Sitting at the corner of Montrose and Ravenswood Avenues among the warehouses, cab companies and offices is a former gear factory that's now generating creativity. Its imposing facade gives little indication of all of the life and activity going on inside. When you step in its front doors, you'll find the atmosphere at Lillstreet Art Center is part school, part factory, part chemistry lab and part beehive. Between its more than 50 classes, its gallery space, its artists working in residence and its cafe, there is always tons of activity going on, from the morning through the evening hours. Not only is Lillstreet Art Center an invaluable resource for artists in the neighborhood, it draws creative types from all over the Chicago area. People of all ages and skill levels come there to learn, work, exhibit and sell their pieces, drawing inspiration from the magical interaction that happens when people join in creative activities together.
New to the area, but a veteran of the Chicago arts scene, Lillstreet Art Center just celebrated its 30th anniversary. Most of its history was spent in an old horse barn built in the 1880s on its namesake, Lill Avenue, in Lincoln Park. The barn was a big step for Bruce Robbins, the laid back and quick-witted founder of the art center who is now its Executive Director. A pottery student, Bruce joined one of his teachers in a business hand mixing and selling clay out of the teacher's garage in 1972. Meanwhile, he found his own studio space and started working there. Word of mouth transformed his simple workspace into a grassroots movement, as more artists started joining him. "I was really political and kind of a lefty," explains Bruce. "I really had no intention to start a business. It was as much a community as anything else." But there was one big exception to this artists' community. With the help of an investor, Bruce and his friend and co-founder Marty Cohn had the foresight to buy the converted horse barn on Lill that would become the art center's home from 1975 to 2003. "The building was our one asset," says Bruce. As much as people loved the charms of the building, it began showing its age and limiting some of the programs they could offer. In 2002 Lillstreet Art Center took the leap of buying the old gear factory on Ravenswood so that it could offer expanded space for expanded programs. The building would also be a blank canvas, so to speak, that the art center could customize to meet the needs of its students, teachers and artists. "I kept telling the architect, 'Think sinks,'"says Bruce.
 Lillstreet's transition from the 1880s horse barn to the three-story gear factory has gone well. The "new" building has as much a sense of history as the old one. "They manufactured these huge brass gears here, and were most proud of making the gear that opens a flap on a giant bomber airplane," explains Bruce. During renovations, he was a big champion of making the most of the building's assets and preserving its historic character. "The contractors all thought I was insane, but I told them that I wanted it to look like a warehouse," laughs Bruce. He convinced them to leave many fun elements of the old factory like the swinging doors painted with "Quality Control Room," now a classroom. Or the skylights lining the ceiling that open with a Rube Goldberg-like mechanism that itself involves gears. But along with the preservation came some improvements. Natural light now beams in the classrooms through the skylights that were once covered with years of tar, for example. When Lillstreet Art Center bought the building in 2002, it was filled with small business tenants. These tenants are gradually moving out as Lillstreet takes more space for its classrooms and studios. "It's the opposite of the way it is in the outside world," Bruce points out. "Usually the artists move out because the businesses are moving in." The new Lillstreet Art Center on Ravenswood officially opened in August 2003. It continues to expand and evolve, as the center offers new classes and facilities. "We want to keep changing the space," explains Bruce. "We always want to be an art center, not limited by any one art form. We're really still transitioning." A few businesses still rent space on the upper floors, but it seems mostly the arts-oriented ones have stayed, including a violin maker, a tile maker and a video producer. Now, let's take a tour of the bustling Lillstreet Art Center.
The main floor is the center of all the art center's activity. As you walk in, the first thing you encounter is its bright, friendly and welcoming gallery full of amazing work. Unlike many gallery spaces that keep their art at arm's length, here you can walk among the installations and feel much closer to the work. About eight shows are held each year. The current show, 30/30, celebrates the art center's 30th anniversary with a numeric theme. "We chose 30 artists and asked each of them to recommend an artist they liked," explains Bruce. "Since it's also in honor of our anniversary, I suppose it should have been called 30/30/30." Opposite the gallery is the First Slice Pie Cafe, which not only feeds hungry artists who can't pull themselves away from their work, but also those less fortunate. Chef Mary Ellen Diaz has made it her mission to create nutritious, balanced and delicious comfort foods for people touched by poverty. First Slice raises money through its sales and through a meal subscription program to support its good works. Food ranges from butternut squash and spinach lasagne to chicken quesadillas, soups and salads. And of course, there is pie: from good old apple to more exotic versions like red wine poached pear and polka dot.
Most of Lillstreet's classrooms are on the main floor, which is why it's the heart of the building. As you leave the gallery area, you walk down several corridors to the six clay classrooms, hosting beginning to advanced classes. Each classroom is set up for different types of work, such as hand building, wheel throwing or tile making. There are also classrooms devoted to the art of glaze. Lillstreet offers a glaze theory class for advanced students that explores as much chemistry as art. The room where this class takes place features swatches of ceramics glazed in hundreds of different shades (yellow salt to josh green), each swatch hand lettered with the name of the shade and perfectly nailed to the wall. "Yes, we had an obsessive-compulsive student who personally glazed and fired every one of these and nailed every nail," says Bruce.
 In the kids' classroom, there's a party going on this afternoon. "We host lots of birthday parties here," says Bruce. "They are fun and the kids really like them." From its early years, Lillstreet has had a nonprofit arm that reaches out to children and others who could really benefit from experiencing art but just don't have the access. Lillstreet Learning Center, founded in 1979, operates primarily out of the Claymobile, which travels to schools, hospitals and senior centers throughout the city. "We feel really good about our nonprofit arm," says Bruce. "We set it up to reach students, artists, teachers and other populations that couldn't come to us. Today, we reach about 3500 kids a year with our Claymobile, which travels to high schools and grammar schools."
The two main gas-fired kilns sit at the back of the building, surrounded by several small electric kilns. These are where the ceramics projects are fired to 2300 degrees Fahrenheit for eight to twelve hours, then cooled for about a day and a half. Although they look as low-tech as an ancient baker's oven, they are both state of the art. "Yes, instead of having two nice cars, we have two nice kilns," jokes Bruce. A constant revolution of work waits and dries, then is fired, cooled, glazed and re-fired. Where some aspects of ceramics are scientific, like glazing, much of the art is about experimentation and chance. "When you fire your work, you never really know what you're going to get," explains Bruce. Around the corner from the kilns is a glaze kitchen and the clay storage, a big garage-like area where they mix the great slabs of clay that the students will turn into the visions of their imaginations. "We still use many of the same formulas that my teacher and friend developed," says Bruce.
Although there is a definite emphasis on clay at Lillstreet, it is first and foremost an arts center. Of 1000 students, approximately 350-400 study ceramics. The rest take a variety of classes in jewelry and metalsmithing, textiles, printmaking, painting and drawing. Opposite the clay classrooms are the metalsmithing and jewelry making studios, which look like college chemistry labs. Tables throughout feature electric outlets so students can use a variety of sanding, buffing and drilling hand tools. Here students can work on casting, polishing and experimenting with finishes to make anything from chainmaille to rings. An enclosed safe room is a protected space where students can treat the metals with chemicals for a variety of effects.
 Now, it's time to head up the stairs to the artist studios and more classrooms on the second floor. A bit quieter than the first floor, this is where artists rent space to work, exhibit and sell their pieces. Those with studios have 24 hour access and can come in whenever inspiration strikes. Every second Saturday of the month, Lillstreet Art Center welcomes people to an open house of the artists' studios, offering a chance to browse, meet the artists and take home some treasures of your own. With more than 20 artists exhibiting work in ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, pottery, photography and more, there is something for everyone's tastes. The second floor also houses the textiles classrooms, where students learn knitting or even the tradition of millinery, or hatmaking. One of the newest offerings at Lillstreet Art Center is printmaking, where students can study a variety of printmaking techniques. It's a new program that will gradually expand as the art center continues opening studios set up to teach its various techniques.
On to the third floor. As you walk up the front stairwell, you'll notice an odd space the size of a small bedroom, a short flight of stairs past the entrance to the third floor. Known jokingly as "Studio 3 1/2," Lillstreet has come up with clever uses for the corner. "In the past, we've donated the space to artists so that they could hold shows there." Among the spaces occupied by the last remaining businesses there are painting and drawing classrooms here, along with a glass bead studio. An artist sits and works on transforming dozens of long glass rods in a rainbow of colors to one glass bead. Once again, the chemistry lab description applies, as she wears big goggles and uses a big torch to heat the glass, which naturally goes round when it gets hot. "I like everything about the process," the artist says, "the noise the torch makes, the flame, the heat." This comes to the end of the tour, but not the end of the art center's progress. "We'd still like to open one or two more studios and offer one or two more classes," explains Bruce. So there's more coming soon to Lillstreet.
The activity at Lillstreet Art Center continues throughout the day and night, as it offers generous studio time to both its students and artists in residence. "This place is busy from ten in the morning to ten at night," says Bruce. "People really do live here." A remarkable number of people are involved in keeping the art center running. Aviva Alter, Lillstreet Art Center's Director, manages many of these activities. "Aviva is our Queen Bee," says Bruce. "She runs the place." More than 50 teachers, many of whom are also studio members, offer classes in pottery and ceramic sculpture, jewelry and metalsmithing, textiles and printmaking, painting and drawing and professional development. Classes run ten weeks and are tailored to first time, intermediate or advanced artists. Lillstreet Art Center also offers classes designed for children and families. Kidstreet Classes introduce the arts to ages two through twelve, during the school year and at summer camps. Among all of these people learning about art, people's lives are changed in the process. "We consider it a real success when someone who wasn't an artist before comes in, takes a class and becomes completely obsessed with what they can do," says Bruce. "That's why we are open so many hours and we offer so much free studio time." If you are an artist or someone who apperciates art, come to Lillstreet Art Center to see an art show, interact with local artists at a Second Saturday Studio Sale, buy some one-of-a-kind pieces or learn some artistic techniques yourself.
Lillstreet Art Center
4401 North Ravenswood Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640
773.769.4226
www.lillstreet.com
Office and Gallery Hours:
Monday to Thursday 10am - 7:30pm
Friday to Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm
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