By Menghan Xiao
Medill Reports

Ravenswood artist Katie Lauffenburger sculpts memories for Chicagoans with her unique, 10-inch Chicago-style homes. 

Video Transcript: 

MY NAME IS KATIE, AND I MAKE CERAMIC FOR THE ART BUSINESS THAT MY HUSBAND AND I SHARE CALLED WONDER CITY STUDIO. 

WE FOCUS ART ON CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE, SPECIFICALLY RESIDENTIAL HOMES. PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN CHICAGO OR HAVE LIVED IN CHICAGO ARE REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE HERE. THERE ARE JUST SO MANY UNIQUE STYLES OF HOMES, LIKE BUNGALOWS, TWO-FLATS AND WORKERS’ COTTAGES THAT YOU JUST DON’T SEE ANYWHERE ELSE. 

THE TYPE OF CERAMIC THAT I MAKE, WHICH IS HAND-BUILT CERAMICS, SPECIFICALLY SLAB-BUILT CERAMICS, JUST REALLY LENDS ITSELF TO MAKING HOMES, BECAUSE ALL OF MY ARTWORK START WITH A SLAB OF CLAY, AND ESSENTIALLY WHEN YOU STAND UP A SLAB OF CLAY, IT BECOMES A WALL. 

NAT: So you put the work in, and it just turns on here. There’s this controller on the side, which is kind of cool. 

I JUST DID A HOME FOR A WOMAN. SHE BOUGHT THE COMMISSION AS A GIFT FOR HER MOTHER. IT WAS HER CHILDHOOD HOME, AND IT WAS A CHRISTMAS GIFT. THE MOTHER HAS EIGHT OR NINE SIBLINGS, AND THEY ALL GREW UP IN THIS HOME. AND THEY WERE GIVEN THE GIFT FOR CHRISTMAS, AND I WAS TOLD LATER THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF TEARS SHED AND JUST BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES. 

YOU CAN JUST TELL RIGHT FROM THE START WHEN SOMEONE EMAILS YOU TO ASK ABOUT A COMMISSION, THEY WILL OFTEN TELL YOU A STORY ABOUT THE HOME, IN THE EMAIL. YOU JUST KNOW THAT, WE’VE REALLY TAPPED INTO SOMETHING THAT IS PART OF PEOPLE’S IDENTITY. YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY GROW UP, WHERE THEIR PARENTS GROW UP, JUST MEANS A LOT TO THEM. 

Menghan Xiao is a Video and Broadcast graduate student at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter @Menghan_Xiao_