LSPS-LC Celebrates 20 Years!
Lincoln Square Pottery Studio - Learning Center proudly celebrated its 20th Anniversary Sale and Show on Saturday, April 22nd. Two decades of hands in clay, spinning vessels, building sculptures and talking art! In honor of its students, volunteers and community, the studio hosted the annual event featuring original artwork by 40+ artists, live clay competitions as well as a pottery-themed piñata.
Twenty years ago, artist Meg Biddle found herself without a creative space after the Jane Adams Hull House studio shut down in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. Dozens of other students were left without a place to connect, fulfill commissions or explore their creativity. The vacuum presented an unusual opportunity; open a new pottery studio and have a pool of students to start out with. Biddle and her partner Zeke Garza spent some months touring potential warehouses, storefronts and oddball spaces for the perfect pottery home. Most spots left a lot to be desired. Proximity to the train, a safe neighborhood, as well as a versatile interior were all high on their wish list. An unfinished triple storefront in North Center on Lincoln Avenue seemed to be the answer to all their hopes. The space was new build with nothing in place, and could be configured to fit as many small spaces (wedging, clay storage, office and kiln rooms) as needed. Floor-to-ceiling doors and windows not only provided good light to work by, but drew people in. It seemed to be the perfect blank slate with an eye towards efficiency and pleasant work environment.
Back in the day: Meg Biddle and partner Zeke Garza after the opening of LSPS-LC in 2003. At Right: Studio in 2022
After a flurry of signatures, Biddle and Garza got to work. Plumbing, electricity, drywalling, heavy duty furniture, tiling, website and equipment were just a small amount of things that had to be procured. It soon became apparent that they needed help. And a lot of it. Thankfully through the Jane Adams connection, as well as loyal friends, the studio came together through a flurry of good deeds. Architect and artist Sheila Schaefer stepped in and helped navigate the massive red tape surrounding permits and the persistence needed to succeed down at Chicago City Hall. Along with her design expertise and ability to map out Biddle’s interior vision, Schaefer was not afraid to chase down local aldermen to push through bureaucratic delays. Carl Mankert (Chicago Kiln Services), was instrumental in procuring the right equipment for the space. Mankert shared years of his knowledge of ceramics-related products as well as his humorous insight into this overwhelming project. Twenty years later, his recommendations still hold water- many of the pottery wheels, slab rollers and other items continue to work without complaint. He’s also been the studio’s go-to-guy for raku workshops, luster firings, kiln repair and much more over the years. Steve Redenz worked his carpentry and concrete magic. His abilities lead to the monumental work stations (8’ of concrete table tops for demos and working) as well as the sturdy wedging tables. Jimmy McGue helped launch the new studio onto the internet and many other volunteers helped tool together the extensive shelving units that hold student’s in-progress work. It was all-hands-on-deck to create the test tiles glaze wall. Rows of extruded clay tiles were hand made, fired and glazed to show the incredible range of glaze hues available at the new studio. Hundreds of man hours were gifted by volunteers, friends and professionals to make it possible to open the doors of LSPS-LC.
Just some of the work that’s gone into making and keeping the studio humming like a beehive: Paul Schultz painting, Biddle applying kiln wash
After the initial madness of starting a new business from scratch, LSPS-LC opened its doors in May of 2003. Classes picked up momentum, with beginner wheel throwing on Mondays and Wednesdays and Intermediate level on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These classes would feature a new demo by Biddle each week, from first learning how to center a ball of clay on the pottery wheel bat, all the way to impressive large-scale vessels. Paul Lee stepped up to teach the first few years of slab building (Friday evenings) while Biddle sharpened those skills. Independent study students began to gravitate towards the daytime open hours, catching the quiet time before classes to create professional work for galleries and shows. Biddle spent her afternoons doing paperwork and studio upkeep. The weekends were her time to decompress while volunteers opened and managed the space so that students could work. Schaefer, Sara Brennan, Ann Cibulskis, Mindy Stillman and Elaine Paterakis have selflessly rotated those Saturday and Sunday shifts over the past two decades. Weekend workshops as well as a long stint of child art classes have all been manned by volunteers as well. Anneliese Moy, Rita Yamin, Alice Huang Hollowed, Roberta DeOliviera, Kristi Counts and Angelica Bigelow (with Stillman filling in when needed) spent years teaching little ones how to focus their energies into starting and completing a project. Christopher Whittington, Rich Zimmerman, Moy and Yamin switch off teaching specialty workshops on Sunday evenings every other week. Birdhouses, bowls, votive holders and garlic containers have all been created and perfected in those two hour sessions.
Meg Biddle, founder and instructor at LSPS-LC, does a demo during the Friday eve Handbuilding class
Sometimes students receive a class credit for the work they put into making the studio run smoothly. Some give their time freely*. Biddle couldn’t keep the studio running without three exceptional people; Alice Huang Hollowed, Paul Schultz and Allen Frierson. Huang Hollowed pops into the space early morning, late evenings and weekends to load and unload kilns to keep work from getting backed up. The incredible rate of speed that fresh work is fired is entirely her doing. This is quite a feat considering some weeks can have as many as 2 to 3 bisque AND glaze kilns coming out. Huang Hollowed mixes glazes, helps set up the studio’s art booth during festivals and generally picks up slack that no one even knows exists. Paul Schultz also has a generous streak- the wood worker, architect and graphic designer gives his expertise freely in whatever capacity needed. The studio’s pedestals (for extra storage and the yearly Pottery of Protest exhibition), display shelving and sound proofing are just a few of the large projects he’s overseen (beautifully) and completed. Schultz created the design for the 20th Anniversary poster and postcard, which features dozens of sketched images of student’s work, forming a whimsical composition that honors those who continue to support the studio. The POP12345 book was also designed and executed by Schultz, taking months to complete. Allen Frierson came to the studio by way of informal internship when he was still a teen. Entranced by clay as a way to explore and revel in surface designs (the artist does incredibly detailed drawings), Frierson signed on to clean and organize the studio each week. A clay studio has a constant build-up of dust and debris, but the artist keeps it clean enough for others to enjoy the space in a healthy way. Frierson has done the work for many years now, and has enjoyed artist collaborations with nearly half the students! Without these three volunteers (as well as the consistent sacrifices from those who were there from the beginning), the studio would most certainly grind to a halt.
Volunteers extraordinaire: Allen Frierson (from left), Alice Huang Hollowed, Paul Schultz
Over the many years the studio has been operating on Lincoln Avenue, the majority of its students join after they drive or walk by the displays of pottery and see the activity taking place inside. Most take a beginners class and end up staying for years. The therapeutic spin of the wheel and the feeling of accomplishment is their outlet. Another reason students stay so long is the variety of themes that run through each session. Biddle teaches the basics with calm patience, but really shines when her demos take a turn for the humorous. Some crowd favorites over the decades have been Vessels of Vice (pipes, beer steins, bongs), Cheese (Brie bakers, cutting boards) and Gnomes (ANYTHING gnome related triggers mass studio reproductions). The studio’s annual Pottery of Protest (6 years running) exhibition showcases political and passionate pieces created in-house. This show gives the work the space and time to be acknowledged and explored. This important yearly event, along with being part of three outdoor art festivals, is what keep students engaged and trying new things. Biddle makes sure the studio covers the costs of the events so that the artists have the opportunity to get their work out in the world. This little push helps their creative practice become part of their income. Specialty workshops in the raku process, wood firing, as well as luster and decals let the 80+ students partake in new challenges throughout the year. The two big in-house shows and sales (Holiday and Anniversary) always bring large and appreciative crowds that happily support the local artists.
Yearly events: Raku workshops with Carl Mankert, left, and outdoor festivals (Glenwood Ave Arts Fest, Ravenswood Art Walk and Holly Jolly Market)
To commemorate the people who continue to make the studio possible, as well as mark the milestone, LSPS-LC will be in full celebration mode during the 20th Anniversary Sale and Show. Students, as well as the public, are invited to partake in a variety of hilarious competitions centered around clay techniques. Throwing the tallest vessel on the wheel, creating silly objects out of clay slabs and “Ghosting” (based off of the Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze scene in the movie Ghost). Beginner students might want to partake in the piñata fun; the papier-mâché vessel will be filled with new pottery tools! One-of-a-kind works of art will be available for sale during the event as well. Studio artists will be displaying items such as cups, bowls, candlestick holders, sculptures, figurative art, olive oil dispensers as well as a plethora of cute and wacky clay monsters and animals. The usual Buy-A-Cup Benefit (which has raised thousands of dollars for local non-profit charities the past few years) will provide celebrants with a hand-made cup or mug, which can be filled with tasty beverages. Catch up with the artists, come congratulate the founder and the volunteers, but above all, come celebrate all things clay!
Anniversary Show Clay Competitions: Meg Biddle does the measuring, Carl Mankert spins tallest vessel and Anneliese Moy and friends “Ghost”
*Additional extra thanks to the people who have kept the studio going the past 20 years: previous volunteers Esther Smith, Emilie Bouvet-Boisclair and Ian Wallach. Some of the long term students who were at the studio in those early days like Sangeet Gupta, Jana Hullinghorst, Erik Gellert, & Patrick Donnelly. Thank you to the students-turned-substitute teachers; Alan Lerner, Rebecca Hamlin Green and Joseph Ahn. As well as those from outside the studio; Gina Hutchingson and Norbert Greenwood-White. Val Kolovos and Rebecca Ickes, who helped us update & maintain the website over the years. Mieke Zuiderweg, who started out as an Independent Study student and who was, for a time, a general studio volunteer. Her talents in photography, writing and organizing soon brought her to become the studio’s social media maven as well as event coordinator for studio sponsored street fairs & fests. She has been invaluable in elevating the studio’s profile online and in real life. Lastly, the support of countless people from outside of the studio like Jennifer Biddle, Zeke Garza, Dorothy Mason, Andy Dixon, Randall Borkus, Isaac Csandl, Steve Hafliger and many more - has made our studio what it is!