Tonight was the opening of my friend Sarah Chapman‘s Trunk Show
at Lillstreet Art Center. It was a fun night to chat with friends and see some
of Sarah’s latest metal creations! I just love her work… the textures, the movement,
the different metals, the inclusions of beads, shells, rocks & m0re!
Can’t wait to add to my collection!

Her work will be on exhibit in the Lillstreet Gallery through the month of May.
Check out her website for details: www.ChapmanMetals.com
Or Lillstreet Art Center’s website: www.Lillstreet.com

Looking for something fun to do this Spring?
Longing to get your hands dirty – but don’t have a garden to play in?

The new Spring Session of classes starts next week at Lillstreet Art Center.
Mark your calendar as my class starts next Tuesday, March 24th, 2009.
I will once again be teaching my class on Tuesday nights from 7:00-10:00pm.
My class is Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing.
It’s a 10-week class that meets every Tuesday night for three hours. You’ll learn
the basics of wheelthrowing and every step along the way to your finished pots!
Whether you are a complete novice, or an experienced beginner, this is the class
for you. We’re all very low-key, very social and very fun!

Lillstreet Art Center offers some of the best clay opportunities in Chicago!
In addition to your scheduled class session, you also get open studio time at Lillstreet
seven days a week – what a great chance to play inside & practice slinging mud!
So if you’ve ever wanted to play in the mud and make some pots…
it’s still not to late to sign up for classes at Lillstreet Art Center.

Registration is easy – just register online at www.lillstreet.com.
But hurry… my class generally fills up quickly.
Avoid the waiting list… register today!

As 2008 comes to an end – and people are making plans for 2009…
there are resolutions to be made, resolutions to be broken…
plans to change yourself, plans to improve yourself…
how about making plans to just have some fun & get dirty?!

The new Winter Session of classes starts next week at Lillstreet Art Center.
Mark your calendar – my class starts next Tuesday, January 6th, 2009.
I will once again be teaching my class on Tuesday nights from 7:00-10:00pm.
My class is Beginning & Advanced Beginning Wheelthrowing.
It’s a 10-week class that meets every Tuesday night for three hours. You’ll learn
the basics of wheelthrowing and every step along the way to your finished pots!
So if you’ve never thrown on a potter’s wheel… or are looking to refine your basic skills…
or haven’t touched clay since High School… this is the class for you!

In addition to the Tuesday class session, you also get open studio time at Lillstreet
seven days a week – what a great chance to play inside & practice slinging mud!
So if you’ve ever wanted to play in the mud and make some pots…
or have been forever-enamored by that darn scene in “Ghost”…
it’s still not to late to sign up for classes at Lillstreet Art Center.

Registration is easy – just register online at www.lillstreet.com.
But hurry… my class typically fills up quickly. Don’t be left out with clean hands!!!

Once again, the “Empty Bowls” project at Lillstreet Art Center was a great success.
Thanks to the efforts of Joanna Kramer who organized the event, an astounding $10,865
was raised in just one night. I would like to think that my donation of a dozen bowls
helped make a difference.

“Empty Bowls” is a nationwide philanthropic effort by potters around the country
to raise money for the homeless & hungry in the country. By donating handmade
ceramic bowls, the potters are helping raise awareness and money for the cause.
At the event, people can purchase these “empty bowls” for $20 and then get it filled
with soup & bread donated by First Slice Cafe. They then get to keep the bowl
as a symbolic reminder of their generous support of the cause.

Thank you to all the potters & bowl shoppers who make this event a success nationwide!

Plus, there’s a great new Artist-In-Residence at Lillstreet.
I’ve yet to meet her… but she makes really cool stuff!
Her name is Stacey Lee Webber and she’s a metalsmith.
In the hallway, there is currently a display case with some of her work.
Including some really cool “spheres” made out of screws!
Yes, screws… plain, old-fashioned screws from the hardware store!
But then she welds them, screws them, connects them, strings them,
rolls them, wraps them… and creates these really cool screwballs.

And oh, but wait there’s more…
she’s also made an incredible “replica” of a tape measure. You know, the kind
where you pull out the tape to measure things – and then it zips back in and
hits your finger if you’re not careful. Well, she’s made a replica out of nothing
but pennies!!! The casing is pennies… as is each “inch” of the tape measure
represented by an actual penny, flattened on two edges and hinged together!!!
She may be crazy… but brilliant none the less. Can’t wait to meet her…

October means it’s time to feature the artists of Chicago… in Chicago.
Studios & galleries all around the city will be featuring local artists.
This weekend is the big kick-off with plenty of shows, exhibits & openings
all over the city. The Ravenswood Art Walk will be on Saturday & Sunday
featuring the many artists that work along the Ravenswood Corridor.
You can stop in at Lillstreet Art Center and visit my studio
on the second floor throughout the month of October.

Or kick-off Chicago Artists’ Month at the Opening Reception for
“Collective Conversations in Clay” at Lillstreet Art Center.
I will be participating as one of the featured local Chicago artists!
Saturday, October 4th from 4:00-7:00pm.
4401 North Ravenswood at Montrose, Chicago, IL 60640

Support your local artists.
Or pick up a crayon and embrace your own inner-artist!

With just one month to go… it’s time for a little “conversation in clay.”

Eight ceramic artists will be working together to have a long “conversation.”
Five artists invited five other artists to collaborate with them in the project.
Each pair of artists will have their own “conversation” and work together to finish their pieces.

So here’s how it works… each artist will create two similar pieces. The artist will finish one of them in their own signature style. The second one goes to their collaborating “partner” who will finish that piece in their signature style. Emily Murphy and I will be working together to create our own “conversation in clay.” So I will finish one of my one pieces and one of her pieces… while she will finish one of her’s and one of mine!

Opening Reception at Lillstreet Art Center Gallery – Saturday, October 4th.
4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois – lillstreet.com

More details to come… and “conversations” to be had…

When I’m not out biking…
I spend a lot of my summer teaching kid’s Summer Camp at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago.

We have weekly camps through the summer for kids of all ages. I have chosen to work with the older kids – ranging in age from 8 to 12. I enjoy that age group as they all have ideas & opinions, enthusiasm and unbridled creativity when they tackle each project. Each week is a different group of kids with a different set of projects. I like to ask the children for their project suggestions and try to build the week’s projects based on their input. Typically we do a clay project on Mondays, and then other craft projects throughout the rest of the week. We’ve done painting, drawing, collage, mosaics and still lifes. As well as some flashback favorites like macrame, decoupage and my personal favorite tie-dye!!! We also did some great projects based on famous artists and how the kids can convey the artist’s famous styles through their own work. It’s an important & fun lesson, plus the first time many of them are exposed to art history

Paper & fabric sewing projects are often a hit, like today’s bandanna bears – as well as the woven fabric pillows by Annika & Olivia.

Some weeks have a theme, others don’t. This week was “Wild Things” where all of our projects were animal-themed. We made clay masks & tie-dyed t-shirts on Monday, took a field trip to Lincoln Park Zoo on Tuesday, and then worked on plaster sculptures for the rest of the week. The kids looked great in their animal-print, tie-dyed t-shirts when we went to the zoo. While Blake enjoyed a splash at the zoo… Anna preferred to make a splash with her dolphin sculpture!

I also teach “Chess Camp” where the kids make an entire themed chess set out of clay. They each come up with their own concept… which two groups are battling it out on their chess board. We’ve had chess sets based on “Harry Potter,” “Lord Of The Rings,” Disney characters… as well as historic themes such as The Battle of Gettysburg, Greek mythology and one of my all-time favorites… The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones.

After several weeks of fun with the kids, today was my last day of kid’s camp for this summer. It was a lot of weeks, a lot of kids, a lot of projects… and a lot of Mod Podge! I had a wonderful time, worked with some really great budding artists and I’m already looking forward to another “tour of duty” next summer!