Meet Delia Pelli-Walbert
Delia Pelli-Walbert (b. 1999, New York, NY) lives and works in Chicago, IL. She received a BFA from New York University and has exhibited at various galleries, including 81 Leonard Gallery, New York; 80 WSE, New York; ArtsClub DTLA, Los Angeles; Monira Gallery at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City; VSG Contemporary, Chicago, IL; Wirtz Properties, Chicago, IL; and Patient Info, Chicago, IL. She has lectured at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and currently serves as the Assistant Studio Manager at The Digs Chicago (a nonprofit ceramics studio) as well as the Director and Co-Founder of Old Friends Gallery.
What do you teach?
DPW: Alongside working Assistant Studio Manager @ the Digs, I teach all sorts of workshops (throwing and handbuilding!) and Digs private parties!
How long have you been teaching and why did you get into it?
DPW: I've been teaching on and off for about 4 years, but have had the chance to teach more consistently in the past year. I always learn more about the material seeing it through the eyes of someone who's never worked with clay before! Every time I talk a student through a technique it's a new chance to refine it myself. And classes are the best way to get to know my community here at the Digs.
What can students expect when taking a class with you at The Digs?
DPW: In wheel classes, I try to focus on postural alignment. I often joke that I feel like a pilates teacher - remember your core! So much of throwing is finding axis of stability in your body, something that will be different for each person with their own physiology. I try to offer a lot of personal guidance and adjustments, to build a really strong foundation that will set you up well for any technique you tackle. Similarly in handbuilding or other workshops, my goal is to build confidence! Have a dream project that feels too big? I promise it's not - we just have to strategize the approach and break it down into manageable steps.
What role does experimentation or failure play in your process?
DPW: A constant one! I approach clay from a pretty non-functional angle, using slap slab techniques and asking it to behave in ways it doesn't usually like (stacking paper-thin porcelain slabs, for one). With this approach, failure and collapse are perpetual factors. I'd say at least 50% of my pieces "fail," cracking and crumbling at various stages in the kiln process. Though there are ways I try to mediate this degree of loss, I do really enjoy more spontaneous elements of clay stress - when I get it just right, the clay finds some geological fluidity but vitrifies mid-collapse. I think it's a pretty uncanny effect, and very worth the failure risk!
What are you currently working toward or excited about next?
DPW: I just picked up welding again after a 5-year hiatus, and it's been so fun and so frustrating! They say being bad at a new skill, having to train and learn both intellectually and kinetically is good for the neuroplasticity. I hope it's true! It's really wonderful to be humbled by a new material, and makes the little wins and improvements all the more satisfying.
