TAC Ceramic Students Exploring Their Artistic Potential

Highland Park, IL – March 25, 2017 The Art Center – Highland Park (TAC) Ceramic Department has been a thriving program connecting teaching artists and students for over fifty years. Students come back session after session focusing on the process in art making, trying new experiences, and are producing personal and meaningful work.

The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) hosted their 51st Annual Conference and Exhibition featuring ceramic work from educators, artists and students throughout the country. Held in Portland, Oregon, the conference and exhibition celebrated NCECA’s interconnection of mind, materials and transformation at the heart of the ceramic process, together creating the next era of ceramic fine art and education.

TAC faculty and students were well represented at the conference. The 2017 K-12 show highlighted Highland Park student and artist Natalie Poklop, 16, a longtime TAC student, summer intern and studio-assistant. Natalie had three pieces accepted into the prestigious K-12 juried show. She won an honorable mention, a cash award from the Orton Foundation and a digital kiln for TAC’s Ceramic Department! Championing over 1400 submissions, artists who make the cut for this exhibit are the “best of the best” K-12 nationally. Natalie attended the conference with her parents and TAC instructors Ana Spencer-Reed and Natalie Steinmetz.

Daniel Newman, 13, recently celebrated his bar mitzvah. For his mitzvah project, he created, designed and sold his own ceramic pieces in order to fund a ceramics scholarship for children and teens at TAC. When Daniel tallied up all of his earnings, he had $700! He donated that money to TAC, creating the Daniel Newman Ceramics Scholarship Fund. Thank you, Daniel, for making art accessible to more young people!

“We are proud of students, Natalie Poklop and Daniel Newman for their vision, passion, and talent,” stated Michele Cohen, Executive Director of TAC. “We too, honor the TAC instructors whose dedication shines through their students.”

Looking to escape our can’t-stop-won’t-stop tech-addicted culture? Connect with TAC's Ceramic Department, spend time in the studio and discover the wonderful benefits of working with clay. To learn more about The Art Center – Highland Park, visit TheArtCenterHP.org, follow us on Twitter @theartcenterhp, and Facebook @theartcenterhp.

ABOUT THE ART CENTER – HIGHLAND PARK

The Art Center – Highland Park is a not-for-profit community art center committed to quality art education and enrichment for people of all ages. The center offers more than 450 classes and workshops and 280+ scholarships to those in need. For more information visit http://theartcenterhp.org.