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

“FOR GOOD” was real good!!!

Last night we went to see “WICKED FOR GOOD” on IMAX and loved it. The performances are amazing, the vocals crazy… and so fun to see how everyone & everything came together, transformed, evolved, devolved & pulled it all together “for good.” I must say… loved the stage version, but I’m still loving the movies so much more!

Categories: family, movies

Last night we followed the Yellow Brick Road back to Oz… for a double-feature “refresher” course! My sister Jen & niece Taylor went way “over-the-rainbow” with their thematic decorations & colorful foods!! Perfect timing as we’re returning to the Emerald City tonight … “WICKED: FOR GOOD.”

Categories: family, food, friends, nature

Fall fun with family & friends last weekend at Christ Orchard in Elmwood, Illinois. Spent the day playing in the field searching for the coolest pumpkins & gourds. Playing with my Cousin Kim… and my “very first art fair friends” Rosene & Gerry! It’s always fun to get out of the City to play out in the farmlands… I think it’s quickly becoming an annual adventure!!!

Categories: family, The Ghouls Collection

So here’s my sister Jen’s GHOULS COLLECTION. She might have one of the largest collections out there… although she is missing a couple. Can anyone spot the missing Ghouls??? It’s a shame they’re all Limited Editions!!!

And more importantly… does ANYONE out there have all of them???
If so, send me a photo of them on display!!! – gary@firewhenreadypottery.com

Categories: family, movie

We wanted to be in the room where it happened! So we did… and we saw the “big screen” version of HAMILTON at the theater tonight. So much fun with my sister Jen & cousin Kim who had never seen it before… and we ate plenty of POPCORN !!!

Categories: art fair, family

Always fun when my Cousin Kimberley Sue comes to the art fair… hanging out, chatting, laughing… and adding to her already HUGE pottery collection! This time it was all about some new flowerpots for her houseplants!

Also fun (for me) when someone finds a FREE pot! A little art fair game I like to play…
basically just to entertain myself!!! Well, today it was Kim’s lucky day!!!

Free pottery for the win!!!

Another freebie tomorrow…

Categories: family, flower pots

Looks like my cousin Kim has some happy plants… especially that clover plant that’s thriving in a handmade & stamped flower pot!

Categories: bowls, family, food, soda-fired, stamped

Spent today playing hooky with my cousin Kim. We had a lot of great adventures & laughs along the way. We ended up at her place… where I saw her peach tree FULL of peaches. Too many peaches? Is there such a thing?… yes! They were EVERYWHERE!!! I can’t even imagine stepping out my back door to find hundreds of peaches at arms length. Crazy!!!

And yes… of course she sent me home with a bunch of homegrown peaches!!! So yummy!!!

Categories: family, Taylor

Last night was another night of numbers fun at IKEA BINGO!
No winners at our table… but a fun night with family makes us all winners!

Sure, I probably shoulda’ been packing up for this weekend’s art fair in Glenview…
but I can do that today, right???

Categories: family, friends, holiday

Celebrated the Fourth of July again this year with some of my “adopted family” of friends from college. They live in a small little town in central Illinois called Chenoa. They have the best “Norman Rockwell-esque” holiday celebrations in town. Including the annual “House Decorating Contest”. My friends won 2nd Place!!! But in my completely “non-biased” opinion… they shoulda won FIRST!!! They lost out to the house that won last year too… with just a couple patriotic inflatables… probably “Made in China!” Nothing as cool as all of the handmade, hand-painted & cool decorated efforts that my friends put in for their first entry ever! They even had Rosie hand-painting the stairs!!!