Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: pottery, process, production, stamps, studio

So I’m back at the studio – trying to get back into the swing of things
and get the pottery production started up again. I figured a good place to start
would be by making some new stamps for the New Year! With even more to come…

gary-jackson-new-stamps-2009

I make my stamps with fresh clay – and start by rolling out a coil.
I let the coil dry up a little bit so it’s not too soft & squishy. Then I will create
different patterns on both ends of the coil. That way, I get two stamps with each.
As the coil dries, I make sure to scratch my name into the side… you know how
things tend to “travel” around the studio?! When the stamps are dry, they will be
bisqued to make them solid, yet porous. They are then ready to use. You want to
make sure not to high-fire them as that would make them non-porous…
and they would stick more to the clay when making impressions.

2 Comments

Liz Clough

September 14th, 2009

I found your site very interesting and the photo’s great! Wish your would show what the artist signatures look like for us newbies out there who come across pieces by chance and collect! My neighbor has been making pottery for years and would love to visit. If you are ever in Bradenton, Florida please get in touch. Thanks, Liz Clough

September 14th, 2009

Thanks for the kind words… and I will definitely do a quick post soon about my “identifiable” signature. It is just my signature. One word “Gary.” But more on that later…

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