Instructor Introduction: Gary Jackson

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

Gary Jackson
Bachelor of Science in Art, concentration in Visual Communications, Illinois State University

I worked eighteen years in the corporate world as a Graphic Designer and Advertising Manager for a chain of nationwide retail paper & office products stores. After many years of climbing the corporate ladder, I switched the focus of my life & career to doing what makes me happy. I now work twice and many hours and make half as much money - but love what I'm doing. And having a fun time doing it.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?

It was during a bike ride in Southern Indiana, when my friend Nancy and I stopped in a local potter's studio. We looked around, asked a lot of questions... and then my friend said that she would like to take a pottery class. I said I would be more than willing to take a class with her. She looked around, did a little research and found that Lillstreet Art Center was our best option. We signed up for our first beginner's class with Marj Woodruff as our instructor. And I've never left. Instead, I went from student to monitor, to teacher's assistant, to teacher to studio member. I now get to work at Lillstreet as much as I want, teach a few classes, and play with great kids all summer during Summer Camp!


What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?

I live a pretty simple life.
I have a very simple life motto -
"If it's not fun, don't do it."
And it's worked pretty well for me so far.

In my previous life, I had a real job. I went to college, worked hard and got good grades. I graduated with honors and got a graphic design job after graduation. I worked hard and made good money. As I worked harder, I got promoted. Soon I was managing an art department. I had employees. I had responsibilities. Another promotion, another rung up the corporate ladder. We all assumed that's what we were supposed to be doing. Moving up the proverbial ladder. That's what we were trained to to. That's what we were expected to do. We had been lead to believe that it was the path to success since very early on in our lives.

After eighteen years of corporate retail advertising & marketing, I realized that it may not be true. That the path to success is not measured by money or rungs on a ladder. The path to my success is happiness. I started out as a graphic designer, but several years later I found myself in countless meetings, dealing with budgets & proposals and doing nothing at all related to graphic design. I had a talented staff to do that... the fun part. I have never been motivated by money. Which is a good thing now that I a full-fledged starving artist... now I get to do the fun part!!!

Over the years I have come to realize that my own happiness is far more important than any company's bottom line or the next investor's meeting. So I struggled with the decision to start my own business and work for myself. While I was still working the corporate gig, I started taking pottery classes at Lillstreet Art Center. It was the perfect creative outlet during my non-creative advertising job. It was tactile, mushy and incredibly creative. You get to make beautiful things out of mud. So when it was time to start my own business, I decided to go with something I love... and I love making things. I always have.

I also love biking. I started biking shortly after college purely as a recreational biker. A quick trip around the block or though the forest preserve. But as my passion grew, so did my sense of adventure. My mileage increased, my stamina increased - and I started pedaling even further. And pedaling further can take you along the coast of Oregon & California, or the other coast from Baltimore to Tampa. The Rocky Mountains from Glacier National Park to Yellowstone... or my greatest biking adventure: cross country from Los Angeles to Boston. I now ride a couple thousand miles every summer - vacations, weekends & mornings before work. I quickly realized that there is nothing better than the sense of freedom you get while pedaling out in the middle of nowhere - and not even caring that you don't know where you are. The sense of wonder and relaxation of stopping, laying under a shady tree and watching the clouds go by - for no reason, in no hurry. And now that I am a self-employed artist, I get to continue my biking obsession. My flexible studio hours allow me the time to get out and pedal... and pedal... and pedal...

For the past few years, I have also been spending my summers teaching Summer Camp at Lillstreet Art Center. It's a great gig - working with 8-12 year old kids and their unending creativity & enthusiasm! They get excited, they make art, they giggle. We do great projects all summer - some for fun, some more educational. From ceramics & painting, to mosaics & drawing, lots of clay, lots of Mod Podge... and my personal favorite - tie-dye! Many people find it exhausting to deal with kids all summer - I find it entertaining and somewhat exhilarating. They make me giggle.

I also work throughout the year with an event production company designing corporate parties, special events and holiday decorations. It's another great gig - a different party, a different theme, a different creative challenge. From large corporate events for thousands of people, holiday decorations for Chicago landmarks & corporate headquarters - to smaller, more intimate events & holiday decor for a few mansions. Both of these "gigs" affords me the chance to work as a full-time potter. And keeping within my own motto... they're both fun!

So that's my life in a nutshell. Nothing too exciting. Nothing too elaborate.
I try to keep it simple. I don't see the need for extra drama or hassles. It takes too much time & energy - that I could be using to do something fun. I don't watch the news. I don't read the newspaper. I don't do sports, religion or politics. I prefer to focus on the positive. I like to be happy. I like to make other people happy.

Plus I like to make things.
And I hope that the things I make also make other people happy.

After all... it's all about me.
And if it's not fun, I don't do it.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?

I sell my work art art fairs throughout the year, as well as in my studio on the second floor.
I enjoy the art fair circuit and have made many friends and loyal customers along the way.
I love seeing people pick up and item, fell it, touch, love it... knowing that they have to have it.
Anyone interested in making it to one of the art fairs, my schedule is always updated
on my website. I also sell my work in a couple stores throughout the Midwest.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?

Stick with it. Have fun. And commit.
Working with clay is not as easy as many think. It takes practice, focus & determination.
You can't expect to get it the first time. Don't panic. Don't worry. Just remember to have fun.
Everyone is playing in the mud, having fun and expressing themselves. Enjoy the process.
Commit to what you're doing., Don't be tentative. The clay is much more resilient than you think.
And remember that we're not here to make "perfect pots"... if you want perfect pots, go to Pottery Barn!

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

I spend as much time as I can on my bike. Sadly, that does not pay the bills.
So to help out, I also work part-time as the Creative Director for a special events company in Chicago. I get to be creative all day, at work and the studio. I get to design great parties and make fun pottery. Along the way, I get to pedal a few mile here and there....

Any parting words?
If it's not fun, don't do it.


Website: http://firewhenreadypottery.com/

Instructor Introduction: CatherineTweedie

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two. How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
My name is Catherine Tweedie, and while I was raised in Evanston, after a decade spent living in various parts of Chicago I feel more native to the City. I remember, vividly, every episode throughout elementary school involving clay: pinch-pots, coil vases, slab boxes and finally wheel throwing in high school. I took at least one ceramics class every semester in college. When I graduated from Beloit College I found myself living in Chicago, and looking for clay facilities. Lill St. became my haven and I've never left. I've been obsessed with clay for as long as I can remember.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
I love to cook, but mostly I love to bake. I make functional ceramic pieces based upon daily use within the kitchen, dining room, garden and beyond. I believe that when you incorporate functional art into your everyday existence it raises your level of ceremony and appreciation. The days where I leave myself enough time in the morning to drink out of a handmade coffee cup, and I'm not just leaving the house with a thermos for the road, are days that start on a more positive note, and my coffee tastes better.

I love numbers, and incorporate them widely in the surface detail/decoration on my pieces. Numbers are how we quantify everything in our lives, and thus they are universal. I think their forms are beautiful and curvy, and they work well to accentuate the rounded forms I like to make. They are endlessly descriptive in their simplicity.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I sell my work in New Buffalo, Michigan at Dancing Loon Artisans, and through my studio at Lill St.


What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Take advantage of your open studio hours. Lill St. has open studio hours 10am-10pm seven days a week. Keeping familiar with the process will stretch your skills exponentially. So much depends upon reaching the clay at the right wet/dry state. Always work in series. If you're going to make two cups then why not make six? Watch other people throw or hand-build. Everyone has slightly different technique, and the smallest nuance can sometimes make a huge difference in your own practice. Music is vital within the studio setting. Make sure you've got a radio handy at all times.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
I bike, garden, wait tables, travel, and cook.

Any parting words?
"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life," Pablo Picasso.
"Eighty percent of life is showing up," Woody Allen.

Instructor Introduction: Sharon and David Hartshorne

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
Sharon and David Hartshorne, husband and wife team who teach wheel throwing on Wednesday evenings:

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
We grew up a few miles apart on the Des Plaines River in northern Illinois and fell in love with clay in high school in the 1970’s. Later returning to our hometown, we were married and our combined talents and interests led us back to ceramics.


What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
As homegrown Midwesterners, we had learned early on to adapt to the changing seasons, preparing us for the challenges presented by our chosen material. Like the seasons, clay provides us with a wide range of opportunities, from expansive freedom of expression to the limits inherent in the material and techniques.

Drawing on diverse fonts of artistic expression, from the naturalism of Bernard Palissy to the contemplative Agnes Martin, from the innovation of Oribe-ware to the ephemeral Andy Goldsworthy, our goal by collaborating is to combine our individual perspectives of inspiration with our delight in working with this earthy material.


What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Lillstreet Art Center has provided us with the opportunity to share our abilities and combine the talents unique to each of us to enhance the experience of each student. Realizing the frustration in initial attempts at creative expression, we are always reminded that we will never play a piano concerto well if we cannot play basic scales. On the other hand, new students often bring a fresh perspective to a piece that many veterans strive to achieve.

Our teaching technique remains to encourage beginning students to persevere in order to more clearly see the finished piece, enabling them to find the voice in their work, a voice that is truly their own.

Finding the soul in a shape that has been around for thousands of years remains elusive, yet in the Arts and Crafts tradition, every handmade piece is a work of individual human expression.


Any parting words?
By creating handmade pieces of art from raw clay, we hope to exude the enthusiasm that so many artists have come to recognize as a process as simple and as complex as our own human experience.


Lillstreet’s promotion of diverse opportunities in the arts continues to provide individuals with the means to express themselves, and provides us with the rare ability to bring a tandem approach to the joy of working with clay, enabling us to tailor our approach to each student’s unique needs and abilities.

Cheers! Sharon and David

Instructor Introduction: Momoko Usami

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
I’m Momoko Usami. I went to under graduate, and graduate school at Kyoto City University of Art in Kyoto, Japan. I came to the U.S. last year to change my environment, and to research how the cultural difference influence people’s view.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I have been working with clay since University. So almost 9 years.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
Ceramics for souvenir, Japanese painting in Edo period, dreams, find something on the street

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
Woman Made Gallery. You are more than welcome to stop by my studio.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
Learn from trial and error, just need to be patient and take your time.

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
Drawing, cooking, eating, reading, thinking or sleeping

Any parting words?
I like beer.

Website: http://momokousami.shichihuku.com/

Christa Assad: urban potter

October's Artist of the Month in the Lillstreet Gallery. Meet Christa Assad on Saturday 10/10, 3-6pm!

Instructor Introduction: Tom Lucas

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
Thomas Lucas. Originally from the Philadelphia area, BFA Tyler School of Art, MFA S.A.I.C. Director of Printmaking Dept at Lillstreet and Master Printer at Hummingbird Press LAC, also located upstairs in the print dept.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I have been working with clay off and on for the last 20years. I used to work for John Dowell, an artist and professor in Philadelphia who worked in clay, print, painting and music. I have done a bit of throwing, hand building and raku. Recently I have developed a series of classes at Lillstreet in the Print Dept. that teach printmaking on clay techniques.

What are your influences, both inside and outside of the clay world?
Currently I am influenced by the history of art and technique as it applies to the realm of printmaking and clay.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I do sell my work. It can be found at Lusenhop Fine Art as well as Nicole Gallery in Chicago. I also sell out of my studio.

What advice can you give to students of the ceramic arts?
How do images affect form and how does form affect the image?

How do you spend your time when not working with clay?
Working on drawings, prints and paintings.

Any parting words?
BE INSPIRED!



Website: http://hummingbirdprint.com/

Instructor Introduction: Yong Hyun Chung

Please tell us a little about yourself; your name, background, education, and a fun fact or two.
I have earned my MFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007. I also studied ceramics at Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea and earned BFA.

How long have you been working with clay and how did you get started?
I met clay when I went to college in 1997, and keep doing artwork with clay. I do sculptural as well as functional ceramic work. Since past two years, I am in love with soda firing. I am making large scale vessels and delving into soda kiln nowadays.

Do you sell your work? If so, how can one find it?
I have my website, www.claynmore.com. People can purchase my work via my website, Etsy.com(forthcoming), or visiting studio at Lillstreet Art Center Ste. 205 West.