Bridget Lane has spent more than 50 years working with clay, creating simple, functional pottery designed for everyday use.
A Forest Park resident and secretary of the Forest Park Arts Alliance, Lane combines her passion for ceramics with a commitment to strengthening the local arts community.
Lane’s pottery style is simple and focused on creating functional pieces for everyday use, from teapots to inventive items like garlic shredders. She enjoys making handcrafted items that allow people to connect with art through daily routines rather than mass-produced objects.
“I always joke with people that you’d be surprised what’s happening in the basements of Forest Park. All kinds of people have painting studios, jewelry-making spaces and other creative setups. There’s so much going on, and a lot of it has to do with the size of the housing and its appeal in today’s market,” Lane said.
Lane hopes her pottery brings a sense of comfort and personal connection to daily life. She said using a mug or bowl that “fits you ideally” can make small routines, such as drinking morning coffee, feel more enjoyable. Many of Lane’s customers have told her they prefer her handmade mugs and bowls to standard, mass-produced ones.
“Over the years, I’ve figured out some small details that make my mugs more comfortable to hold, like the size of the handle, unlike something you might get as a promotional piece, which is usually very standardized,” Lane said.
Lane encourages customers to try each of her mugs when she has several for sale, noting that the slight variations in handle size make each piece uniquely comfortable to hold.
The Forest Park Arts Alliance works with the park district, library, village government and the chamber of commerce to integrate art into community events and public spaces. Lane, who has served on the chamber board for nearly a decade, said the group focuses on building community through the arts.
“It’s been so exciting to see how much the community appreciates the art we’ve introduced. We hope to create more murals and similar projects. The bridge painting, in particular, was a community-driven effort, and seeing that level of involvement is very exciting to me,” Lane said.
“The Arts Alliance has a very interesting mission in that the word alliance is really important to it. In other words, we’re not trying to start new things. What we’re trying to do is make sure art gets integrated into what’s already going on in the community,” Lane said.