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ForestParkReview_070826

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F O R E S T PA R K

ForestParkReview.com Vol. 109, No. 27

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REVIEW

Mermaid storytime at the pool PAGE 5

JULY 8, 2026

Ceramics fire up in Forest Park Slowfire and ViaClay expand from Oak Park By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

This month, Slowfire began hosting classes and camps for multimedia art forms, including ceramics, at 7405 Madison St. in Forest Park. Slowfire East will remain in operation as a members-only studio at 907 S. Lombard Ave. in Oak Park. In April, ViaClay opened its members studio at 7744 Monroe St. in Forest Park, expanding from its 208 S. Marion St. location in Oak Park — where it will still host hand building and wheel throwing pottery classes for all ages. “What I think the rise of all these clay studios really is is people are spending too much time on their phone or looking at a screen, and when you have clay on your hands, you cannot pick up a phone,” said Gabriel Tetrev, owner of ViaClay. “Seeing a pendulum swing way too far in a digital direction, I think it comes back the other way.” “You can’t be on your phone, you have to focus on it,” Noelle Wright, owner of Slowfire, said of a possible reason for the rising popularity of clay and pottery work. “It’s a whole-body movement. You’re using your legs, arms and core. … It’s really the perfect marriage of something that’s movementbased but artistic.” Slowfire also teaches art outside of ceramics, offering classes for mediums like drawing, jewelry-making and mixed media. “There’s more and more interest in hands-on work and craft, whether that’s painting or printmaking or tie dyeing or ceramics,” Wright said of additional classes Slowfire offers. “People want to use their hands, and that seems especially important right now.”

SEE SLOWFIRE ON PAGE 7 and VIACLAY ON PAGE 8

JESSICA MORDACQ

Above: Noelle Wright at Slowfire West, 7405 Madison St. in Forest Park Right: Gabriel Tetrev, owner of ViaClay, and John Beck, operations manager, at the new members studio at 7744 Monroe St. in Forest Park

IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 THIS ISSUE Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Alan Brouilette:

Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

A look back in time: The civic duty of garbage clean-up

Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

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Birthday boy


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