ALTON, IL � (May 11, 2009) Each month, the retail shop at the Jacoby Arts Center in Alton known as �The Artist Shop� features the works of an area artisan. This month�s featured artist is Tom Dykas of St. Louis, Missouri. As a potter, Dykas makes functional stoneware vessels designed for daily use. He also makes board games and sculptures that utilize the natural tendencies of clay.
Dykas chose porcelain for his current body of work for the white ground it gives his ink-style brushwork, as well as, its glass-like hardness. This work is midfire oxidation, which is another way of saying it is fired to about 2200 degrees Fahrenheit in a big brick toaster. He designs his work to be used, paying careful attention to how surface and form can combine to enhance the experience of enjoying and sharing food and drink.
Everything Dykas makes is formed by hand, mostly on the potter�s wheel. Each piece is brush painted using traditional Chinese ink techniques. Chinese brushwork strives for a sense of spontaneity within a closely defined structure. This is the same way Dykas approaches making pots or, for that matter, most aspects of life.
Dykas prefers to view creative acts as a game. This is not a matter of how much he may or may not take anything �seriously.� Allowing for spontaneity within a process allows Dykas to both engineer the �rules� he has for making and enjoy the unexpected results. In describing what a game is, the philosopher Bernard Suits said, �A game is a voluntary attempt to overcome an unnecessary challenge.� This, for Dykas, stands in as a wonderful definition of art.
The Artist Shop is located inside the Jacoby Arts Center, open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays 12 noon to 4; and is located just off the Clark Bridge between Ridge and Henry Streets in Alton, Illinois. The Jacoby Arts Center is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to foster the artistic development and economic success of artists, and to expand accessibility to the arts through programs that promote education, participation and exploration. The Jacoby Arts Center receives support from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathryn Nahorski
618-462-5222
info@jacobyartscenter.org
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