Cabeza de Barro Exhibit at NMMA

Today I stopped by the National Museum of Mexican Art and saw this fascinating exhibit of figurative work by Chicago ceramicists. Check it out!
"Two Chicago-based artists explore a spectrum of ideas through their original and provocative works. The pieces transform our perceptions of human anatomy, identity, and social and cultural structures through their natural and constructed forms."

Empty Bowls

This year, we joined a national effort of potters around the world to sell bowls then donate the money to food relief organizations. It was beyond our expectations. We hoped to raise a few hundred dollars but ended up selling enough bowls to send $1000 to the Chicago Food Depository and another $1000 to the World Food Programme. Special thanks to all the parent, student, and teacher patrons and to my generous students for your time and enthusiasm for this project.

Zoe McCloskey

Zoe McCloskey visited Lane and offered the students a fantastic workshop on wheatpaste and printmaking. She has traveled the world creating installations and street art from China to Argentina. She has a great sense of humor and had such a lively and engaging presentation. The students had the best time creating prints from her wood carvings and decorating our room with them, like our classroom clock that is now thinking about a mystery present. Click on the title above to check out her work.

Art Institute Winter Free Days

Did you know the Art Institute is free every weekday until February 4th? The museum houses world ceramic treasures, such as this pillow... yep, a ceramic pillow, made in Song era China in the 12th century. Here are the free hours:
M-W 10:30am-5pm
Thurs & Fri: 10:30am-8pm

The Wheels are Back

The electricians finished & we're back in business.

Trip to Fennville

It has become an annual tradition to visit Dawn Soltysiak's farm in Michigan every fall, and it's the highlight of our year. Dawn hosts our pit and smoke firings, bringing us back in time when ceramic work was fired in the ground with combustible materials, the way it's been done for tens of thousands of years before gas & electricity. Dawn's life is inspiring. She chose to leave her traditional job behind to pursue her passion for ceramics and farming. She now runs classes and a gallery in a converted barn, while working to create a healthy and sustainable local farm along the Michigan coast.

Yong Chung Visits Lane Tech

We had a day of great demonstrations by Yong Chung, our first visiting artist of the year. He shared a wealth of tips for learning the basics of throwing on the wheel and surface texturing. He talked to the students about his experiences learning ceramics in Korea, then at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His functional pottery, stacked vessels, and installations were very inspiring. Thanks, Yong, for an amazing day at Lane!

Spirit Day

Kiln-Baked Pizza

Here are Jessica, Tanzy, Breanna, Sabrina, & Ash w/their proud creations. We made the dough yesterday and baked over 100 pizzas in the kiln today!

Jay Strommen's Wood-Firing Workshop

Next weekend, we are going to camp in Galena & stoke the wood kiln there for a few days. I can't wait to mix the adobe and put the kiln together and stay up chatting in front of the fire all night. This is a picture of Jay visiting Lane to show his master potter skills & to tell students about the wood firing tradition.