Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Kaplan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jennifer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Everything I’ve done thus far in life has been for art, for creating.
Growing up in my mom’s studio in combination with the freedom of Carolina woods, lead to a sense of natural wonder and possibility. I realized you can alter any environment which you occupy; something innately human, and had fun.
From North Carolina to Chicago, to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, then to teach at Penguin Foot Pottery where I found a great family. Chris Busse gave me a chance to teach almost any class, which began to fill, from Surface and Form Experiments to Ceramic Chemistry. I have had the most incredible support to develop my own practice here and facilitate that same discovery in my students.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Challenges range from balancing life and art. I think all artists probably struggle with this. When am I not working?
Similarly, balancing my own practice and teaching. That being said, I really grow from the questions I’m faced with. Students always ask things I wouldn’t consider and work hard inspires to me. My coworker, Ryanne Maldonado and I joke that we do our best work at 120%.
Penguin Foot Pottery – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Penguin Foot Pottery is the most comfortable place. It is warm and welcoming to any and everyone who comes in, many of whom stay for this reason. We have a wide range of classes and workshops for people to learn from a multitude of teachers. The important thing here is that everyone can play with clay and everyone does it a little differently.
In my classes, I try to encourage the learning found in failure.
The beautiful thing about clay is that you are free to make mistakes with the only repercussion being education. When you crush a piece because it falls out of center or you push too far, you know now the boundaries of this material and your hands.
Just to make the cake a little sweeter, we also reclaim clay for the student so when you break a piece, it goes into the Rainbow Garden, a place full of failure and potential. Clay can be recycled infinitely until it is fired and for that reason, it is after fourteen years, still my favorite form of therapy.
Contact Info:
- Website: penguinfoot.com
- Instagram: @jennifersuekaplan
- Other: jennifersuekaplan.com
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