Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: artists, lillstreet, summer camp

Another favorite spot in the Art Institute are the stunning stained glass windows
by Marc Chagall. With deep indigo blues and splashes of colors throughout, these
windows cast a beautiful glow across the room… and the kids love ’em too!

It’s always fun to watch the kids interact and appreciate the art. More than just walking
through, they actually take time to examine & discuss some of the pieces. Of course…
I’m right there to facilitate and get the discussion started if I need to be…

 

Categories: lillstreet, summer camp

Kind of “hidden” in the lower level, the Miniature Thorne Rooms of the Art Institute
are always a favorite of the kids. Created by Mrs. James Ward Thorne, each miniature
room was exquisitely built to a scale of one foot equals one inch. With several of the
best craftsmen of the day, Mrs. Thorne replicated rooms from across Europe, as well
as the United States. Small framed windows serve as a looking glass into each room!

Categories: artists, lillstreet, summer camp

This week’s summer camp theme is “Learning From The Masters.”
My main intention with this camp is to introduce the kids to several famous artists,
have them learn a little art history and do their art projects in the style of these artists.
So we take them on a field trip to Chicago’s Art Institute for some great inspiration.
There’s a LOT to see… so it’s a lot of walking, talking & discussing art all day long!

With so many masterpieces on display, the Art Institute is a wealth of inspiration
no matter what genre or style you’re interested in. From impressionists to cubists.

Throughout the day, my campers frequently made stops to sketch some quick images,
or to capture them on their smartphones for future reference. It was so exciting to see
the kids really taking an interest in art. A good sign of things to come…

Categories: Chicago, lillstreet, summer camp

Kinda sounds like a movie, huh?!
Actually it was just the start of today’s summer camp field trip to the Art Institute.
We arrived in Grant Park a little earlier than the museum opening. So we walked over
to Buckingham Fountain so the kids could sketch and eat an early lunch in the park.

Such a beautiful way to start the day, right? Sitting in the park on a beautiful Tuesday morning.
Watching my summer campers capture the statuesque landmark fountain in the sketches.
Only to be followed by more art… and our field trip to The Art Institute of Chicago.

Categories: creativity, inspiration

Apparently there’s something new out there that I need to try?!
My cousin Kim knows of my addiction… and saw this at the Wisconsin State Fair!
Everything’s better when it’s deep-fried, right?! And on a stick too!!!

Categories: inspiration, totem pole

By now you may have seen some of the totem poles my Summer Campers have made.
I’ve posted pictures here on the blog, and have received some great compliments.
Thank you all so much. But my latest excitement is seeing that my camp project has
inspired another teacher to do the same with her kids… way over on the “other side
of the Pond.” It’s pretty darn cool to see that my totem poles, and my little blog have
made it all the way to London AND inspired another group of kids to make their own
totem pole! Here’s an excerpt from the e-mail I received from Abby, the teacher.
________________________________________________________

Hello Gary,
We spoke a while back and you gave me a lot of good advice on how to go about
constructing a ceramic totem pole with my students in the UK. We finished the project
in July and I just back to the States a couple of weeks ago. 

They really enjoyed the project and when we dug the hole to put in the pipe we found
clay and got to experience where clay comes from first hand. It was a blast! I have
attached the finished product. The clay is outdoor clay and we painted it with themes
dealing with cultural exchange and environmental sustainability as a way of promoting
a healthier Earth in all respects. The clay also has recycled material on the surface and
is filled with gravel like you suggested. It was the hit of of our school. The school’s name
is Charters and it is in Sunningdale, England about 30 minutes outside of London.
Thank you for all of your help! I promised you pictures so they are attached. I look
forward to doing a similar project with my home school in Missouri.

 

Categories: bowls, process, production

After stamping the platter, I decided to throw a batch of small bowls this afternoon.
I received a lot of comments about the squared-off bowl I made as part of the latest class
demo on altering bowls. So I decided to make a few more!

Stamping, trimming and detailing still to come…

Categories: process, production, stamps, studio, textures

So here’s the platter I threw for my class demo last Tuesday night.
I was hoping to keep it wet enough to stamp it as “class demo part two” next Tuesday.
But it was getting a little too dry a little too quickly. So I had to stamp it today. Here’s the
“demo” I was planning to share… this time in a sequential photo format.

The chosen stamp prepared to make its mark on the platter!

Just getting started… pressing the stamp into the moist clay one, by one, by one…

One row of stamping done. I always love to see how a basic platter can be transformed
so quickly with just a few impressions!

And if one row is pretty, a second row can only make it prettier, right?!


But why stop there? So I finished it off with some scalloped edge stamping. And some small
detailing with notches in the rim and small indentations in the stamps at the points.

Here are the three tools that did all the work… a stamp, a wooden tool… and my hand!

Categories: lillstreet, summer camp

Today was the last day of our “Fire, Forge & Feast” summer camp at Lillstreet.
The day when everything comes together. At least if all goes well.
And today it did.

Our clay pieces came out of the kiln and everything looked pretty good.
So the kids did some final projects, some last minute riveting and some finishing.

It was great to all of the dinnerware sets come together. Combining their metal & clay projects
together in one place thematic setting. The kids were excited too! And well they should be!
They all worked really hard this week – and succeeded in the challenge we put forth for them.

Theme : ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Complete with a wonderful Cheshire Cat plate!

Theme : FLOWERS. Colorful flowers everywhere, plus a great pair of salad tongs.

Theme : HARRY POTTER. With a fun Quidditch plate, Hedwig bowl and Sorting Hat cup.

Theme: DOCTOR WHO. Sadly, I’ve never seen the show, so I wasn’t much help with this one!

Theme: FISH. Catfish dinner plate, goldfish salad plate and a fun fish skeleton spoon!

Theme : ALASKA. Covered in snowy white with a moose, fish and evergreen trees!

Theme : TREES. Fun with stump handles for the cutlery. Plus a strainer-spoon for the cup!

Theme : MATHEMATICS. Not so fond of Math, but loved his direction. Not off on a tangent!

Theme : ZOMBIES. Climbing out of the RIP Cemetery plates, and a screaming mouth bowl!

Theme : SWITZERLAND. With an upcoming move to Switzerland, this was a great choice!

Theme : VIDEO GAME… not sure which one?!… I’m sure he would love to tell you about it.

Theme : CHERRY PIE.  Made as part of our demos by my co-teacher Michelle.

But here’s the kick. Along the way, the kids did break quite a few saw blades.
Now don’t get me wrong, saw blades do break! Even for adults. Even for people who have
been sawing metal for years. But maybe some of the kids didn’t get that memo?! As a few
of them broke a few more than their share. We made this list on the wall of the Metals Room
after working with the kids for two days in clay. Michelle and I tried to predict who would
do well,  and who would break more saw blades. So we put the kids in order as we were
guessing. I think we did pretty good listing the ones we thought would break fewer blades
at the top, and those who would break more at the bottom.

So we ended the class with the FEAST portion of the camp. The kids all brought in
some great food for our lunch potluck. We had pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salads,
fried rice, potatoes, sodas, lettuce salad, chicken noodle soup, Oreos, sugar cookies
and two pies – fresh from the First Slice Pie Cafe in the Lillstreet Gallery!
A yummy conclusion to another fun week of summer camp!

 

 

Categories: lillstreet, summer camp

During our camp yesterday, one of our campers decided to challenge Michelle
to a metal cutting contest. Really?! Did he not realize that Michelle is a professional?
That this what she does for a living? And that he’s only been cutting metal for a
couple hours?! Really?! Ya’ gotta give him props his bravado though…

Anyway, the challenge was that I would draw a difficult shape for them each to cut
out of copper. First one to complete the challenge would be the winner. The other one,
well… the LOSER! So they each had the design attached to their metal & ready to start…
on your marks… get set… go!

And before he even knew what was happening… Michelle was already done!

So the prize?!… for the rest of us?… We had all decided that the “loser” would have to bring
chocolate chip cookies for the rest of us! Today we all ate cookies. A fun contest…
and fun cookies! I’m just glad he didn’t challenge me!!!