Brittany Radom

Brittany Radom is a city girl, but looking at her artwork, you’d think she grew up surrounded by the forest and animals.

Radom (Chicago 1997), was raised in the city, but that didn’t stop her from being out in nature as much as possible. Her grandfather (also artistic) learned early on to take paper bags along on his granddaughter’s excursions into the surrounding parks and woods. By the end of their time together, the bag would be filled with feathers, rocks, leaves and bones. Along the way would be catch-and-release of frogs, toads and bugs.

Radom’s early connection to nature gave her a deep appreciation for things that others might find mundane. Mushrooms, rocks, wildflowers and animals are a few of her interests. She takes pride in bringing attention to these subjects, enhancing them through drawings and sharing their magic with those around her.

Radom was accepted into the William Jones College Preparatory High School in the Printer’s Row neighborhood of the city. The school has an amazing art program, and Radom took advantage of the AP courses. Here she first experienced ceramics, doing hand building classes that gave her a great handle on the medium.

The artist plunged headlong into forensics and biology at Loyola University Chicago before changing direction to pursue her Veterinary Technician Certification. She now works full-time in veterinary medicine and finds working with animals extremely stimulating.

During the initial COVID shutdown in 2020, Radom did not do well with the isolation related to the pandemic. Her mother gifted a class at LSPS-LC as a way to get her back out into the world and focusing on self-care. She was both excited but intimidated to take the wheel-throwing class (something she’d always wanted to try). Radom, a self-confessed perfectioninst, was frustrated by being “bad” at something. The feeling didn’t last long because she was quickly taken over by the calming, repetitive nature of the wheel. Zoning out in this manner became meditative, and taught her how to “trust the process.” The artists around her turned out to be supportive and helpful, and she quickly settled in.

Radom is well-known for her unique mugs and decorations. She focuses mostly on this utilitarian shape because she herself loves to sip from a different and aesthetically pleasing cup each morning. The first piece she felt truly proud of was one featuring Mothman, a folkloric humanoid creature spotted in West Virginia in 1966. The subject matter, as well as artistic execution was noticed around the studio. The way Radom uses tiny nail dot tools to carve out details gives her subjects sketch-like appearances. The animals and plants remain flush to the surface, but somehow seem to visually jump out. The artist has been adding pops of color inside the vessels that tie into the outer designs as well. The effect creates an even more visually alluring presence.

Along with plumply adorable toads gracing her cups, they also seem to be coming to life in 3D form. Radom started sculpting them, along with little mushrooms, and salamanders, and they’re convincingly real looking. Flora such as dandelions, wildflowers and other “weeds” are also popping up on her art. Under appreciated (and often important) plants settle into compositions that remind you of dense flower meadows. Rocks and minerals have also taken a hold of Radom’s interests. She’s been using and learning about the healing powers of certain ones, and transferring them onto her work seemed like a natural progression. Being in the studio two to three times a week has really given her the space to come up with new ideas and future artistic plans. Concepts for upcoming series include medicinal herbs and animal groups. Currently she’s working on a large amount of mushrooms (inspired by the book “Entangled Life” by Merlin Sheldrake) and animals for the studio’s upcoming Pottery of Protest exhibition in August.

Radom tried showing and selling her work for the first time last year at the studio’s Glenwood Ave Arts Fest booth in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. She found that engaging with the public, as well as seeing work by so many other artists had a big positive impact on her. She quickly signed up for a few smaller art shows in her area, as well as selling at the studio’s Holiday and Anniversary shows. A few commissions gave the artist some good challenges; cups with lizards, dancing and basketball themes all turned out well. The artist is excited to continue on this creative road, and would ultimately love to be able to evenly split time between the studio and her veterinary career!