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

Is it just me?… or is it a strange coincidence that one of your Summer Campers shows up wearing a “Monsters Inc.” t-shirt… and then you see the same thing across the hall in the utility room?!!!

Categories: creativity, inspiration, platters

Always fun to get my “latest installation” of artsy postcards from The Postcard Club … this batch featuring some pretty sweet illustrations & motivational messages. A little something guaranteed to brighten someone’s day!

Click here for more about The Postcard Club subscription program.

Categories: inspiration, summer camp

Well, today was my first day of Summer Camp at Lillstreet Art Center. And my wheelthrowing campers are well under way, making pots & having fun… and especially succeeding with Gary’s Camp Rule #3 : “Whatever mess you make, you WILL be cleaning up.”

Now if we could just get the adult students to follow that same rule with such enthusiasm?!

Categories: architecture, creativity, inspiration

As I had mentioned, I went to CITY MUSEUM yesterday in St. Louis… and finally worked my way through editing my photos to share! I’ve heard about CITY MUSEUM for years, but really had no idea what to expect… and if I did, it wasn’t this!!!

This might be the CRAZIEST “museum” I’ve ever been to… in the best way possible!!! I LOVED it!!! Such a crazy & amazing collection of stuff… stacked, piled, installed & layered all over the multi-level building. Including stuff on the rooftop and sticking out the side. Tons of slides, ramps, spiral staircases, tubes & crazy ways to get around. Think steampunk meets jungle gym… meets flea market… meets vintage carnival… meets caverns… meets aquarium… and so much MORE!!!

The guy at the Front Desk said that if you feel lost, you’re doing great. So much fun… and yet so eclectic & wild. A definite must-see in St. Louis… but wear your gym clothes if you really want to play!!!

Categories: inspiration

A beautiful day for a road trip… blue skies… puffy white clouds… just cruisin’ through Chenoa on my way to St. Louis. Always enjoy getting my kicks on Route 66!

Categories: inspiration, nature

Well, lookey here… yet another one of my ceramic fortune cookies has been found at Illinois Beach State Park. So much fun finding out that they are still being found by random people while out there enjoying the park. Even more impressive that Adam “found me” here on Facebook and shared his story & photos with me!

This from Adam…
“Hi Gary, thank you for the good fortune! My kids and I found a cookie this past Saturday and my mother did the research and found you. Hoping you can view the post about it on my page and the pictures associated with the outing to Illinois Beach State Park. I recently discovered it during the lockdown as well (Sept. 2021), and I’m now there almost every time the weather is favorable. Kids love it too! A lot of joy has come from your kindness. From the thrill of finding the cookie nestled in the root structure of the tree to the people’s reaction from posting about it and finally the excitement in locating the maker! We hope there may be more to find still and will be back again soon. Thank you!!!”

Categories: inspiration

After sub-teaching another class this morning, it was great to get out for another bike ride this afternoon… as the temps almost made it to 70-degrees!!! It was a bit windy & gusty… but still a great ride with a few souvenirs from the beach. A few more pieces of beach glass for my “covid collection” that I started during the shutdown!

Categories: inspiration

With Illinois rolling-back the mask mandate today, and people slowly going back to mask-less… I figured it’s time to share my latest collection of photos! Many of you might know that I have a somewhat “weird” affinity for roadkill… don’t ask. But after two years of pandemic issues, my newest collection seems only fitting as these have become the “new” pandemic roadkill.

Categories: creativity, food, inspiration

Apparently, on “Words With Friends”… they don’t consider OREO to be a valid word?! What?… I know I actually use that word in conversation like four, five, ten times a day!!!

Categories: creativity, inspiration

Okay, so we decided to “celebrate” today’s holiday with an afternoon break to play with some Magic Eye images… I mean, it is NATIONAL HAVE FUN AT WORK DAY after all. Remember the visual fun from the ‘90s where a 3D images appears if you stare at the picture long enough?! I love these!!!It was Scott’s first time trying… and honestly, he wasn’t so good at it. He only saw one! I found them all… but now my eyes feel a little crossed!!!