About the Artist

I’m a second generation potter coming from a family of artists and art teachers.  I grew up in Highland Park & Evanston Illinois, near-by suburbs of Chicago along Lake Michigan.  My father was the Professor of Ceramics & head of the Art Department at Barat College. My mother was a Weaver, Ceramicist & now an Illustrator of children’s books & an Art teacher. 

As a child my “playground” was the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago where I spent afternoons with Mom as she did research among the various exhibits. We had a Ceramics School and Gallery at our home& made clay for the area schools. In the late 1960’s we held workshops with well-known artists Paul Soldner & Tom Collins and hosted Peter Voulkas while he installed his bronze sculpture, “Miss Nitro”.

It was really through all of this exposure that I was drawn to Ceramics.  The desire to create art is my real passion and several years ago I decided to change the direction of my life and pursue Ceramics full time.  I won my first award at the Southwest Arts Festival in 1998 for a sculptural work that incorporates both architectural form & abstract drawing with clay.

I believe my work reflects a broad range of styles and techniques as I continue to explore the boundaries of clay and glazes.  I am always on a quest to discover new ideas, propel these ideas forward & continuously transform my art.

Michael Prokos