Art Design Chicago Now presents the first in a series of behind-the-scenes IGTV Artist Studio Tours in which a diverse group of Chicago makers showcases what they’re currently working on, how Chicago’s creative past has shaped their current practice, and the ways in which their work responds to the contemporary social, political, and cultural moment.

Join us on IGTV on October 15 as William J. O’Brien, multidisciplinary artist and Associate Professor of Ceramics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, offers a look at his process. O’Brien works across media, including drawing, painting, ceramic, metal sculpture, installation, and assemblage, with his practice serving as a search for identity and genuine expression through material and process.

During his IGTV Artist Studio Tour, O’Brien discusses his influences—including Chicago artists Ralph Arnold and Marva Jolly, and even Neil Diamond’s 1980 hit song “America”—while also sharing more about his current voter registration project, “Get Loud, Get Weird.”

Watch the tour by clicking here.

Learn more about O’Brien and his work by visiting his website here.