JACK or John Wakeman
Turner III, born in Chicago, IL in 1953, is the great-great, grandson
of Chicago pioneer, John Turner from Gilberdyke (near Leeds), England,
who settled in 1838. He is a multi-facetted self-taught artist-musician
and was known as the class artist in school. An awareness of music set
in at age 11 and then a year of guitar lessons. Five years later, Jack
was playing lead guitar in night clubs with Chicago rock bands
"Dandeline Wine" and "Emerald City". Electronics experience and a
critical ear led to a mobile recording business and later "Woodland
Recording Studio". In 1976 a friend introduced him to clay and an
immediate satisfaction with better financial reward was found that
music was lacking. By transforming what was previously developed in art
and music, success in clay was almost immediate.
In 2007 and 31 years later, I still
love doing art! This will always be a never ending passion along with
music. The more I do, the less I feel I have done...the more I know,
the more I realize the endless posibilities-I will only touch a few. I
continue doing my best and create art as a daily ritual-with a smile in
my heart, just as in the beginning
This website is dedicated to the
memory of Jack Turner (1953-2009) to share the beauty he created during
his life as an artist. He passed away on July 12, 2009, after a long
battle with cancer.
We are most proud of his capacity to
use different media in aesthetically pleasing ways and of how he shared
his joy as a talented artist with others. In his memory, we, his
family, hope that you will keep his spirit alive in the ways that you
inspire and use art in your life.
To
quote Jack, “Art is Life and Life is taking a class without a
teacher…but you are the teacher and student so do it well and do ART!”
.
(Music playing
"Kalimba")
