Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Instructor Introduction: David Trost

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
David Todd Trost. MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. BFA, Pen State University. Although it may be surprising to some, my grandfather was an award-winning clown with the Shriners.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I first started making objects with clay in high school. Our school had a small ceramics program consisting of four potter's wheels, an electric kiln, and a clay mixer. I was lured into the whole culture of ceramics with a few of my classmates as we began mixing our own clays by hand, taking interest in firing techniques that were unavailable to us, and trying a number of unconventional techniques to compensate for our limited facilities.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
I draw the bulk of my influence from the greater culture within which we live, I am consumed by the political machinations of our government (mostly the historical implications of their actions) and the visible remnants of our shared histories.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I am presently without a gallery, agent, or art dealer. I am open to selling work directly from my studio in #209 at Lillstreet.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Patience and planning are the two keys to a successful practice in ceramics.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
I enjoy searching for rare or unusual musical instruments and learning to play them. I also like to read history, biographies, and sociological essays.

Any parting words?



klaatu barada nikto

Website: http://www.davidtoddtrost.com/

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Yosuke Koizumi Demonstration

This past Saturday, Yosuke Koizumi of Shimpo Ceramics visited the Lillstreet clay department to present a very inspiring throwing demonstration and slide show on Japanese ceramics. The event was very well received and attended by folks from both inside and outside the Lillstreet community.

The afternoon began with Mr. Koizumi talking a bit about his background in ceramics and his time as a production potter in Shigaraki, Japan. His accompanying slide show illustrated many of his experiences along with providing insight into historical Japanese pottery and forming techniques.


After the slide show, Mr. Koizumi moved to the trusty VL Whisper for a bit of throwing. The first pieces created were an array of body and decoration styles thrown off the hump. He used this time to introduce a variety of Japanese throwing tools as well as some newly designed American offerings.

Following the off the hump demonstration came the main event. Mr. Koizumi swiftly and seemingly effortlessly centered 40lbs of clay, opened it up, and proceeded to throw. Using this virtual mountain of clay, he was able to create one of his signature bowls -- on a grand scale. With the addition of three of his trademark frogs, the piece weighing in at 40lbs with an approximate diameter of 3ft was complete.

Thanks must go out to Mr. Yosuke Koizumi and Shimpo Ceramics for being able to present such an inspiring and informative demonstration. All in all this was great afternoon of ceramic knowledge sharing.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Instructor Introduction: Marjorie Woodruff


How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I started seriously working in clay at Northern Illinois University when I was 19 and haven't stopped.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
"Free Jazz" music -- going to hear music live and Labor History students in graduate school who opened my eyes to labor history in our country and the world -- both of these influences have greatly influenced my life and my work.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I have work for sale at Woman Made Gallery, Artisan Gallery (http://womanmade.org/) and I will be including work on the Etsy Web site this fall.

I periodicaly do art fairs and just had a solo show at Woman Made Gallery called Rack and Ruin. (http://womanmade.org/show.html?type=solo&gallery=woodruff2009&pic=1). I sold a number of pieces.


What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Advice to students... explore and try lots of things, get comfortable with the clay as a material. Begin setting some personal goals for what it is they want to achieve... such as for our beg/intermediate handbuilding class... some students have expressed that they are there to relax and have fun, others have very specific goals -- either technical or very personal expressive goals, or to just create objects to give as gifts that they have personally created. So... by talking with people, knowing their goals, as a group class we adjust what we focus on each 10 week session surrounding the basic handbuilding construction techniques. Thus each class begins to have specific slant depending on needs and wants of students in class. Students end up influencing each other as well which is great to watch and observe as a teacher.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
Outside of clay, I garden and cook, go hiking and camping out west on the Mississippi River, bird watch, thrift for old interesting objects. Plus just bought a new used bicycle at Working Bikes Co-op (great not-for-profit place that gives bikes away around the world -- http://workingbikes.org/) ... so I am biking more again and hope to lose some pounds as well! Last of all, I am the Membership Secretary for our part-time union at City Colleges of Chicago called CCCLOC that is part of IEA (Illinois Education Assoc). We just were able to form a new region just for Higher Ed in the Chicago area that includes Columbia College, United Staff of Columbia College,Triton, Roosevelt and our City College union. So it is exciting times for unions! I am passionate about this work because it is about learning how to become an active citizen.

Any parting words?
Enjoy... life is shorter than you think!


Website: www.marjoriewoodruff.com

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Instructor Introduction: Corinne Peterson


Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.

I’m Corinne Peterson, handbuilding teacher of Dreams, Myths, Stories at Lillstreet. I grew up on a Minnesota farm, among other things taking note of a slippery clay bank near the house and exploring the insides of field stones. When my sons were teenagers, I went to University of Illinois Chicago to earn my MSW and embarked on a career as a psychotherapist.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
In 1986, dreams about clay objects led me to take a class at Lillstreet. I had no product in mind, but was curious why I had dreamed about clay. I often built objects to further explore my dreams.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
My first influences were the teachers and studio members of Lillstreet. I especially liked the textures and narratives of Lisa Harris’s and Phil Schuster’s sculptures and the off-beat grace and colors of Eric Jensen’s hand-built functional ceramics. I visited the Art Institute, the Oriental Institute, Field Museum and art galleries in Chicago to see all I could of current and ancient ceramics. I was excited to realize how clay objects and writing in clay gave us so much knowledge of past societies, their myths and stories. Currently, a strong influence is old pillars and walls, how their textures, materials, and colors give clues to their history, and what they might reflect of the human psyche.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I sell my work through studio contacts, exhibits, art consultants and my website, , sadly out of date, while I build one I can manage myself. I’ve just completed two commissions, and have also worked on numerous clay tile murals through association with many different groups, especially Chicago Public Art Group. You can see them throughout the city. The nearest to Lillstreet is on Stockton School at Montrose and Beacon, and the largest is in the Roosevelt and State CTA station.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
I got my best advice at a Jeff Oestrich clay workshop at Lillstreet in 1987. I wanted to take clay more seriously, but was afraid of what a studio of my own would cost me. Would I be so worried about making work to sell that I’d lose my joy in clay? When someone asked Jeff how he determines what the market wants, he quoted another clay artist as saying, “You make what you love, and convince others they want it!” “Of course”, I thought, and took courage. I pursued my passion wholeheartedly–soon in a group studio, and eventually in a Lillstreet studio of my own.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
Time not working with clay is taken up with family and friends, enjoying nature, reading and looking for ways to move my art out into the world, so there will be room in my studio to make more.

Any parting words?
For me, clay is a doorway into my own soul. It gives me a way to explore my inner life and recover a deeper and more vital connection to myself and to all of life.


Website: http://www.cdpeterson.com/

Monday, September 21, 2009

Instructor Introduction: Lisa Harris


Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two:
My name is Lisa Harris. I graduated from Grinnell College in 1975 (the Pleistocene) with a BA in Fine Arts and continued at the Evanston Art Center (EAC) and the Art Institute for post–grad studies. I have been a studio member and instructor at Lillstreet for over 20 years. I also teach ceramics at. EAC, and have led numerous workshops at the Art Institute, Stirling Hall, and Terra Incognito for e.g.

Fun Facts: I do a pretty good Louis Armstrong singing "Bess You is My Woman Now."
I have been called "The Great Finder of Things."
I love languages and the surprising connections between words.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I started working in clay in college. It embodied a variety of disciplines-drawing, painting, handcrafts, geology, philosophy, science, that appealed to my young mind.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
I am very much influenced by painters (Degas, De Chirico, Diebenkorn), classical pianists (Rubenstein, Horowitz Ashkenazy), and composers (Debussy, Brahms, Bach, CHOPIN, Beethoven, Mozart); the work of Eric Jensen, Ferguson, Michael Simon, Ruth Duckworth, Ellen Shankin, etc.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I do a lot of commissions. I have work at Terra Incognito and at Lill and currently in downtown Evanston with Art Under Glass. You can always come to my studio for sales -- all are welcome. Please come, please.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Practice, practice, practice. Read, study your craft and the works of others. Keep an open mind and trust your instincts.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
Knitting, playing piano, drawing ,gardening, cleaning up cat messes…You know, all the usual things.

Any parting words?
I never thought I would blog. I love my students -- they are all interesting characters. I enjoy pealing away the layers and getting to know them . They keep me engaged and on my toes.


Website: www.lisaharrisceramics.com/

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Instructor Introduction: Cathi Schwalbe-Bouzide

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
Catherine Schwalbe-Bouzide
Sculptor
Recreation Therapist
Farmerwannabe
Urban Poultry Keeper
Cat keeper
Gold fish in our outdoor pond my husband and I build for each other’s birthday several years ago.
Undergrad in Fine Art from UW Milwaukee – Sculpture Concentration
Graduate Coursework at Aurora University in Aurora.
Classes at Columbia College for the Book and Paper Arts and Lillstreet Art Center.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I avoided clay most of my childhood and early adult hood thanks to an angry, venomous art teacher in grade school. We were gut rehabbing our house and I was looking at handmade tiles and said “I could do that myself!” so I did… at Lill Street Art Center on Lill Street. Clay is now the other man in my life!

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
Influences are many – I read a lot. I talk to farmers. I look at farms. I grow. As a sculptor, I came to ceramics and knowledge of those grandparents of clay very late. I have enjoy and learn from seeing works of those on whose shoulders we stand, but also suffer from “Materials Deficit Disorder.” That is, I like to work with a variety of mediums. I have a clay studio at Lill and a mixed media studio at home. Making is making to me. I am working with a lot of beeswax now at home. Porcelain at the studio. It all keeps me from getting bored. I also look at open, unused spaces around the city as opportunities for growing/installation.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I do sell some. My studio is in #203 at Lillstreet Art Center. I have larger works at home – some are stored and rotate. Others I have out all the time. Illinois Artisan Centers around the state. Dancing Loon Gallery in Michigan City, IN. Give me a call. I would love a studio visit.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Take advantage of open studio hours here at Lill. Play. Find your way. Listen to your teacher. Listen to other teachers. Listen to other students. I continue to learn from all of them. Get out and look at other people’s work too. Go to workshops that are held by and for artists.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
Reading, making, cooking, w/good friends and family, seeing art, talking about art.

I am also a recreation therapist in long term care communities in a company of 12 amazing therapists. We go to over 150 places in the Chicago area and work for founder and president Dr. Susan Quattrochi-Tubin.

Any parting words?
Woefully out of date website: www.casbah3d.com

Flickr casbah3d

Monday, September 14, 2009

Instructor Introduction: Glynnis Lessing

Here is a new feature to the Lillstreet Clay blog in which our teachers take a minute to share a bit about themselves. Each instructor has graciously filled out a set of questions that, we hope, will give you a bit more insight into who they are, where they come from, and why they do what they do. If you would like to learn more about our teachers, just scroll on down to the end of the interview and follow the link to their website (provided they have one). Make sure to come back every Monday and Wednesday for a new Lillstreet Instructor bio! Without further ado, we present Glynnis Lessing...

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
My name is Glynnis Lessing, I grew up in the Midwest and attended the University of Minnesota and also MacAlester College in St. Paul.I have two children (who are both pretty good at clay). I love bike touring and photography. I also love history, especially pre-history.
When I was 11 my mother started an intentional living community on a farm in Wisconsin (okay, yes a commune.) My honeymoon was biking and camping through Europe for 7 months.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I first thought I learned to throw when I was about 10 years old. I was hanging around the Carleton College art dept. and Noboru Kubo was there visiting a friend and he showed me how to throw and ignited my interest in pottery. In high school, I was very lucky there were wheels and a cone 6 kiln in the art department - I mixed glazes and ran the pug mill there.
When I was 16, my first job was assisting a potter; and then of course, Warren Mackenzie was still teaching at the University of Minnesota when I majored in art there.
I came to Lill in 1989 after meeting a potter at an art fair who was, at that time, working there. It was one of the very best things that has ever happened to me!

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
Bob Broderson, the potter I worked for has had a deep and lasting effect on my aesthetic approach to ceramics. Warren Mackenzie is incredibly eloquent about form and all things clay. Matt Metz certainly opened my eyes to the possibilities of slip and Bob Briscoe continues the eloquence -- I learn something from him every time we speak.
Lillstreet in general- so many of the teachers there have helped me become a better potter.
Outside influences would be nature, pots from old cultures like Greek, Anasazi, pre-Colombian pots like those of Ecuador, Panama, the Moche of Peru; Teco Ware Art Pottery, Art Nouveau in general because it is so closely tied to nature.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
Yes I do; I often have a home sale around winter holiday time and also I have just started doing art fairs! My web site lists them.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Give it time! Clay simply takes time and a large percentage of the pleasure should come in the process - take your cue from kids; they tend to live in the moment and value the process more than the product.
Also, remember we are surrounded by too much perfection: machine-made things. Value yours and others' things because they are hand made, whether or not they are perfectly symmetrical and have an unflawed surface. I think clay involves a lot of humility and forgiveness.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?

1. being a mom, 2. biking I hope, 3. teaching for A.R.T. and doing volunteer work.

Any parting words?
"centered" is more than just something you do to clay.

Website: www.glynnislessing.com

Monday, September 7, 2009

Burn and Learn: Anagama Firing with Simon Levin

Wood Firing Workshop at Waubonsee Community College with Simon Levin:

"During this week long workshop participants will have the opportunity to load and fire the Anagama at Waubonsee Community College under the direction of visiting artist Simon Levin, studio potter and proprietor of Mill Creek Pottery, Gresham, WI. Once we have finished firing, Simon will be joined by Bede Clarke, Professor of Art at The University of Missouri for three days of clay demonstrations. We will begin with an orientation meeting Friday, September 18 at 11:00 am. After lunch we will sign up for firing shifts and then load the Anagama till 8:00 pm. Saturday, September 19 at 10:00 am we will continue the loading process and then begin firing continuously through Wednesday September 23. On Wednesday September 23, 1:00 pm 9:30 pm Simon Levin and Bede Clarke will begin pottery demonstrations in the Ceramics Studio. These will continue Thursday September 24 from 10:00 am 4:00 pm with Slide Talks by each artist beginning 5:00 pm. The workshop will conclude Friday with each artist finishing up work and answering questions September 25, 10:00 am 2:00 pm."

When?
Friday, September 18, 2009 11:00 AM - Friday, September 25, 2009 2:00 PM CT
Where?
Ceramics Studio, Sugar Grove Campus
Contact Information
Doug Jeppesen, Assistant Professor of Art/Ceramics (630)-466-2505, or email djeppesen@waubonsee.edu. (630) 466-5755 for ticket purchasing information.
Other Information
Ticket price is $75 and allows each participant approximately 5 cubic feet of kiln space. All work must be made from Cone 10 Clay, and must be bisque fired before your arrival on September 18. All orders are subject to a $2.00 per-ticket service fee for this event.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The Art of Food

One of the great things about the Lillstreet clay program is the breadth of creative classes available each session. Many times these classes are either one off or only run once every few years. This infrequency ensures a freshness with every go 'round. The Art of Food, taught by the talented and multi-faceted Catherine Schwalbe-Bouzide, was one such class that ran this summer. Here is a bit of info on the class and some pics of the culminating feast. Enjoy!!

Initial Class Description:
"This class will center on rituals of every day eating and the making of hand made vessel(s) to meld the experience. The context of discussions will include exploring your own history of food, family and the use of local or homegrown ingredients. Students will be encouraged to explore and share their perspective on the hottest topics of food systems, eating, and growing while creating hand built, functional vessels for their own use. A private, guided tour of Angelic Organics Learning Center will be available for all students at an additional $10 each. The class will culminate in a summer feast as an expression of the best of what the season brings (one guest per student)."

Synopsis:
"Day one we made a plate to trade with others in the class. We made vessels, shared articles relating to potters, food, growing, contemporary agriculture, recipes, and more. We sampled Stephanie Samuels' significant other's first honey from his bee hives in Mt. Carroll, IL. We traded for Lillstreet roof top tomatoes for local, urban eggs. We copied and assembled our recipes into a book for everyone in the class; we prepared for the feast, cooked some items in the First Slice kitchen, thanks to head chef Carlos, including fresh mozzarella, and shared our foods with each other on the roof at Lill as the sun set. . Each participant brought at least one guest and now some of those guest want to take the class!"