If Rene Magritte were a potter…
he would have seen the humor as well. Strange pieces found in the clay reclaim buckets
by the Lillstreet Claymakers!
And a bit of Magritte inspiration…
Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play |
If Rene Magritte were a potter…
he would have seen the humor as well. Strange pieces found in the clay reclaim buckets
by the Lillstreet Claymakers!
And a bit of Magritte inspiration…
Just pulling out another batch of reclaimed clay. This time it’s a huge batch of slaked-down porcelain that I turned out onto my large plaster bat. All scraps from another potter friend who doesn’t like to reclaim clay. But I sure do!!! It’s going to take a few days before it sets-up enough that I can start wedging it. A lot of work & waiting… but then again, you know how much I LOVE FREE CLAY!!!
After two days at the pottery wheel, my Summer Campers were cranking out some nice pots… trying to stay focused, elbows down, arms locked in, fingers steady, centering their clay… and eventually making a LOT of pots!!!
This is my first week back at Lillstreet Summer Camp!
And my kids are having a wonderful time and making some pretty sweet pots
in Wheelthrowing Camp! Goopey messy fun!!! WHOO-HOO!!!
After weeks of slaking down, my stoneware scraps reclaim bucket was finally ready
to turn out onto my large plaster bat. You know how much I love FREE CLAY!!!
Can’t wait for this pile to set-up a bit, and then let the wedging begin!!!
Just got home from a wonderful weekend in Minneapolis for NCECA 2019…. the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. A lot of pottery, inspirations, shopping and meeting up with a lot of other pottery friends!! More photos & stories to come!!!
As an added bonus… it was a BEAUTIFUL weather weekend in Minneapolis! So I made sure to get outside to see some of the sights outside of the Convention Center too!
Now that all of the berry bowls are stamped, trimmed and drilled with holes…
now they need drip plates to catch the water after washing your berries!
Here we go… giddy-up!
Wedged balls of clay… filled with potential… oh, what to make???
Ummm… something other than mugs maybe???
In one of the wheelthrowing rooms at Lillstreet, there’s a large plaster bat divided in two sides… one side for clean porcelain, the other side for everything else! Apparently someone left a pile of reclaimed clay slurry on the plaster bat… quite possibly on the wrong side?!!!
You’ve got to love the question… and the response… and the fact the clay is STILL there on the plaster bat!!! Unattended. Not claimed. Sure to be completely dried by the morning.
After a fun day outside, I finally made it into the studio to tackle that pile of reclaim clay I had set out a few days ago. Still a bit gooey, but with some wedging, layering, stacking & squishing, I finally got it all packed away into plastic bags. The “real” wedging will happen when I actually get ready to make pots with this FREE CLAY!!!
Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
Lillstreet Studios ∙ 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois 60640 ∙ 773-307-8664 gary@firewhenreadypottery.com |