A professor of sculpture at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Jackson is the head of the figurative area and has served as chair of the Sculpture Department. He also teaches children´s art, painting, sculpture and tai chi at the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, on the Riverfront. Preston was selected a 1998 Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois, the highest honor given to individuals in the State. His large-scale outdoor sculpture as well as his smaller bronze pieces have been exhibited widely in the U.S. Here in Peoria, many of his pieces can be seen throughout Peoria’s Riverfront and Warehouse Districts –including his 9-foot bronze statue of comedic icon and Peoria-native, Richard Pryor, located on the corner of State and Washington Street.
