Family Workshop at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago

This past Sunday my two boys and I headed over to the Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago for one of their family workshops - Thanksgiving Platters.  The space is in a large warehouse that has been converted into the art studio with many classrooms along with a store and restaurant (counter service) area.  We checked in by the front desk which is in the store area and were given directions to our studio which we quickly forgot and got lost.  Thankfully we are a smart family and the facility is not that big and we found our way without too much trouble.  It did give us an opportunity to walk around and peek into the other studios.  So inspiring!  I wish that I could have spent the day in each area learning something new, creative, and artistic. 

The workshop was set up for 11 people total, a nice size.  However, in the end there were only 7 of us there, an even nicer size. We had two instructors covering the workshop and that was perfect for some real one-on-one guidance and assistance.  I too was able to make my own platter which I quickly turned into bowl, with help of course.  This was not the kind of workshop where I, the parent, was there to just help my kids.  At the beginning of the class we were given some brief instruction which once again quickly forgot because I was anxious to get my hands dirty and get to work.  Luckily, Matt knew that little was more and let us at it.  The clay was already formed into large slabs resembling large platters so that the kids didn't have to waste time and energy getting the clay to a starting point.  Once we figured out our shape we then started in on the decorating.  First by carving pictures into the clay with various tools, my favorite was a wooden skewer.  Then we set to work painting our creations. 

Because the paint is so dull when it is applied it is hard to get an idea of what the end piece is going to look like.  By all of the paint jars they did have a sample of what it looks like before and after the glazing and kilning process. 

As you can see in the picture I had to try to be an over achiever with my intricate detail which ended up taking far longer than I had expected, than my children appreciated, and than the class time.  Matt and Mary were supper nice and repeadly told me not to feel rushed and to take all of the time that I needed to get it done.  I can not wait to see my, I should say, our platters.  We should be receiving a post card in the mail letting us know when they are ready to be picked up. 

The Lillstreet Art Center not only offers family workshops but they also have kids classes and camps for kids and birthday parties for Chicago area kids.  Walking around I noticed that they have a lot of adult classes and workshops too so this place isn't just for kids.  I am sure that we will be back.