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

Always fun to see where your pottery goes… I suggested ice cream
but Johnna apparently had other ideas!

From Johnna… “Instead of eating salad out of my new favorite bowl tonight, I made the best looking guacamole! I’ve looked at your work for a few years at the Schaumburg art fair and so glad I finally pulled the trigger today. Thank you!”

Categories: bowls, glaze

Spent the afternoon prepping, pricing & packing… getting ready for the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival this weekend. Sort of enamored with this collection of colors & textures… you know how I love a “not-so-basic” bowl!!!

Categories: bowls, glaze, process, production

All lined up… ready for a quick layer of wax resist on the footrings… then some quick glazing before teaching class tonight. I’d love to get them in the kiln soon… as this coming weekend is the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival!!! And I’d really like to have some of these berry bowls ready for this weekend!!! Fingers crossed…

Categories: bowls, food

Some microgreens in a micro-bowl…. thanks to Kristy’s lunch!

Categories: bowls, classes, production

While I might “allegedly” be in Minneapolis already to play & shop at this weekend’s St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour… I wouldn’t want my SURFACE DECORATION class to miss me too much tonight. So I’ve set them up with my favorite sub, and her best demo ever!!! And I even pre-made some pieces for them to “play with” in class! Can’t wait to see what Catherine does with them as they tackle “water etching” tonight! Sadly, without me…

Categories: bowls, wheelthrowing

A quick throwing session… some quick bowls before teaching class tonight!!! Always good to “squeeze in” some production work before heading downstairs to play with my Beginner’s!!!

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: 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: bowls, process, stamped, textures

Well, it looks like I’ve got a good bit of trimming ahead of me today… hoping to get it all done before teaching class tonight?! A bunch of bowls at a good leather-hard state ready for trimming… one of my favorite parts of the whole process!