Dail

was photographed by Clayton Hauck
at See You Soon during a Keep it 100 session on April 16, 2025

Interviewed on location and edited by Clayton Hauck

“I feel like the world is missing more physical words, handwritten items, snail mail...ya know?”

Dail’s Playlist:

“The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers”

How are you feeling today, Dail?

I feel good. It’s been a good day today.

Cool. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Who are you? What do you do?

I’m an artist and an educator. I was a public school teacher for fourteen years in art education. I currently work at the Art Institute of Chicago, and in any other time that I have, I’m working on my artwork and telling my own stories through photos and drawings.

I love that. What kind of artwork are you making?

I make what I call “color memories.” I take a color palette from a photo from a certain point in time and transcribe it into a usually-geometric quilt-like drawing on a wood panel.

How did you get into art? Is it something you’ve done your whole life?

Yeah. I grew up in the country and was by myself a lot, so I spent my alone time drawing and creating. It just stuck.

Has your artwork evolved over the years? Have you found yourself exploring new things in the art-making world?

Yeah, definitely. I’m more focused now on doing just the drawings. When I was a teacher, if we were working on weaving, I would want to be weaving and so I’d be at home weaving; if we were printmaking, I would want to be printmaking at home. Whatever we were doing in school, I would also be trying to doodle with my own ideas at home, too. So I think it’s been nice to not be teaching in a traditional setting right now so I can really focus on one area.

You mentioned growing up in a rural area. Can you talk more about that and how you ended up in Chicago?

I’m from Gibson City, Illinois. My house was about seven miles out of town and my nearest neighbor was a mile away, so it was just me and my brother hanging out for most of my youth. I went to Illinois State University for undergrad, where I met my husband. He’s originally from Park Ridge, so after a couple of years I ended up here.

💌

You mentioned you got married at a music venue. Are you big into music?

Yeah, my husband is actually a musician. He’s played shows [at Bottom Lounge] and we’ve been to lots of shows there, so it felt like the right place to get married.

Do you have a favorite artist—anyone you’re really digging lately?

This is such a hard question. There’s an artist on Instagram with the handle @formandfunk.studio — her name is Victoria Pater. She is all over the place with her artwork, too, which I love and admire. She does these really cool little baby wood sculptures. Some show the natural wood grain, which I’m obsessed with, and others are painted. She has this big sculpture up in the Driehouse Museum, I think? She plays with light, does basket weaving, makes candle holders—if an idea pops into her head, she finds a way to make it. She’s definitely where it’s at for me right now.

What about outside the art world—any other hobbies?

We travel a lot. We just came back from a week in Ireland where we did a little road trip, so traveling is probably my number one hobby.

Do you have a favorite place you’ve been, or a dream destination?

My favorite is usually wherever I’ve just been. But I do think that Ireland is way up there. The coastal views were amazing. I didn’t get to see any puffins, so I’ll have to go back. A dream spot we talk about a lot is Belize. That would be up there, right now.

You love green, so Ireland checks out. You also have an upcoming installation at the Kimball Arts Center. Can you tell me about that? [Editor’s Note: I’m slow and the show is now over, but it was great!]

I’ll be showing work from my Here and There series and my People We Love series. The opening [was] May 2. There are two other artists in the show as well [Adam MacArthur IG: @a.macarthur_art and Alexa Gutierrez IG: @harrystyleslovescurvygirls]. I’m excited to have a space to show my artwork. I have some interactive elements where people can write poems about colors and think about what colors they love and vibe with.

I love that. Anything you want to end on—a plug, a story, anything?

Come visit me at the Art Institute on Sundays and Mondays from 11 to 3 and make whatever project we’re working on in The Learning Center.

Actually, I’m glad you brought that up because I meant to ask! Tell me more about your role there.

I’m a facilitator in the Ryan Learning Center. I basically explain and introduce the project to visitors that are coming in and help them along with whatever aspects they need help with. Right now we’re making sketchbooks inspired by the Frida Kahlo and Mary Reynolds: A Month in Paris show; so we’re making sketchbooks and filling them with surrealist-style sketches.

Update since this interview: I'm now full-time at the Art Institute and people can visit me from 11AM-3PM when I'm there Wednesdays through Saturdays. Our current project is now Bricolage Charms inspired by the Bruce Goff Material Worlds exhibit.

I'm also working on a fun new daily letter writing project. I feel like the world is missing more physical words, handwritten items, snail mail...ya know? Each month will have a different theme and I'll provide postcards in the envelopes if anyone is interested in continuing the exchange. I've been posting about it on my Instagram page.

New last question: what’s something that’s making you happy these days?

The sunshine. The change in weather has been a huge in boosting the mood.

I appreciate your time.

Thank you.