21st Annivesary Sale & Show
Lincoln Square Pottery Studio - Learning Center is celebrating its 21st Anniversary this year. Join us for our Sale and Show featuring original artwork, live pottery competitions and an evening of fun!
April is the time of year when Spring Fever sets in at the studio. The creativity that flourishes after the long grey Chicago winters manifest in our kilns. Bud vases, planters and objects that hold new growth get stacked high on the shelves for firing. These inventive clay creations will be available during our event on April 27th from 5-9pm.
Celebrating year 21 of the studio’s operation focuses on the most important part of the non-profit’s asset; its students. More than forty dedicated display spaces are filled with artwork for the event. Showcasing students work is a year-round tradition, but the Anniversary Sale puts an extra spotlight on their one-of-a-kind pieces.
This year there is an abundance of new designs. Planters that double as bookends by Richard Zeid, mysterious cauldrons for growing herbs by Alex Bohanan and vessels with riotous colors by Chris Edwards. Unbelievably artful coffee mugs, bowls and butter bells make up just a small amount of the beautiful utilitarian kitchen objects available. Sculptures, wall art, smoking accessories and tongue-in-cheek objects also bear a strong presence.
Along with the sale, there will be a pottery “throw-down” style event! Our students compete on the pottery wheel, whipping out the tallest vessel in just 4 minutes time, as well as hand building clay sculptures with hilarious themes. The cheering and chanting that happens during these competitions rattle the vases on our shelves!
The studio’s Buy-A-Cup Benefit gives the attendees a chance to donate and take home a hand-made piece. The money raised during the show will build up the studio’s scholarship fund, which helps students maintain their classes during hard financial times. This event is free and open to the public.
Show and Sale Featured Artwork
Artwork at the studio likes to ebb and flow throughout the year. Ideas and new concepts crop up during the seasons. Fall and Winter reflect the big holidays; pumpkin lanterns for Halloween, delicate ornaments for Christmas Trees. Spring brings a crop of planters; bud vases and clever creations that hold new green shoots. Here are just a few of the fascinating ceramic objects made by our talented students and volunteers.
Alex Bohanan has been developing their cauldron planter over quite a few sessions at the studio. During the pandemic, the artist tended to 75 plants in their home. Taking care of these plants helped pass the long hours of the pandemic shut down. Bohanan’s aesthetic is a blend of nature, Goth and witchy lifestyles. Creating a hand-made planter that looked like a small functioning cauldron tickled their humor, and filled a niche of items not readily available online. The legs on the piece provide easy drainage (there are several holes in the bottom). The glaze combinations harken back to mysterious hues found in nature. The cauldrons are meant to accommodate any type of plant. Herbs, flowering plants, stalky shoots or dripping vines all do well in the form. Filled with growing greens, the pieces look like they’re straight out of a witch’s hut. Which is exactly how the artist wants it to appear! Check out their Instagram: HERE
Richard Zeid doesn’t mind a challenge presented by friends. His most recent foray has been into bookend planters. The pieces are thrown on the wheel (as low, wide vessels), with an undulating lip for visual interest. The pieces are then cut carefully down the middle when they are less moist and more stable. A flat piece of clay compressed through the studio’s slab roller is applied to the back by slipping and scoring. The work is very carefully stored and dried under loose plastic to ensure there is no warping. After the initial bisque firing, the artist has been combining studio glazes to create warm and lively colors. Indigo Marble and Sapphire, Violet and Sage are just a few of the stunning combinations. The pieces are meant to incorporate some green life into living spaces. The bookends add a sculptural element as well as great visual resting place at the end of a long row of books. Just a few novels between both bookend vessels can also be placed anywhere for instant charm! Check out his Instagram: HERE
Kim Song credits her mother for passing down a Green Thumb. The artist was tending plants in her home when she decided it would be easier (and more fun) to create the planters for herself. Song took up some wheel throwing classes at the studio, which helped her get a solid feel for the medium. Upon signing up for the Independent Study class, she quickly started using slabs to create sculptural pieces. Planters naturally grew from beneath her hands, connecting in rolling forms that had a foot in architecture. The vessels grew in size but were being built with less weight each time. Song eagerly took the planters home to repot her greens. She realized in short order that others were also responding to the unusual forms, so she created several sets to sell both at the studio and the annual Glenwood Ave Arts Fest. The artist will keep developing the series due to her interest and love of challenges. Check out her Instagram: HERE
Ann Cibulskis’ birch-themed vessels have come in many variations over the past decade. The visual process of the work has changed due to the studio’s changes in clay bodies. A white stoneware is carved to resemble bark, with applied oxides to emphasize the textures. With darker colored clay, the artist brushes on white slip (and sometimes other slip colors), lets it dry and then carves the surfaces. More recently, Cibulskis has added more fungus and lichen to the vessels, although her classic plain bark pieces do pop up in the kiln here and there. Each vase is an individual drawing, so the amount of stress on the bark, and the number of lines, dots and bumps varies with her feelings of the day. Check out her Instagram: HERE
Artist Chris Edwards’ compositions never repeat; each piece stands uniquely alone, even if they are created as part of a set. The woven patterns have a foot in the Gee’s Bend Quilt makers, while the hues are reminiscent of Judy Ledgerwood’s work. John Waters, happiness, queerness and bold, unusual pairings is what make Edwards smile. Check out his Instagram: HERE