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

Every time you go to an art fair, you have your fingers crossed that you’re going to have good “booth neighbors” when you get there. Always hoping for the best. Friendly, fun, upbeat and making good work. It’s going to be a long weekend if you DON’T have good neighbors. No worries this weekend… I have two good ones!

To my left is Maggie McCarthy and her beautiful watercolors. She’s from St. Louis and made the trip up for the show, as well as hanging out with family and beautiful granddaughter. Her work is very impressionistic & calming. Tranquil settings that make you want to be there. Click here to see more of Maggie McCarthy’s watercolor paintings.

To my right is JD Dennison and his intriguingly altered photography. We first me JD two years ago when he was my neighbor at the Evanston Lakeshore Art Fair when my good friend & metalsmith Sarah Chapman decided to bail on Evanston and go up to Minneapolis instead. JD was quick to snatch up the spot. And this year he was back after a one-year hiatus in Evanston. In fact, he actually requested to be my neighbor again!!!

His photography is pretty slick & contemporary. He uses an intriguing technique that he can describe FAR better than I. But in a nutshell, he takes the photos at night with a flash. Then “inverts” the images so the black darkness turns white, and the “flashed” details of the subject matter turn dark. Kinda crazy. Very cool. Click here to see more of JD Dennison’s photography.

So talented are my neighbors that they BOTH received a Blue Ribbon for “Best In Category.” Maggie won for “Best of Watercolors,” and JD won for “Best of Photography.” Congrats to you both… My Talented Art Fair Neighbors!!!

Categories: art fair, artists, rusty

A half hour until we “officially” open…
and I’ve already made my first artist trade!!!
One less cake plate & more rusty metal coming home!!!
Thank you Joanie from Girly Steel.

Categories: artists, My Talented Friends

Another colorful glimpse into my collaboration with Cory McCrory on some wall pieces for the upcoming “Art In The Garden.” Her pieces made it through the bisque kiln. My bisqued “parts” are currently cooling in the kiln… and soon to be glazed!!!

Categories: artists, My Talented Friends

And speaking of hints…
my co-collaborator Cory McCrory has revealed a “sneak-peek” in color!!!
She’s such a tease!!!

Categories: art fair, artists, friends, garden

It’s official. We even have REAL postcards!!!
“Art In The Garden” coming soon to Glenview, Illinois.
Mark your calendars for August 30th & 31st to play with five talented friends.
More details to come…

In the backyard garden of my metalsmith friend Amy Taylor.
“Art In The Garden” : A Grassroots Art Fair
1205 Hutchings Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025

Saturday, August 30th – 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, August 31st – 10:00am-5:00pm

Categories: artists, My Talented Friends

My friend Cory McCrory has “released” two more glimpses into the collaboration project we’re working on. So much fun to see our “plan” coming together… with more to be revealed over the next few days!!!

Categories: artists, My Talented Friends

A wonderful “teaser two-fer” from Cory McCrory today!!!

Categories: artists, blogs

You know how I love to hear from my blog followers…
especially when they have such great stories to share!

Another satisfied apron customer, fellow potter and friendly blog follower…
“I have scoured the Internet for aprons that are wide enough to really wrap around and long enough to cover knees when sitting at the wheel. Finally found a special chef’s apron but it still doesn’t quite meet my needs.”

Then she purchased one of my Mom’s aprons, and seemed to like it…
“Great apron. I particularly like the ingenious overlapping slot on the front. I’ve also figured out a way to “crawl” into it so I only button once. I’m afraid to wash it, don’t want it to shrink. It’s my Mother’s Day present. Very special.”
By the way Verna, you can totally wash it…
the fabric was pre-washed & pre-shrunk before sewing!

And then she continued with her kind words…
“Please know again how much your musings, photos, updates about all topics are appreciated, learning the Cup Game too!  I am a retired kindergarten teacher and university adjunct professor. Dealing with chemo every couple of weeks for lung cancer. Making pots joyfully on recovery weeks.  Selling in shows and galleries. Formerly owned a gallery/studio in Idaho and decided to return to teaching, a 20 year educational hiatus from pottery.  So after that time away from clay, I’m so grateful to be back in the mud. My fly fisher, ice fisherman, upland bird hunter husband is loving the new creations. Your adventures and skills are valued. Pretty tricky using the trim tool handle for the depression on the platter edges. Love it!  How do you find the time to record, write, pot???????”  -  Verna, Great Falls, Montana

 

Categories: artists, clay, creativity, patterns, YouTube

Last night in class, one of the students brought in some Bulgarian pottery that demonstrated their traditional slip decorating style. We had discussed this traditional Bulgarian technique of slip decorating in class. I saw a YouTube video and decided I would try it for my class. If I’m going to mess up, why not do it in front of my students for a good laugh?! So we discussed it, did the demo and I posted it on my blog and Facebook page. Marina had seen the posts, and since she’s Bulgarian.. who better to bring in some actual pieces from Bulgaria???

Click here to see my original posting about this process
including the original video that inspired my class demo on slip “dripping” decoration!

So here are a few colorful examples of the Bulgarian style of slip decoration. It’s a pretty amazing technique of dripping, banding, squirting and dragging through layers of colorful slips. These examples were gorgeous… and more colorful than I expected?!

Look close. It’s all done with colored slip. Drips. Bands. More drips. And dragging through…

Click here to see the original blog post about the video I saw online that started this whole thing. And special thanks for Marina for bringing in these beautiful samples. So fun to see this Bulgarian pottery story come full circle. Video. Demo. Gorgeous.

Categories: artists, My Talented Friends

More clay fun from my friend Cory McCrory…
she’s definitely doing HER part of the collaboration!!!
Guess I need to get may act together too?!… and soon!!!