Art, as many know, can encompass many forms, techniques, materials and perspectives.
For out local artist and visual-merchandising director Clayton Dibble—who runs Studio Dibs and operates at the haven known as the Cornelia Arts Building—his art, inspired by nature, combines form and function. The artwork he has done ranges from furniture to ceramic vases to fabric knot ropes as he confirms and re-defines the term “multimedia artist.”
Like many people, Dibble knew from an early age what he wanted to do—but the road to being an artist wasn’t readily apparent.
“It’s so funny,” said Dibble, who heads his own artistic endeavor, Studio Dibs. “When I think about what I wanted to be, I always wanted to be a teacher—but I was always a creative kid, whether it was coloring, braiding bracelets or putting beads together. But I never connected it to being an artist.
“Even now, it feels weird to be called an artist just because most of my career has been working with designers. It’s just been this past year where I shifted and thought I could be both—a designer and an artist. It’s been a shifting of the creative mindset.” When asked what the difference is between the two, Dibble said, “I feel that artists create from within; a designer provides a foundation with a client and solves a problem.”
Professionally, Dibble has primarily been involved in product development and visual merchandising, working for such companies as Crate & Barrel, Monica + Andy, and Interior Define. However, after working for more than two decades at Crate & Barrel, his life went in a different direction: becoming a head pastry chef at La Boulangerie/Cook Au Vin.
“I think a lot of what I did at Crate & Barrel was more design-focused,” said Dibble. “I worked with designers and agents on creating products that fit a curated assortment for the Crate & Barrel customer—and I felt that I needed to do something different and live the European lifestyle. The easiest way to get a visa was to become a student, so that’s what I did. I moved to the south of France for eight months and went to pastry school there. When I came back, I decided to try and become a pastry chef.
“But baking, to me, was something that was more of a hobby—although I’m still drawn to trying out recipes that might be a little more complex. I decided that I didn’t want to make macarons every single day for the rest of my life. I was really missing being in the home-furnishing world and I just wanted to get back into that creative field. Having been at Crate for 22 years, it was in my blood and it was my passion. My passion is to design stuff for the home.”
And passion involves embracing the personal, which Dibble has done. “I love coming home to things that make me happy,” he said. “My philosophy is, ‘Fill your space with something that means to you instead of just going after the latest trend or things that are mass-produced.’ I walk a very fine line with that, given my background, but I think you can do that in a way that feels personal.”
Dibble also discussed how his art has evolved—especially toward one particular medium: “In the beginning with art class, I was really drawn to clay. It wasn’t until my early 40s that I got back into [that medium]; I was really geared toward throwing stuff on the wheel. It became this beautiful meditation for me. The moment that clay is there, my whole world disappears and I’m so focused in the moment. It’s just so soothing for me and, now, I’m so into hand-building [shaping items by hand, as opposed to with a wheel], which has more versatility. What I really want to do is combine the two.
“I’m into more organic shapes now. I’m in this phase where I’m doing a lot more waves and curves. I’m really inspired by nature, whether it’s ripples or vines—how they intertwine. That has been my focus more recently. I’ve been trying to do that in my design work as well.”
Dibble channels a lot of his passion in the Cornelia Arts Building—one of the largest all-artist studio buildings on Chicago’s North Side. “I discovered Cornelia over the summer when I was looking for a studio space where I could put all of my art-design materials,” he said. “The building has just over 100 artists in there: sketchers, painters, ceramicists, interior designers, mixed-media artists, sculptors—a really beautiful community. We have these open-studio events four times a year; the artists open the building to the public, who can see what the artists are doing.”
Considering the future of his art, Dibble said, “This is something that I, even in school, [asked], ‘Do I have a point of view?’ or said, ‘This is what my art stands for’—and I’ve always said, ‘I don’t know.’ But when people come to see my work, I always tell them to touch it and don’t be afraid of it. I want my art to be handled. I want people to feel that excitement I had making it. I love to hear how people feel about art and my pieces. That’s where I want more conversation about what I’m doing. I want it to be more interactive. That’s where I want my art and design to go.
“From an identity standpoint, I think I’ll get to the point where I can really talk about my art from [that perspective]. Here I am: a gay man who can be an introvert and an extrovert. How do I express that identity of me in my work? That is where I need to identify personally before I know how to get it out there. I want to get to the point where I say why my point of view matters.”
At one point during the conversation, Dibble said, “I feel like I’m discovering clay again.” He was talking about the medium—but he could certainly have been referring to himself.
Clayton Dibble can be reached on Instagram and at the Studio Dibs website.