Thom Cicchelli has devoted his life to artistic pursuits.  He attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and has been employed over twenty years as a creative artist.  He has designed and worked in a wide variety of media, including outdoor installations, and, more recently, ceramics.  His most recognized design, which was selected from over 6,000 entries, can be found on the reverse side of the United States Commemorative Quarter for the State of Illinois (2003), which is part of the United States Mint Fifty State Quarter Program.  His other acclaimed or award-winning projects include submissions for “Suite Home Chicago,” an international exhibition of urban street furniture in Chicago (2001);  “For the Birds,” an exhibition of birdhouses at the Clark House Museum and Chicago Women’s Park and Garden (2004); and “Benches on the Avenue,” an exhibition in Tinley Park, Illinois (2004).  Cicchelli was also selected to participate in “Cool Globes,” an international exhibition on the Chicago lakefront during the summer of 2007 that highlighted solutions to the problem of global warming.  Cicchelli’s two pieces for the Cool Globes exhibition continue to appear in similar exhibitions in cities throughout the world, most recently in Battery Park in New York City in the fall of 2019.  His work has been featured in numerous newspapers and television programs.