Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: mugs, process, production, stamps, surface decoration, tools

Just pulled out some of my MKM Pottery Tools hand rollers to help make some groovy cool textures! Doing a couple quick “test rolls” to figure out which rollers to use on this batch of hybrid mugs!

Categories: mugs

Another Monday… another batch of MUGS!!!

Categories: mugs, process, production

Handles are attached & mugs are made. So now it’s time to add some accents of colored flashing slip before I set them out to dry. I like to paint the top “banded” area, and a little touch of color on each of the stamps. If all goes well, this colored slip will turn orange in my next soda firing!

Categories: mugs, process, production

Time to make some more mugs… or at least start adding handles! I pull them the old-fashioned way, and then loop them over so they can set-up a bit. I’m not sure what it says about me, but this kinda reminds me of a Rorschach Test… butterfly?… rib cage?… you tell me!!!

Categories: friends, mugs, special events

It may be just another typical MUGSHOT MONDAY… but it doesn’t look too typical for Allyn! Sure, she may be holding her favorite mug… but it looks like she might have something else to show-off today… a new bit of BLING on her finger!!!

Categories: garden, mugs

Mugs for the non-coffee drinker?… try making it a small succulent planter! Drill a hole in the bottom for drainage, or just add a layer of pebbles before planting. The cutest!!!

Categories: mugs, soda-fired, stamped

Playing with textures & patterns again… with another batch of “hybrid mugs” fresh out of the soda kiln! I’ve really loved exploring the combination of wheelthrown & handbuilt parts & pieces… and how they come together into one seamless mug… or in this case, several mugs!!! Many of these hybrid mugs will be with me this weekend at the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR! Come on by to see them & fondle them in person!

Categories: mugs, soda-fired, stamped, textures

Always fun to see some of my new “hybrid mugs” thriving out in the wild… enjoying a picnic on the back porch somewhere out in the woods!!! “Hybrid” being a combination of wheelthrown & handbuilt parts… along with some amazing textures made with my MKM Pottery Tools hand rollers!

Categories: art fair, mugs, soda-fired, stamped

Fresh from the soda-kiln… a few more of the new mugs that came out of the kiln last weekend. Loving the colors, textures & random flashing effects. Just in time for the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR next weekend… and perfect for today’s MUGSHOT MONDAY!

Categories: handbuilding, mugs, summer camp, terra cotta

This week my Summer Campers have been throwing on the wheels… learning from scratch in three days!!! But today we switched to handbuilding. So we pulled out some terra cotta, some fun texture tools and they set-off to making their mugs. A lot of little hands doing a lot of scoring & slipping. Only a couple hours and they all created some great handmade mugs!!!

And yes… they pulled their own slabs!!!
No rolling pins. No slab roller. Just the good old fashioned way… and they crushed it.