John Nester

John received his MFA in ceramics from Northern Illinois University and his BFA in art education and photography from Illinois Wesleyan University. He also studied ceramics at Alfred University in New York, as part of his MFA degree. John taught art at York High School for 32 years, ceramics at College of DuPage for 18 years, and ceramics for Elmhurst College since 2007. In addition to teaching, his art work can be found in numerous collections including the Elmhurst Art Museum outdoor public art project. With the Elmhurst community, the community ceramic sculpture project titled “Art from your Heart” was created. John’s most recent work in ceramics explores his interest in the NASA space program and can be found in numerous private collections, including astronauts Jim Lovell, Sally Ride, Terry Hart, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

John has been a board member since 2009.  His major responsibility is documenting events with photography and helping to host events to promote ChildrenUP in the Elmhurst community.