Michelle Kowall
When you look at the flourishing flowers on the pottery by artist Michelle Kowall (Norridge, Illinois, 1991), you can tell there’s a deeper connection to something meaningful.
Some of Kowall’s favorite childhood memories are of watching her grandmother Patricia work her way through the immense flower beds outside the family’s cottage in Door County, Wisconsin. Kowall, who herself has only recently started to grow green things, took comfort in this idyllic scene. Years later, she put a designer liner tip to her pottery surface, and her own flower gardens started to grow. The blooms themselves are undefined in terms of species, and they flow out of Kowall’s hand and mind. The process puts her in a relaxed and happy state. The artist still exchanges letters with her grandmother (who is 92 and now lives in an apartment), and they reminisce about those summer days surrounded by flowers.
Kowall ended up with a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Eastern Illinois University (2014). This was no surprise since her family is chock full of artists. Her father is an airbrush artist (who happily helped her with any art project), grandfather an advertising illustrator, and aunts and uncles that sewed and wove baskets. She spent her childhood immersed in pencils and paper, and started her university career in the same vein. After her second year at school she needed a break from drawing though. She wanted to try something different, and 3D art had never been a focal point. She took a chance and started a pottery wheel throwing class. She quickly formed a connection to the material, and ended up following through on 5 separate classes in that discipline. At the time, her focus was more on form and function. Surface treatment was on the back burner, partially because the school’s studio only housed a few uninteresting glaze options. She spent that time focused on her technique, and it paid off. The artist now creates bowls, cups and platters that are both lightweight and precise.
After college, Kowall and her husband started to travel. Utah and the Pacific Northwest are two regions that both feel a strong connection to. The intense greens and lush light of the Pacific Northwest, as well as the incredibly varied earth tones of Utah have permanently embedded into the artist’s psyche. Landscapes and colorfields started to emerge on her ceramic surfaces after she joined LSPS-LC in 2016. Kowall jumped feet first into drawing and etching with glaze and clay, connecting back to her drawing roots with aplomb. Having hundreds of glazes, stains, underglazes and Wonderglazes helped catapult her into her new practice.
Kowall is currently and art teacher for the K-5th grades at Bensenville Elementary School outside of Chicago. She tries to do as much with clay (or clay like substances) as possible with her students. She finds that the medium tends to bring out the best in each child, and can calm them as well. In her experience, 2D art can be stressful for young artists since there are high expectations for the results. If an entire class is rendering the same still life, then there will be some results that don’t resemble the example. This singles certain kids out, and they feel inadequate as a result. Kowall things working in air dry clay or model magic leaves much more room for interpretation. The expectations are different, and the students can relax and create without much pressure.
Kowall is especially proud of providing a stress free environment, since her students’ other classes can be quite heady. She’s had quite a number of great outcomes in the the almost 7 years of teaching. Students see her space as a safe spot to be after stress at home (some of her students have trauma related to the threat of deportation). Others find their creative voice, and a few leave their “behavioral issues” behind when they walk through her classroom door. Kowall didn’t quite know how to teach hand building (since she only did wheel throwing), but gained a lot of confidence herself after taking classes with LSPS-LC’s Meg Biddle. Biddle’s style of teaching is very visual, and she’s always up for helping her students attain new skills in clay. Kowall has absorbed a lot of those lessons and applied them to her own student projects.
Kowall is really hoping she can get a grant to expand her art classroom. A few wheels and a kiln would be a dream for her and her students. Using real clay and having the students learn the process from clay to firing would be a big learning asset. The next few months will see her dutifully bent over the wheel at LSPS-LC, working on some new concepts as well. She’s created so many bowls and cups over the years that she’s excited to try new forms. Along with a series of elegant lanterns, the artist is creating tall mushrooms and fairy houses. The theme revolves around making her yard more cozy and fun. Since the pandemic, she’s spent a lot of time outside, planting tomatoes and taking in the good weather. Along with enjoying the outdoors, she’ll be teaching students clay techniques during the summer session. She anticipates a great season doing what she loves best- teaching and being creative!