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

One of my students Melanie braved the chill for a winter hike out at Illinois Beach State Park… and found herself a ceramic fortune cookie! I love that people are out there enjoying nature, breathing the fresh air & playing my silly reindeer games!!!

Categories: challenge, family

My cousin Kim went hiking at Illinois Beach State Park and found a couple fortune cookies along the way! Braving the bitter breeze & bone-chilling temperatures to play along with my silly little game. So fun to see people enjoying the scavenger hunt & kicking off their New Year searching for fortune… cookies!!!

Categories: challenge

Looks like the fortune cookie search has begun!!!
Allison & Michael were out at Illinois Beach State Park today searching in the bitter cold.
Let the fortune cookies be found!!!

From Allison…
“Don’t be mad at us!!! We found FOUR fortune cookies this morning but only took THREE. Decided to leave the fourth one even though my body had trouble resisting! Figured one for me, one for Michael, and the third one for Mamma Molloy. My Dad plans on going on a hike tomorrow morning with Ricky if they can tolerate the cold. It was bitter WINDY from the west and DARN cold!! My face was beet red in the end but I persisted. Decided to check out both the northerly route and main beach space.”

Pretty sure I saw a fellow scavenger hunter in a white coat who likely got the little birdhouse one & one you may have put at a pavilion in the northern sand dunes area. Pretty sure she must know you directly!! We didn’t converse though because she was far off from where I was but I saw her inspecting things only like a fortune cookie hunter would!!!

And I had to take the third one we found because it was on the back post of a turtle crossing sign and my spirit animal has been a turtle since high school!!! I’ll likely make a post about it, too! Hope you’ve heard from others! One of my favorite traditions I’ve the last, what 4 or 5 years now?

Apollo was checking them out when I returned from delivering artwork to a shop! He was a VERY curious cat indeed.”

So that’s three down… twenty-two more to go!

Has anyone else been out there searching yet???
Send me photos when you find’ em!!!

Categories: challenge, nature

“Gotta keep searchin’ searchin’… find a place to hide… searchin’ searchin’!!!”
Let the games begin… and WELCOME TO 2025!!!

To celebrate, I’ve hidden 25 ceramic fortune cookies for people to find!!! Twenty-five for 2025… get it?! Anyway, they’re hidden all over Illinois Beach State Park. An annual tradition that started during the pandemic. And now every year, more & more people are starting to search for their fortune… cookies!

So new this year, I’m also asking that you find all you can, take pictures & selfies along the way… but try to limit yourself to taking one per person home for your collection. Let’s leave some there so more people can experience the fun of the search! Use the photos in this Reel for your clues… and let the searchin’ searchin’ begin!!!

Categories: challenge, special events

Last night was another night of BINGO-fun at IKEA! Holiday lights, kitschy outfits & festive prizes. But for me, and my table of friends… it was Bingo-Bubkis!!! Came close a couple times… but no BINGO’s for me!!!

Categories: challenge, mugs, wheelthrowing

Making mugs again… but this time they’re part of the class challenge I gave my Intermediate Wheel students. They’re all working on sets of four MATCHING MUGS for our final class of the session! So I’ve got to step it up and make mine too! As I told them, I would never “stress out” over making just four that match perfectly… measuring, refining, stressing. Instead I’m making a lot of cylinders that are very similar, and then I’ll pick out the closest “matching” ones later!

Categories: challenge, summer camp, wheelthrowing

As if Wheelthrowing Summer Camp weren’t fun enough… I challenged my pre-teen campers to do a little blindfolded throwing!!! And they LOVED it!!! After just two-and-a-half days of learning to throw on a pottery wheel, I think they did an AMAZING JOB… and the giggles were absolutely contagious!!!

Categories: challenge

It’s been a long day… but I finally made it home. Now I just need to find my car! You would think it shouldn’t be all that hard, right?! I was just gone for one night in Dover! HA!!!

Categories: challenge

WINDOW SEAT!!! Looks like we’re finally headed home!! Time for a nap! If all goes well I’ll be asleep before the plane takes off… and wake up when we land in Chicago!!!

Categories: challenge

So at least my plane is here now. Things are looking up… except for those crazy clouds!
Fingers crossed we make it outta here. I just wanna get home!!!