Summer Camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio
Peoria Warehouse District, 1101 SW Washington Rear Entrance, Rear Entrance, Peoria, IL 61602
About
Summer Camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio offer a summer clay and art camp where campers make pottery using both hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques. Campers learn some science about what clay is, where it comes from, how it becomes a finished ceramic object, and what it means for a pot to be truly functional. Each camp day, campers create 1–2 keepable clay pieces and take part in finish work, glazing, and firings, along with playing games, hanging out and fellowshipping with other campers, taking hikes through the Peoria Warehouse District, and experiencing other media through projects provided by Peoria Academy of Dance and Art.
Campers need to bring a lunch every day except for the last day, when there is a pizza party.
Summer Camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio are held in a beautiful 100+ year old warehouse in Peoria’s Warehouse District, in a large historic warehouse called “The Mill.” This will be the 14th year holding summer camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio, which opened in 2010 as a membership studio and moved to its current location in 2012. Functional forms created in camp are food-safe, dishwasher-safe, and microwave safe, and each camp has a different focus for the forms created.
The clay and pottery instruction is led by Master Potter Jacob Grant, owner of Wheel Art Pottery Studio, who has over 25 years of experience in clay and ceramics and over 20 years of experience teaching art to people of all ages and walks of life. He earned his B.A. at Eastern Illinois University, received his M.F.A. at Bradley University, and has worked and taught for several Peoria institutions, such as the former Lakeview Museum (now Peoria Riverfront Museum) and the Peoria Art Guild. He has displayed and sold his work around the world since 2000 at farmer’s markets, art fairs and festivals, through private commissions, large indoor expositions, galleries, and museums. Instructor Kyla Cadwell co-teaches the camp and has over 15 years of experience in art education; she studied art at Illinois Central College and Bradley University, including learning ceramics from Jacob in 2010, and has taught art in many settings, including Montessori School of Peoria, Peoria Lakeview Museum, the 21st Century Program, Cornerstone Academy of Performing Arts, Wheel Art Pottery Studios, and through her art class business, Art with Kyla.
Jacob and Kyla share a teaching philosophy that creativity is best learned through independent experimentation and trial and error, with the belief that humans learn best when they have agency over their unique creative path. Grant’s distinct style of teaching encourages students to learn through “play,” and he believes the experience of creating art is more important than the finished product. Students are encouraged to come without worry of being able to make pots on their own and instead to come with a desire to play and have fun. Campers also take hikes through the Peoria Warehouse District to learn about the relevance of these buildings to Peoria’s history and the significance of Peoria itself.
Last updated May 23, 2026.
Campers need to bring a lunch every day except for the last day, when there is a pizza party.
Summer Camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio are held in a beautiful 100+ year old warehouse in Peoria’s Warehouse District, in a large historic warehouse called “The Mill.” This will be the 14th year holding summer camps at Wheel Art Pottery Studio, which opened in 2010 as a membership studio and moved to its current location in 2012. Functional forms created in camp are food-safe, dishwasher-safe, and microwave safe, and each camp has a different focus for the forms created.
The clay and pottery instruction is led by Master Potter Jacob Grant, owner of Wheel Art Pottery Studio, who has over 25 years of experience in clay and ceramics and over 20 years of experience teaching art to people of all ages and walks of life. He earned his B.A. at Eastern Illinois University, received his M.F.A. at Bradley University, and has worked and taught for several Peoria institutions, such as the former Lakeview Museum (now Peoria Riverfront Museum) and the Peoria Art Guild. He has displayed and sold his work around the world since 2000 at farmer’s markets, art fairs and festivals, through private commissions, large indoor expositions, galleries, and museums. Instructor Kyla Cadwell co-teaches the camp and has over 15 years of experience in art education; she studied art at Illinois Central College and Bradley University, including learning ceramics from Jacob in 2010, and has taught art in many settings, including Montessori School of Peoria, Peoria Lakeview Museum, the 21st Century Program, Cornerstone Academy of Performing Arts, Wheel Art Pottery Studios, and through her art class business, Art with Kyla.
Jacob and Kyla share a teaching philosophy that creativity is best learned through independent experimentation and trial and error, with the belief that humans learn best when they have agency over their unique creative path. Grant’s distinct style of teaching encourages students to learn through “play,” and he believes the experience of creating art is more important than the finished product. Students are encouraged to come without worry of being able to make pots on their own and instead to come with a desire to play and have fun. Campers also take hikes through the Peoria Warehouse District to learn about the relevance of these buildings to Peoria’s history and the significance of Peoria itself.
Last updated May 23, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.