Taylor's Great Hall of Hogwarts
Taylor Zitman is just wild about Harry, and if Harry could see what Taylor has created, well, he'd surely be wild about her too. Harry Potter, that is.
That's because like Harry, Zitman, 18, is also a whiz, but at the art of sculpturing. And she has recreated the world of Harry Potter in such a magical, mystical way, that there would be no need for any love potion to fall for Zitman's work.
(Suzanne Tennant/Staff Photographer)
"I'm obsessed because the last book is coming out. I'm very excited," said Zitman, a former Ogden Elementary and New Trier East alum who is now a sophomore at Indiana University. "But it's bittersweet, my generation has grown up with Harry Potter and it's the end of something cool."
Zitman's characters, which she sculpts out of clay, cast an immediate spell in the room taken over by hundreds of the sculptures. About 36 figures line her Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from Harry Potter, as she prepares for the release of the series' fifth movie, "Order of the Phoenix," and seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Then there's the food she created that her Harry Potter characters are feasting on, handmade goodies such as eggs, elaborate cakes, sausage, donuts, turkey, and more, looking so delicious it makes one want to pull up a chair and sit down for lunch.
"I wanted to do it," said Zitman, a telecommunications and art major who is self-taught at sculpting and also now learning to draw. "I knew I'd use a lot of clay but when I get an impulse, it doesn't go away. I'm pretty happy how it turned out."
It's all Harry Potter's fault that Zitman became so involved in the art. Zitman, who has read all the books, and seen all the movies, has loved the Harry Potter tale, "ever since I picked it up," she said.
"I always had ideas and couldn't draw and couldn't do then in any other form," said Zitman. "Then I went crazy with Harry Potter..."
Today's Harry Potter sculptures are very different from those created earlier, as Zitman has perfected her craft throughout the years. She would love to end up working for a company as a 3-D modeler or sculpting characters and figures, "because I have a huge imagination," she said.
More like an "amazing" imagination, according to her mom, Melanie.
"She's amazing," said Melanie. "I'm happy that she has something she loves."
Zitman's sculpting talent, as they say in Harry Potter lingo, is definitely, "a tale worthy of Harry Potter." Currently her works can be found at: Fourth World Artisans, 3727 N. Southport Ave.; Addendum, 3341 N. Broadway; Windy City Sweets, 3308 N. Broadway; and That's Amore, 3454 N. Southport Ave.