Lillian Scalzo Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Lillian Scalzo 11
Q: Oh they were! Wasn't that a private . . .
A: No, it was not a private thing at all. But we gave the [Springfield]
Art Association classrooms for them. And we had, actually, the first
pottery classes that were in Springfield. We didn't have a kiln, though.
I had a very good teacher from one of the public schools who had had
potter with
from Cranbrook but she couldn't teach pottery in
the schools because they didn't have it here. But she was delighted to
come out there, so we got the clay and we decided we'd find someplace in
Chicago to Eire the things. And we had to drive to Chicago with the
pottery and bring it back and forth. Then we found out that the Springfield
brickyard would fire them for us.
Q: Oh, well that was a little more convenient.
A: It was much better than going back and forth to Chicago. And after a
time we got a very small kiln, and it ws so successful that we talked
the school board into introducing pottery into the school.
Q: Oh, well good. That was great. So most of your teachers that you
recruited from town, were they teachers in the public schools?
A: No, they weren't. Now, the one woman who taught etching was Mss
Virginia Brown and she was caretaker at the Lincoln Home. But [she] had
done small etchings for herself and had an etching press, which we needed.
So she was delighted to teach out there. And then the one who taught
lithography, Mr. Bum, said he would buy us a lithograph press and stones
if we would get someone to teach lithography. So a young man that I had
taught at Springfield Junior College had been to Chicago and had had a
little bit of lithography. So I got him to teach.
Q: So you recruited these people. They were more or less personal
acquaintances.
A: They were personal acquaintances and I always attended the classes
because that way I learned also. (laughs)
Q: Right. So you were a participant in these classes?
A: Oh, yes, yes.
Q: Okay. I think one of the articles talked about a class in art appreciation.
Did you teach that at one time?
A: Oh yes. No, I didn't teach it but I always gave it because I found
out that if you talked to people and let them see art that they would
change their opinions about art. See, I was trying to bring them up-to-date.
But you can't bring people up-to-date unless they know something or see
something. So I just gave those on my own.
Q: Oh, 1 see. Did you talk about the history of art at all or was it
just a matter of . . .