Eli Merritt ’12’s art revolves around blending opposing elements into a unified form. Merritt’s desire to learn how to weld, woodwork and explore electronics, kinetics, and motors led him to enroll in art school after graduating from Berkshire. While earning his B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he realized that most working artists don’t have access to the tools and spaces they need, and that novice artists feel intimidated by the equipment. 

In 2019, Merritt channeled the mindset he has for his own art and brought together artists without access to tools and spaces and provided them with a fully equipped space to explore and create their own art. He founded the Chicago Maker Space with his brother, Sam Merritt ’14. Merritt ’12 now runs the space independently. 

Multiple nights a week, Merritt teaches classes including welding and furniture making. He also started the Grace Foundation, a monthly youth outreach program that invites young people to use the space for free. Merritt still finds time to create his own art, ranging from sculptures to drawings. The Chicago Maker Space now has a waitlist, with people drawn to the space itself, and to Merritt’s enthusiasm for creating a supportive community for artists.  

Learn more about Merritt’s journey and experience running the Maker Space in the Q&A below. 

What do you enjoy the most about running the Maker Space?
There's a moment when I teach someone something, and then they can do it without my help; I’ve changed their world just a little bit. I see the twinkle in their eye and the skip in their step which makes it so worth it for me. I’m a glorified hype man and my job is to help make people feel good about themselves. I want them to feel excited to come back. Running this space isn’t easy, and I’m really proud of it. 

How do you set people at ease who are new to the space?
People might feel uncomfortable when they walk into the studio because it's a foreign, loud, or potentially dangerous place. Humans also have a weird, innate competitiveness in them. When someone isn’t at the top of their game or feels unsure of what they’re doing, they react in one of two ways. They either ask for help and learn, or they become defensive, nervous, or even mean. I try to guide them in a positive way, and remind them that it's okay to not be good at something in the beginning. It's more important to try, be okay with failing, and then learn from that failure. The big secret is that there's no secret. You just have to do it again and again and again.

What’s your approach to your classes at the Maker Space?
I tell everyone that they’re already arriving with the best tool in their pocket: their phones. You can figure anything out. You just have to know what you want to find, and figuring out the vocabulary can be the hardest part. 

Concepts are important. I want my students to be conscious of the reasons why they're doing something and know how to apply that in different scenarios, rather than just replicating cookie-cutter projects. You might only make that thing once, but you’ll always be able to draw from those skills. I want my students to be able to face a challenge and have the mental prowess to tackle it—using their conceptual tool belt of skills. All that knowledge adds up, and then it gets fun. 

How would you describe your art?  
The process in which I make my art is multi-minded. Half of my work is fashioned entirely from found objects. I think of it as a visual diary of the area and its excess; the things we have given up on. I believe that all things and people deserve a second chance; it is the beauty of the forgotten objects which draws my attention. 

Spanning to the other side of the creative spectrum are my hyper-realistic wood carvings. These serve as a technical challenge to test my skills and growth as an artist. Switching between these two minds is paramount to my creative process. I have realized, for my found object sculptures to be substantial, I must place myself in an alternative creative realm which is a different skill set both mentally and physically.

How did Berkshire impact your path as an artist and entrepreneur?  
I played varsity lacrosse and did theater all four years at Berkshire, but deep down I knew I was an artist, and I took all the art classes I could. Linda D’Arco, my art teacher, had a substantial impact on me. She recognized that I had a lot of ambition, and that I was hungry to learn and prove myself. Ms. D’Arco suggested I write my own independent study for my junior and senior years, and even gave me access to her office to use as a sculpture studio, because I was creating art that was too large for the art studio. 

For my senior year independent study in sculpture, I asked every classmate to donate one object; it could be random or something that was meaningful. I then used those objects and made a sculpture of a Berkshire Bear. That experience was a real turning point for me because Ms. D’Arco told me that the true test for an artist is whether they can self-motivate to produce art when no one is watching and that’s what I did. I’m so grateful to her for giving me that initial freedom to fail and learn to pick myself back up to try again.

When it came time to create the Maker Space, I could draw on this inner confidence because I knew how to walk head first into the storm. My time at Berkshire gave me the courage to venture into the unknown, the resilience to ask “how” instead of saying “no,” and the passion to cherish every moment spent pursuing this dream. If you’re ever in Chicago, come check out the Chicago Maker Space and let’s build something! Go Bears!