Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: kiln firing, pottery, process, production, studio

Just like something out of “The Wizard Of Oz”…
a bucket of water takes down the Wicked Witch of the West!!!
Well, it didn’t take a bucket… and there wasn’t a witch…
but there was a lot of MELTING!!!

So when I was loading my bisque kiln, I was loading boards full of pieces into the kiln. Many of the boards had been stored in the kiln room for a couple weeks… to dry out… as well as to get them out of my small studio space! Some of them have been there for a couple days… some for a couple weeks.

To my surprise… when I took down a board of twelve mugs from the top shelf… and found that “something” had happened to a few of them. They looked weird, and it took some time for me to process what had occured.

Apparently, there was some sort of water dripping down onto them over time. That’s the best solution I’ve come up with. There’s a electrical pipe running along the ceiling about an inch from the corner. Which I think would lineup with the drip marks on the mugs. Yes… if you look closely… I believe this is “erosion” from repeated water drips falling on them!

It had to be happening for awhile… as you can also see drips on the wall! And the amount of “melting” is kinda crazy… I think this must have been going on for quite some time! And since it was on the top shelf and out of eye-sight… who knew?!

You can actually see where there’s an actual hole all the way RIGHT THRU the bottom of the mug!!!… drip… drip… drip… kinda like Chinese Water Torture during the War!!!

Luckily, the mugs can just be broken up and reclaimed again… IT’S JUST CLAY, right?! And I’ve learned a valuable lesson… no more greenware storage on the top shelf… at least not pushed all the way back… until we find out why water might be dripping from an electrical pipe?! Now THAT doesn’t sound good either, right?!

Categories: pitchers, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

Okay, now that that succulent diversion is completed,
back to the task at hand. Packing up some pottery pieces to ship out today… or maybe tomorrow if I trip upon another tangent today?! No promises.

Categories: flowers, garden, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

While this happy wavy one has been replanted recently in a new stamped & soda-fired flowerpot… just finding more “diversions” from working on the REAL projects I “should be” tackling during this crazy time off!

Categories: pottery, soda-fired, stamped, vases

So you know that skinny little area above your stove? Like that two-inches of “useless” space? Well, I am a firm believer of “more is more”… so I have a tendency to use every space with MORE!!! Gotta love a good collection! Like these little cutie-patooties lined up filling that useless above-stove area in my kitchen!!!

Categories: artists, friends, glaze, My Talented Friends, pottery

So here I am still showing off some of my pottery collection! Here’s another kitchen cabinet with my Steven Hill dinnerware set. Long story… it’s all here on my blog if you just do a quick search for Steven Hill… I never thought I was going to get it… it was a long time coming… but Steven pulled through, and “surprised” me with these beauties!

Great glazes. Great pottery. Great guy!!!
Thanks Steven!

Categories: pottery

And let’s not get crazy… while THOSE mugs might be “for show” as part of my collection… I do have PLENTY of pottery to use everyday!!! Some of my own, and a lot of other friends, former teachers & potters I admire!

Categories: bowls, food, glaze, pottery, stamped

Back from my ride, showered & changed…
time for a little breakfast. Starting with some fresh Vitamin C!!!

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

We’ve gone LIVE!!!
Check-out the “official” Photo Album on Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page to start shopping for that one-of-a-kind, handmade gift for Mom… or yourself… or that special someone!

Categories: pitchers, pottery, soda-fired, stamped, textures, vases

Colorful flashing slips on vases & pitchers!
Sale starts in fifteen minutes only on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook page… you can start shopping as soon as the “official” Facebook Photo Album is published at 10:00am CST.

Categories: art fair, pitchers, pottery, soda-fired, stamped, vases

With Mother’s Day just over two weeks away, I’m pretty sure people are starting to think about what they should buy for Mom! And what could be better than some handmade pottery… how about a vase or pitcher that could hold that bouquet of flowers you SHOULD be giving Mom on her special day!

So this blog post is just a SNEAK PREVIEW of what’s going to go up on sale tomorrow on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook Page at 10:00am CST.

Plan ahead… pick & choose… I’m showing most of them from both sides as the soda-firing process is often very random and has different glaze & flashing effects on all sides! Once the “official” Photo Album of all these pieces is posted on my Facebook page, it will be a “first-come, first-served, grab-it-while-you-can” free for all!!!

Pitcher #1 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #2 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #3 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #4 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #5 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #6 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Pitcher #7 – soda-fired – 5.5″x 6.5″x 6.5″
$85 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

And oh, but wait there’s more…
Traditional vases… without spouts or handles!
Nothing too grand or huge, just a nice medium-sized vase for a bouquet of flowers!… or even a crock for kitchen tools?!

Vase #1 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #2 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #3 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #4 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #5 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #6 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #7 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #8 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #9 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #10 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 5.5″
$55 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #11 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 6.25″
$65 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #12 – soda-fired – 4.5″x 4.5″x 6.25″
$65 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #13 – soda-fired – a little bit larger… 6″x 6″x 7.5″
$75 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Vase #14 – soda-fired – a little bit smaller… 3.5″x 3.5″x 4.5″
$45 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

And then there’s these cuties… from my “Quite White Collection.”
After doing a bunch of soda-firing and colorful cone six firings, I decided to switch it up a bit and try doing the anti-thesis of all that… with pure & plain white! Still thrown & stamped in the same manner… just totally WHITE!!!

Quite White Vase #1 – high-fired porcelain – 3.5″x 3.5″x 4.75″
$45 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

Quite White Vase #2 – high-fired porcelain – 4″x 4″x 5″
$50 includes packing & shipping within contiguous US.

So there we have it… a lot of options…
vases & pitchers that could be the perfect gift for Mom!!!… `

I will be posting the “official” Facebook Photo Album on my pottery page tomorrow at 10:00am CST. The first person to place a comment of “MINE” on any of the photos within that “official” Photo Album will get that piece of pottery. We can work out several different easy-peezy payment methods and I’ll ship it out to you right away. So you’ll have plenty of time to buy a bouquet of flowers for Mom to go with her new pottery.

Okay… who am I kidding
You can do it for yourself too… or even surprise someone else!
I know times are tough… days are difficult… and any little bit of brightness & joy can make all the difference as we all struggle through these trying times!

Thank You.