Ode to Monitors -- Lori Hess

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)?
My name is Lori Hess, aka "Lolitos" ; ) (don't print that)
(Editor -- if you type it, I will print it.  LOL)

2.       When did you start coming to Lillstreet?
I started coming to Lillstreet in January of 2012 after my father passed away. Having been a caregiver to both of my parents for many years, it was time that I rediscovered my creativity and a friend encouraged me to take a pottery class with him.

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?
What brings me to Lillstreet (almost daily!) are the people, the cooperative effort that keeps Lillstreet a distinct community, and of course, the opportunity to create and learn.

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?
My clay work is currently functional, mostly bottles, bowls, cups, containers, and bird feeders.

5.       What is your process?  Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.
My process is yet undefined as I am still learning! Let's just say it's an "adventure".

6.       What or who influence your work?What influences my work is nature; I love birds, bees, trees, etc., and organic forms/textures that represent nature. Who influences my work currently are my fellow Lillstreet students, teachers, and Simon Leach!

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?
Other mediums: Painting with oils, but have put down the brush now for several years (due to caregiving and corporate job), and my other medium, I would say is food. I am a very creative cook and enjoy preparing healthy, and elaborate meals.

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?
My duties as a monitor are unloading/loading the kiln, cleaning the clay studio (my son helps!), consolidating bisque and glaze carts, assisting students who need to buy clay, tools, and help finding their work, answering general questions, and always (whenever I'm there!) cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!

9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?
The one thing that I would love to inform the clay community of is that we really need their participation in keeping the studio clean(er). Many students and teachers do not seem to know or understand that it is their own responsibility to clean up after themselves, everywhere they've worked! Another thing that I want them to know is that Lillstreet is an amazing place that we need to respect, love, and nurture it to keep it going!

(Editor: If you've read a few of these, you must be starting to see a theme here -- make sure you clean up after yourself.  Clean the wheel after you're done,  Wipe down the table you've been using.  Return equipment to where you found them.  Report issues so that they can be taken care of as soon as possible.  Keeping Lillstreet clean and functional for everyone is everyone's responsibility -- not just that of the monitors. Let's all play out part!)

Ode to Monitors -- Fred Follansbee

1. What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)? 

Fred Follansbee

2. When did you start coming to Lillstreet?

2003 - 5 week "Casual Fridays" class - 1/2 at old Lillstreet, 1/2 at new place on Montrose

3. What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?

clay, people

4. What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural? 

both - functional cups/yunomi, vases....sculptural - wall platters, vases, teabowls - wood-fired and soda-fired work, mostly

5. What is your process? 

Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc. yunomis/cups - make lots, step back and review now and again

6. What or who influence your work?

Peter Voulkos, Don Reitz, Japanese ceramics - Shoji Hamada, Tatsuzo Shimaoka, Shigemasa Higashida http://www.soshintougi.com/english/index.html  , Shiro Tsujimura, wood-fired ceramics

7. Do you work with other medium besides clay? 

lithograph, acrylic paints

8. What are your duties as a monitor? 

soda coordinator

9. If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be? 

I am an expert cup-cake taster - I will sample and give feedback to anyone

Ode to Monitors -- Maureen Finigan

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)?
My name is Maureen Finigan aka MOE

2.       When did you start coming to Lillstreet?
I think I started at Lillstreet in 2006. I have always wanted to work with clay and it I researched pottery studios in Chicago and Lillstreet seemed like a good first place to start. My first experience was welcoming, fun and stress free. I have decided to stay at Lillstreet because the community here is supportive, easy going, non competative and, fun & some of the most people I have ever met. I have built lasting friendships here that have transcended my art. I am a better person for having spent time at Lillstreet!

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?
My work is primarily functional however I am taking my first sculpture class with Robin Power and I adore it!

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?
My process is...I explore art at galleries, in photos, other artists at Lillstreet...I try to replicate what I see that I like and then make it my own. I am a handbuilder, wheel thrower and a sculpter...:-)

5.       What is your process?  Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.
6.       What or who influence your work?
What influences my work is nature, ie. mountains, ocean life, trees and plant life as well as the textile world. I have been a seamstress and I find those basic skills support my handbuilding process. I also sketch and do some art with pastels on paper.

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?
I started as a monitor wet vacuuming the floors. I am currently full time as a glaze maker, slip maker, clean once a week and keep basic supplies filled.

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?
9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?

What artists at Lillstreet can do to make my work easier would be to cover glazes as soon as you finish with them, clean off the stirring sticks thoroughly for others to use, notify your teacher if a glaze consistency does not feel or look correct so I can correct it (or Susan the other glaze maker), NEVER add water to any glaze yourself, keep slips covered and do not hoard them on your shelf they are a community resource for all to use, and please make certain your work space is clean when you leave it just like you were taught in first time potter.


(Editor: I hope you've been enjoying the series.  I would love to hear your feedback -- leave comments! Also, a congratulations goes out to Maureen for being selected as one of the participants in the 2013 Annual Lillstreet Student Member Show.  Well done, Moe.)

Ode to Monitors -- Chuck Escue

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)?
Chuck Escue

2.     When did you start coming to Lillstreet?
January 2010

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?
The opportunity to work in clay, which had been an unfulfilled dream of mine since I was about six. I stay because the folks are great.

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?
I mostly make functional work on the wheel, though I do enjoy decorative tile as well. 

5.       What is your process? Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.
I try to respond to needs I perceive around me in what I am making. After that, my process in as minimal as I can make it, and as involved as required.

6.       What or who influence your work?
My family, my friends, and people I encounter influence what I make. Finishes are an attempt to reflect the world we live in, with it's great beauty and imperfections. 

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?
I do work in other mediums. Photography, carpentry, poetry, and lighting. I enjoy being able to express myself architecturally.

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?
As a monitor I help with recycling all the clay scraps we have around. Rotating barrels, empty and full. Mixing unusable scrap with dry clay to make a workable body. And stacking those thousands of pounds into neat, accessible piles.

9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?
Do not, please do not, put paper towels into the clay barrels. They rot in there. Stink. And ruin the clay. Certain people actually have skin reactions to the bacteria grown that way.

Ode to Monitors -- Cassandra Deiters

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)?

My name is Cassandra Deiters.

2.       When did you start coming to Lillstreet?

I started coming to Lillstreet in August 2012.

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?

I came to Lillstreet because I wanted to improve on my ceramic skills. I took a ceramic class in college and was terrible! Ha!  So, my art professor suggested Lillstreet when I moved to Chicago.

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?

Since I am still a beginner, I've stuck with the same class, beginners wheel throwing. My work is functional, if that is what you want to call it. I think that would be more of an opinion. :o)

5.       What is your process?  Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.

When I throw, I don't usually have a thought process. I just throw and see what happens. Haha! Still a beginner.

6.       What or who influence your work?

My inspiration is my family and friends. They ask for pieces and I do my best to make something for them that is similar to their wants and needs.

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?

I have previously worked and work in other mediums, my major was art. I am more experienced in drawing, printmaking, and painting.

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?

I am a Kidstreet monitor

9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?

One thing that would make my work easier would be to know where the extra trash bags are stored besides the women's bathroom. It's so frustrating when I get there Wednesday mornings and all the trash bags are used up from the usual hiding spots. :)

Ode to Monitors -- Christi Chadwick

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)? 
Christi Chadwick

2.     When did you start coming to Lillstreet?
About seven years ago

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?
Throwing pots

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?Mostly functional

5.       What is your process? Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.
(Editor: No answer)

6.       What or who influence your work?Everyone I see up at Lillstreet

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?
NO

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?
Claymaker

9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?
(Editor: No answer)

Soda Invitational

A chance to get a "taste" of Soda. If you are interested, please try to coordinate this as a class activity with your teacher as your information source. Otherwise, please consult one of the resources listed below. Have fun!

A soda fired mug

A Little Soda: Intro to Lillstreet’s Soda Program

What is Soda Firing?

Soda Firing is a form of atmospheric glazing where sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate (soda ash) are introduced into the kiln at high temperatures (2250-2300F). The soda immediately vaporizes and is carried throughout the kiln coating everything it passes with a thin layer of sodium oxide creating unique soda flashing effects.

Invitation to “Cone 10” students (prerequisite: one 10 week class) Get your free Ticket.

Students may fire one or two small pots using the guidelines below. We suggest cups/mugs, cereal bowls, or bottles. For Handbuilders, suggestions are a mug, a vase, or a very small study of a head or hand. Maximum size is 6x6 inches. Taller pieces work better than flat-no plates or tiles! This invitation expires September 2.

Get a free Ticket for each piece (maximum 2 pieces) at the Front Desk. After wadding, put your pots on designated shelves inside the Soda Kiln Room with the Ticket. Pots by soda students have space priority. Remember, soda pots can have unpredictable results! Have FUN!

Cone 10 Clay, Glazes and Soda Slips

• On functional pieces a liner glaze is recommended on the inside of the piece because soda has a difficult time reaching the insides of pots. Cone 10 glazes that work well as liner glazes: Temoku, Red Iron, Luster Shino, Gustin Shino, Shaners White, and Tom’s Purple. (There are glazes that don’t work-please use these six glazes.) DO NOT GLAZE THE OUTSIDE; THEY WILL BE REJECTED. Pick-up is outside the Soda Kiln Room.

• The soda will react with the bare clay body also, so it is not necessary to always cover the pot with a Soda Slip, which are in Wheel B. All Cone 10 Clay Bodies work well in Soda, and each has its own character. We recommend one piece “bare” with a liner glaze and one with a soda slip brushed on greenware. All pieces must be Bisk fired. We recommend these Soda Slips: Mustard, Smooth Orange, Rutile Slip, Blue-Green, Rougir, and Thompsons. Slips might show soda effects on one side of the piece and be dry on the other side; this is the nature of soda firing!

Wadding

Wadding must be used on all pots entering the Soda Kiln. Without wadding the soda will attach the piece to the kiln shelf.  You are wadding your work for STABILITY on the kiln shelves, and for SUPPORT of your piece! Please wad during your class and ask your teacher to help you! Found near the Spray Booth, keep the labeled Wadding bucket and plastic bag tightly closed after use. Roll small marble size balls of wadding and use Elmer’s Glue to glue them to the bottom of the pot. 3-4 is adequate for most pots. (Wadding is never allowed in the Cone 10 firings.)

Teachers can answer basic questions and the Soda Team is available to help! Consult with Fred, Adam, Amanda, Sam, or Nixon, or Karen.  

Ode to Monitors -- Steve Acoba

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)?
Steve Acoba

2.       When did you start coming to Lillstreet?
I first started classes I think Fall of 2008?

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?
I took a class way back in high school for a few weeks and remember really enjoying it. I live in the neighborhood and drove past Lill Street all the time but never came in. I came for a workshop one day, really liked the vibe of the place so I signed up for a beginning wheel class. I have been coming in ever since. Wheel throwing is my way of de-stressing from my full-time of being a Realtor.

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?
I mainly do functional work. Have been enjoying the challenge of throwing bottles lately. Patty's '100 Bottle Class' was great!

5.       What is your process?  Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.
I like trying to replicate forms/shapes that I see in catalogs and in stores. I watch a lot of YouTube videos too on throwing techniques.

6.       What or who influence your work?
 Seeing ceramic pieces in stores and at art shows it what inspires me. I really like simple-looking, clean-lined shapes and forms. I stick with glazes that I think complement the shapes versus distracting from them. I  And again, watching throwing videos online. I've taken classes with many of the instructors and have learned so much from all of them. We are so fortunate to have such amazing artists teaching us.

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?
I just work with clay. I'd say porcelain and Bmix are my favorites. Although I like the Ochre stoneware too.

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?
I unload and reload the glaze and bisque kilns and clean tables/sinks on Monday nights.


9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?

Whatever you take out from under the tables, always put it back when you're done.  And scrape the tables of any clay you might leave behind, wipe the shelf in front of your wheel when done too. Switch wheels off and stools up when you’re done.

Ode to Monitors -- Adam August

As promised -- here is the first of the series of responses for the "interviews" with monitors.  I hope you enjoy the series and please do not hesitate to leave comments or provide feedback for topics you would like to see in future posts.

1.       What is your name?
Adam August

2.       When did you start coming to Lillstreet?
November 2007 Karen Avery Wednesday morning class 

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?
For me Lillstreet is a place with endless possibilities.  A place to get messy and make as much art as you want.  Also it has a great social life as well.

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?
Functional

5.       What is your process?  Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.
Wheel thrown clay, sometimes altered and almost always soda-fired.

6.       What or who influence your work?
Chris Gustin is my favorite ceramic artist.  I love his forms and colors.

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?
I am a Motion Graphic Designer for my career.  I use digital media to create graphic design and animation for videos and live events.

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?
I am a Soda Monitor.  I am part of the team that fires the soda kiln and maintains the soda program.

9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?
Learn as much as you can about soda-firing by signing up for the loading, firing and unloading of the soda kiln.  By being involved with and seeing what everyone's work looks like going in, and then seeing the work coming out, you can learn a lot about what you like and don't like, or what worked and didn't work. 

A New Series

Apologies for having been somewhat quiet.  I have been working on an idea for a new series of posts.  Lillstreet's Clay Department is the largest department at Lillstreet and the amount of chores and tasks that needed to be performed on a daily basis is not a trifling matter.  There is a whole cadre of behind the scene actors each performing their assigned duties to help the Clay Department function as a well oiled machine.  This cadre of actors are the Lillstreet Studio Monitors.  So, I've been busy "interviewing" and collating the response from the monitors and will present them for your reading pleasure over the course of the next few weeks.  The questions that I've asked them are as follows:

1.       What is your name (I may not always be able to tell by your email)?

2.       When did you start coming to Lillstreet?

3.       What brought/brings you to Lillstreet?

4.       What is the nature of your clay work -- functional or sculptural?

5.       What is your process?  Do you sketch, prototype and conceptualize? etc.

6.       What or who influence your work?

7.       Do you work with other medium besides clay?

8.       What are your duties as a monitor?

9.       If there’s one thing you absolutely have to inform the Lillstreet clay community that would make your work easier, what would it be?

The "interview" is an email response to the above question and it is my goal that the responses you read will be true to the voice of the individual monitor.  I will limit any editing on my part so you get a true sense of the personality of the responder.  The hope of this series is so you have a greater appreciation for the monitors and the things they do at Lillstreet.  And, if you are so inclined, thank them for their hard work.  I am sure they would love to know that they are appreciated.

I hope you enjoy the postings over the next few weeks!