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

And hopefully… everyone will want to buy a ceramic berry bowl this Spring!!!
So today I spent the day at the studio turning the stamped bowls into berry bowls.
I trimmed the foot, then pierced the bottom with drainage holes. Once they were done,
I needed to find a place to let them dry… so I used “The Annex.”

“The Annex”… which is my friend Karen Patinkin’s empty studio which I so kindly refer to
as “The Annex” every time I need to “sneak” in and borrow her empty table top. So while
she’s off traveling somewhere in Timbuktu
(literally) and won’t be back for awhile. It’s the
perfect place for me to dry the berry bowls! She’ll never know… unless she reads my blog?!

So now that they are drying… I need to make the saucer to go under each one!
Small plates with the same fluted rim treatment – no stamping, just keeping ’em simple!

Also, I have found another great tool for making the holes in the bottom well-spaced and even.
I used to just guess visually and hope for the best. Some would work, some would be a little
wonky. This simple plastic disc has made all the difference in the world. They come in different
sizes, but this little size works great for me. It came as a set of two… one disc is divided into
even-numbered segments, the other disc is divided into odd-numbered segments. There are
little holes in the plastic to help mark the pot with even spacing before you actually go in
to cut the holes. Evenly spaced every time!

If you’re interested in getting your own disks, they cone from MKM Pottery Tools.
Phone (920) 205-2701 – or e-mail to:  mkmtools@sbcglobal.net

2 Comments

Joel Lopez

September 21st, 2012

Gary, AMAZING WORK !!! I had some quick questions on how you accomplish the stamped look on your berry bowls. Is this a roller or is this done one impression at a time free hand? if it is done with rollers did you make them or did you purchase them? if I may where might I find them on line? thanks again for sharing your photos. Love the Jack O Lanterns!!
Joel in Tennessee

September 21st, 2012

HEY JOEL – All of my stamping is done one impression at a time. And I make all of my own stamps… just a coil of clay carved & bisqued. No big secrets here. I’ve made a couple roller stamps over the years, but have never figured out a way to incorporate the technique into my work that I’m satisfied with. I kind of feel like a roller stamp would work better on slabs & handbuilt projects than on wheelthrown pieces. Maybe that’s just me?! Thanks for checking though.

Leave a Comment