.

27:55 I love golf.

28:04 Came in handy something. We haven't really kept up.

28:10 Wait until you get snakes you can you can take it up soon. Yeah, I feel like a Chip Shot got a lot better the year of the snakes at Grandma's house a few snakes around the house, but they're friendly.

28:37 Do you think of did you think of your mom is tough? How did you do? How did you think?

28:48 Allowed me to come to my own conclusions about life and

28:55 In didn't push me on any One Direction. They were just there and very very supported then. What do you what do you say to the serfs do so school? Because it's next to the ocean and starts with a science degree and switches dark and then and decides to be an art teacher God, you know, I hope he makes it throw their hands up. Yeah. I had to come up with my own home directions.

29:39 How do you think that that relates to your parenting Style with Robin and I

29:45 Is that

29:48 Well, I'm probably not not as quiet as my parents were with you guys. But I also respect that you're individuals that need to be left alone.

30:04 What's that? Is that your thumb back on my past? I've I haven't been really much of a traditionalist as far as finding jobs and hungry and down. I'm kind of a Drifter and one thing that I've always admired about you and Mom both if you've always been very supportive no matter what I'm doing in that kind of

30:33 It decided to roll with the punches his much as possible and May and I really appreciate that and it sounds like that your parents were were very similar in the same aspect. I guess just leave me is you.

30:47 Are you are you comfortable with where orangeman I are with our life choices in the past that we've taken?

30:57 Absolutely, you know and proud and happy.

31:03 What if it's been a great run for me? I'll tell you happy to have you both.

31:08 Put the nine ball in the corner pocket. What was what have you been surprised about being a father?

31:23 Nothing. I don't think that's true.

31:30 I'm just I'm just taking his of the crumbs. So.

31:39 Did you have did you have something in mind or I don't like it. You know they I chased you out of the front yard with a sickle. I remember when we realized that I could outrun you lucky you worked out well for me.

32:06 I remember especially when we were young being really afraid of your temper and I also feel that I had a temper.

32:22 What are your Recollections of that and kind of your temperament my temperament and

32:30 I feel like one when I was young, we had a lot of conflict that before and when I think about it, I wonder about it.

32:47 So maybe we could you know, when we have more than 40 minutes we could talk about that. I would like the dead ends as you are approaching the big a do.

33:07 Kevin T regrets in your life and past regrets. Do you do have much in plan for the future?

33:21 Have a good life, so I don't have very few downturns. But but I'm happy with what I've

33:30 John gottman what I've been able to get out of life.

33:38 I liked it after 19 20 2017 found a new appreciation for Life 2017 was when I hit a brick wall.

33:57 A medical brick wall, so I'm happy and it's sunny outside and it rain this morning in healthy cabs.

34:14 And I appreciate you know.

34:17 The fact that I was able to have you two as a gift.

34:24 And thanks Christy as well.

34:28 So, I don't know. I'm happy, you know, I'm happy because I have a hell of a lot of freedom another thing in your life that makes you exceptionally happy and that's good food. And we're we are both aware that you are an exceptional cook. But often were dumbfounded by where your inspiration comes from than what allows you to make these incredible concoction that we eat every time we come to visit in kind of your past and your inspiration on on food in general.

35:11 Aren't I didn't comes out of my my passion for eating better if it's good, maybe slightly different or Innovative and some way I think you both.

35:36 I enjoy coming to your house for dinner.

35:39 Your recent both of you passion for sourdough bread has surpassed anything I ever had.

35:51 But I want a lion guard the quarantine life. Everybody's making sourdough bread now.

36:00 Giant calamari in the Louisiana spice shrimp last night it was that I was looking for the Tom's afterwards. Anyway, I'm glad we all for enjoy eating.

36:21 That's a nice a nice tradition.

36:27 Well, we really only have about by my calculation a little over three minutes left earlier. What what is well, that's what it meant. So is there anything else you want to share? We got a couple other questions that we can certainly throw out to fill the time, but is there anything that you want to make sure we get down today just that I'm very thankful. Had you kids in my life and look forward to continuing our relationship.

37:07 As long as I can't we got two minutes to go. Thank you.

37:14 And I can't think of anything. It's more profound than that.

37:23 So

37:26 Thanks very much.

37:30 I feel very lucky to have you as a father and Robin at the brother. And yeah, I can't imagine it any other way.

37:42 Yeah.

37:44 Well, it's back to putting the nine ball in the corner pocket. So we're probably the end of the game here in Robins already here. Yeah Glacier or 9 Mile. And so I look forward to that sometime with the both of you in person rather than this weird digital. I've never tried in the media.

38:23 Anyway, yeah, that's pretty neat pretty neat opportunity to be able to be in all these different places and still feel like have a a nice a nice conversation reason tribes. I haven't heard from you for a while. I got a receipt.

38:51 You know all the best to both of you.

38:56 Thanks. Thanks for doing this. Look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you, Dad. Love you very much.

39:05 Okay kiddos. Audios. I think we're done.

39:11 Where we at once?