{"id":101021,"date":"2022-06-10T16:41:39","date_gmt":"2022-06-10T21:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=101021"},"modified":"2022-07-11T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T21:16:00","slug":"give-some-plants-a-mortgage-free-ceramics-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/give-some-plants-a-mortgage-free-ceramics-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Give some plants a mortgage-free ceramics home"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mollie Rotmensch
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Katie Lauffenburger is sculpting a new Chicago, but no moving in unless you\u2019re a Crown Jewel shrub. This city of ceramic abodes is less than a foot tall \u2013 perfect digs for plants, the terraria will just bloom at first sight. Lauffenburger recreates every scrupulous detail of classic Chicago homes into planters.<\/p>\n

The formally trained artist traded a computer desk for one with slabs of clay in 2020, when she left nine years in digital media to start Wonder City Studio with illustrator-husband Phil Thompson. While Lauffenburger is sometimes known as \u201cThe Bungalow Lady,\u201d her repertoire also includes two-flats and workers cottages. The months long waitlist for Lauffenburger\u2019s planters is only growing, as is the chief ceramicist\u2019s relief for buying a bigger kiln to accommodate commissions for her city gems.<\/p>\n

Lauffenburger talks ceramic process and future hopes.<\/p>\n

This interview was condensed and edited for clarity and length.<\/em><\/p>\n

What made you see Chicago\u2019s homes as planters?
\n<\/strong>I have a lot of house plants, but I don\u2019t see a lot of planters with tons of flair. People love their house plants and love to have decorative vessels to hold them.\u00a0It’s something beautiful to look at \u2014 but the fact it serves a purpose in their daily lives, I think people enjoy that.<\/p>\n

And your designs are so precise. Tell me more about the detail.
\n<\/strong>I feel like I\u2019m unconventional in my ceramic. People might think of ceramics as the wheel-throwing process, which is very organic. My approach is different \u2014 I use a lot of rulers and do a lot of measuring up.\u00a0It’s tedious, but I enjoy it. Maybe architecture in ceramics doesn\u2019t have to be so perfect, you could certainly make it more free, but I really want the spirit of the buildings. Chicago\u2019s residential architecture, like the two-flats, have such a grand-like weight to them. I want to capture the craftsmanship of the original homes.<\/p>\n

Why do the finer details, like porches, complicate ceramics?
\n<\/strong>Some of the hardest things about (Chicago) homes are beveled edges. I’m hoping I can template that once I figure out the best way (the edges) work. But\u00a0having angled planes\u00a0join\u00a0in various ways is challenging. When there are porches with complicated columns, ceramics becomes almost more science than art. Frankly, it can be hard to do porch columns.\u00a0They’re\u00a0really small and need to dry a certain amount to stand up and support themselves while you try to put them in place. But you need to shimmy them in and\u00a0make sure to join them well enough so they won’t crack. The smaller you work, the harder it is.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Katie Lauffenburger (@katie_lauffenburger)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n