Pamela Connell
Pamela Connell lives in Peoria, Illinois, which is the setting for the book Portal or Hole: Meditations on Art, Religion, Race, and the Pandemic. At the inception of her book, she worked as an attorney for the State of Illinois, holding degrees in art and psychology, as well as a J.D. degree. Currently, she enjoys a career as a writer and artist, maintaining studio space as a resident artist at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria.
In 2014 Pam began writing Portal or Hole: Meditations on Art, Religion, Race and the Pandemic, prompted in part by a symposium she attended about women artists creating visibility through writing. In addition, her high school experience playing the part of Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank exposed her to the power of diaristic writing, and heightened her awareness of racism, particularly during the Nazi regime in World War II. The killing of George Floyd in 2020 during the pandemic prompted Pam’s concerns regarding racial injustice in the United States. Thus, her observations regarding racism and race relations in Portal or Hole.
Pam’s experience as an attorney reviewing clemency petitions for the Illinois Governor’s office further instigated her writing of Portal or Hole. In this role, she became convinced of the worthiness of each clemency petition (effectively, a story) and ultimately, of the worthiness of her own story. Therefore, her book is a memoir of struggles as an artist, daughter, mother and self-identified introvert; also, her experience as a United States citizen during a contentious political campaign and global pandemic, and during the waning days of the Trump presidency and its aftermath, including January 6; and further, her journey as a seeker, in the religious or spiritual sense.
During the pandemic, a Native American Indian writer, White Eagle, from the Hopi tribe, inspired the book’s title, Portal or Hole. He wrote that this moment could be seen as a portal or hole for humanity; and that it is up to each of us to decide whether to fall into the hole or go through the portal. Providing uplifting during a dark time, the Hopi writer asserted that each of us has been prepared to go through this crisis.
In 2016 Pam started a small business, Delpia LLC The Collection, designing rugs and contracting with Indian artisans to hand-knot her creations. In 2022, she celebrated her son’s wedding. Currently, she serves on her church’s audit committee and attends a meditation group. Pam is riveted by the work of other artists. Her recent paintings and drawings are influenced by landscape painters. She delights in her simple, home-made, child-like art, and hopes that it will contribute to the collective good, uplifting and enlightening viewers and readers.
