Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: craftsmanship, creativity

So I just got an email from Jacob… friend & former pottery student… who was published in the New York Times yesterday!!! Who knew that my little “pottery games” would inspire such wordplay in the Times?!!!

From Jacob…
“I’ve been writing crosswords as a hobby and just had one of my puzzles published
in the New York Times! Better yet, I was able to include a clue based one of your
challenge class challenges (see the highlighted clue in the snippet below.)
TULIPIERES just went mainstream! Just thought I’d share
as I thought you’d get a kick out of it.”

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SPOLIER ALERT !!!

Don’t go any further if you don’t want to see the answers!!!

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Categories: television

Preheat your ovens… THE GREAT AMERICAN BAKING SHOW is now streaming on The Roku Channel for free. I mean, everyone loves the bakers, the white tent and Prue & Paul. But this time it’s all bakers from America… including Martin who is currently in my Monday night Intermediate Wheelthrowing class!!! Be sure to check it out… even if it’s just for Martin’s great facial expressions!!!

Click here to get started with your FREE streaming – www.therokuchannel.com

Categories: bowls, food

Looks like someone is having a yummy dinner tonight…
and a handmade bowl makes it all that much better!!!

From Matthew in Stevens Point, Wisconsin…
“I love my coworkers’ wild rice, with a local farmer’s oyster mushrooms, another farmer’s spinach and microgreens, and another farmer’s beef tenderloin, all in a bowl by a Chicago-area potter you guys probably haven’t heard of… they call him the Stamp King.”

Categories: bike, Chicago

The perfect day… and the perfect way… to play hooky this afternoon!!!

Categories: flowers

They’re still hanging on… more magnolias… but mostly in “protected” areas where the wind hasn’t been able to blow the petals off yet! Sadly, these delicate blooms don’t have much longer…

Categories: flowers

Loving how these lilacs are still hanging on… usually quick to fade, but instead they’re still blooming & sharing their magical aroma.

Categories: flowers

Pretty little crabapple flowers with that intoxicating scent.

Categories: bowls, process, production

Finishing up a large batch of berry bowls… so much quicker & easier with my power drill. Just some quick cleaning-up of the tiny burrs when they dry. Soon enough they’ll be dry enough for the bisque kiln. Now I just need to make a bunch of drip plates to go with these berry bowls!

Categories: bowls, pottery aprons, process, tools

Time to make some berry bowls… so much easier with a power drill to do the “heavy lifting”!!! Plus, the range of drill bits gives you a good selection of hole diameters!

Categories: nature, textures

Celebrating a little TEXTURE TUESDAY with these crazy-cool leaves sprouting out on sumac branches in the neighborhood.