Egg Drop 2009

Right before winter break, we had our annual egg drop off stairway "D" at Lane, one of the only stairwells that goes up all four flights. This picture shows Joanne's design, which I'm pretty sure could sustain a helicopter drop from 1000 feet in the air. We threw it hard around the room, and there's no way to crack the egg in this contraption.

Pit Firing 2009

Here's a picture of students digging out the pit. We went on a fieldtrip to Dawn Soltysiak's studio and farm near South Haven, Michigan. She showed us how to do smoke and pit firings of the ceramic pieces we made in class. Pit firing is the most ancient form of turning clay into ceramic. It involves burying the pieces below ground and covering them with combustible materials and making a bonfire. There is no glaze used on the pieces, just natural materials like banana peels, straw, wood, and we even added dog food to get some vitamins and minerals to color the work. It rained all weekend, so it was a soggy adventure, but really, really fun.

Blindfolded at the Wheel

Here's a picture of the students today, trying to center & pull a cylinder without looking...

Karla's Window

Karla DePina was honored last week by the College Board with an announcement that the sculpture above will be part of a national traveling exhibit of senior work. 30 pieces were chosen among the nation's 35,000 students who submitted portfolios for review. The exhibit will travel to Princeton, NJ, Lake Wales FL, Dallas, TX, Baltimore, MD, and it will also be in Chicago at Gallery 37 in November. Hope you can be there. Now, after her second national award this year for an architectural sculpture, Karla has decided that architecture is indeed her calling. She plans to pursue architecture in college. I hope to live in one of her creative dwellings some day!

Oppenheimer Grant Funds Tea Party

Former teacher and current arts & education patron, Ted Oppenheimer and Foundation, generously granted our art department the funding to study and celebrate the history and art of tea and the teapot. We constructed panels for a mosaic mural, while each student created a teapot and cups from which we sampled teas from around the world. Students performed live music, baroque to contemporary, while we ate food from hand-made serving dishes and sipped teas. Thank you to the Oppenheimers for their amazing generosity and support to make school a creative and fun place.

Wood-Firing 2009

On the day our portfolios were finished, we went on a celebration fieldtrip to Galena to do a wood firing and a salt firing. We had SOOOOOOOO much fun camping for the weekend and stoking the kiln all night. Students made incredible food....Yum. Thanks for the tamales Aurora & family...We had great chaperones, too. Thanks to Mr. Couty, Mr. O'Carroll, Ms. Melendez, and Ms. Arter. They not only supervised so we could take the trip, but they brought art activities, stories, and camping expertise.
Jay Strommen led the workshop and he was a wealth of information and insights about art, ceramics, and firing. We plan to go there every year!!! The kiln will be cooled this weekend; we can't wait to see the work.
Click here to see pictures from the weekend.

Portfolio Winners at MCA

Aurora Aguiniga, Maria Curiel, and Andrea Gonzalez have created so many impressive works this year and they have been chosen as portfolio & scholarship winners at the All-City competition. Their art will be on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art until May 3rd.

Barb Boksa: 2009 All-City Poster Winner

Barbara Boksa from Lane Tech is the All-City poster winner for 2009! Her bird, created from found objects including forks, a tennis ball, dart wings, and buttons, was one of many creative birds she has constructed from random materials. This piece will be featured next year on all of the All-City invitations, posters, and other materials advertising the event for 2010. Barb's imagination and sense of humor shine through in her fun works of art. Congratulations, Barb! Click here to see Lane students and their work at the All-City Show.

Lane Students at All-City Art Show

Some of this year’s best sculptures by Lane students will be exhibited at an IIT gallery in April and May. Please join us for opening night from 4-7pm, Monday, April 13th at Hermann Hall Conference Center – 3241 S. Federal Street. The following students will have their work on display and won medals for their outstanding achievements in ceramics, sculpture, and design objects: MaryCate Banaszkiewicz – silver medal, Barbara Boksa – silver medal, Amy Chemeleck – silver medal, Emina Mahmutovic – 2 silver medals, Kayla Marty – silver portfolio medal, Inela Masic – silver medal, Patrick O’Carroll 2 gold medals, Odette Ramirez – silver portfolio medal, Geri Raymundo – gold medal, Maria Rusnaczyk – gold medal, Kelly Segarra – 3 gold medals & 1 silver medal, Nermana Smajlovic – gold medal, Arielle Trinidad – 2 gold medals, Jazmin Villegas – gold medal, & Sarah Whitehouse – silver medal.

Lane Alum Tara O'Hara at BFA Show

This week and next you can see the work of current BFA graduates from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, including tens of graceful ceramic bottles created by Lane '05 graduate Tara O'Hara, who has been studying ceramics and art at SAIC for the past four years. Her work is shown among over two hundred other graduates working in a variety of media. The show is open until April 3rd, and located at 37 S. State Street, downtown. It is on the 7th Floor and open from 11am-6pm, Tuesday-Saturday. Congratulations, Tara. Your work is amazing and we are so proud of you!!!