About Jill Hurwitz, Potter and Painter

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Potter

Jill has been throwing pots since 1973, and teaching ceramics since 1994. Earning her B.A. from Skidmore College in New York, she spent all her spare time in the pottery studio, and spent a summer as an apprentice for Regis Brodie, the director of ceramics at Skidmore. Another summer was spent taking ceramics at Rhode Island School of Design. From 1976 to ‘79 Jill served in the United States Peace Corps in West Africa. While there, she worked at the Centre des Arts in Ouagadougou during the summers as a functional potter on a kick wheel. Jill has a Masters Degree in Teaching (M.A.T.) from the School for International Training in Vermont.  Jill continued her pottery in Vermont, at Lill Street Studios in Chicago, at the Evanston Arts Center, and at the Park District in Highland Park. Jill has taught pottery classes at Lill Street Studios in Chicago, the Park District of Highland Park, The Art Center in Highland Park, Stirling Hall in Lake Forest, the Winnetka Community House, and North Shore Art League in Winnetka.  Her work has been displayed and sold in numerous shows, stores, and art fairs, as well as at Spectrum Gallery in Highwood, IL, where she was a founding artist/owner.

 

Painter

Jill began painting in January 2008, when she took a still-life painting class with colleague Diane Rath at Stirling Hall in Lake Forest. She immediately fell in love with oil painting, and has been painting steadily since. Jill and has also studied under David Gista and Cheryl Steiger, Ina Beierle, Michael Van Zeyl, Thomas Trausch, and others. Inspired by the Old Masters, Jill is intrigued by the interplay of light and shadow on simple, everyday objects, and the emotional impact that a dab of color can inspire. Jill's paintings have been displayed and sold at Spectrum Gallery in Highwood, IL, the R.A.W. shows in Lake Forest, as well as local shows and art fairs in Lake Forest. Highland Park, Waukegan, and Chicago.