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

Categories: artists, friends, My Talented Friends, pottery

My friend Donna Sauers posted a very thoughtful post on her Facebook page yesterday about how important art friends are during these trying times. And I have to agree. Being sheltered-in-place alone at home can be very quiet & lonely… but it’s great to be surrounded by a lot of artwork made by your Talented Friends! And we’re all looking forward to the day art fairs may start again, so we can get out to show-off our wares, and finally play with our Talented Friends again face-to-face!

I’ve collected a lot of art… and well as “collected” a lot of Talented Friends over the past few years. It is so great to have talented friends to play with, chat with, collaborate with and to help support & promote each other! So here’s Donna’s original post sharing some of her “collection”… including art by me & my Talented Friend Cory McCrory! Cory makes amazingly whimsical paper clay pieces, and Donna makes beautiful glass beads, jewelry and some new welded-metal-mixed media pieces!!! Check them both out on Facebook… while you’re still sitting on the sofa waiting for that commercial to end!

Categories: bowls, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

You know I love a good spiral…
and I’m kinda fond of stamped patterns…
so here’s another soda-fired & stamped bowl to celebrate TEXTURE TUESDAY!

Categories: art fair, pottery

So it has come to this… yesterday I did my first no-contact pottery delivery! I rode my bike up into Evanston to drop off two mugs for a customer who bought them online. I took all the precautions, wore gloves & my “mask”… we chatted from about 20-feet away… and then I pedaled away! All good, but… I MISS ART FAIRS!!! I miss seeing & interacting with my customers! Some day soon, I hope!

Categories: pottery, process

Things are bubbling over again today… with a fresh roll of bubble wrap, I’m packing up more pottery headed out to new homes! Hoping my pottery will help brighten someone’s dreary quarantined days at home!

Categories: mugs, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

This week’s Mug Sale starts in just two hours on my Instagram page. But here’s a quick sneak peek in the same sequence they will be posted for sale… just in case you want to make a plan, choose in advance, get ready to pounce and prepare to snag the mug you want!!! I will start posting them at 12noon CST and will shoot for one every five minutes. So plan accordingly… when a mug is claimed, it’s gone… and no trading later when more come up!!!

When I post them on Instagram tomorrow, I’ll be sharing photos of each side of the mug so you can see the random variations created by soda-firing, as well as a photo of the mug in my hand for a size comparison.

Each mug will go for $55 which includes packing & shipping within the the contiguous US. So get ready… check out the selection & sequence right here. For the fun of MUG-SHOP MONDAY starts in two hours!!!

MUG #1 –

MUG #2 –

MUG #3 –

MUG #4 –

MUG #5 –

MUG #6 –

MUG #7 –

MUG #8 –

MUG #9 –

MUG #10 –

MUG #11 –

MUG #12 –

MUG #13 –

MUG #14 –

MUG #15 –

MUG #16 –

Categories: mugs, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

Okay, so we’re just two hours away from the kick-off of this week’s MUG-SHOP MONDAY! Remember that I’m switching it up this week… and the sale will only be on my Instagram Feed. I’ll start at 12noon CST by posting photos of each mug and the first person who claims it gets it. Easy-peezy… except, do you pounce on the first one you like?… do you wait to see what the next mug will be?… but then you might miss out… or do you just buy them ALL???

Categories: porcelain, pottery, process, production

Sure, I still have some spoon rests in inventory…
Who knew everyone would be cooking so much at home these days??? All day. Every day. But had I somehow known about all of this COVID-19 craziness in advance & made a plan… I would have started making more spoon rests a lot sooner than tonight!!!

Categories: mugs, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

Just a reminder that today is my first “MUG-SHOP MONDAY” to be posted on Facebook… just one hour away! Yep, I’ll be posting the “official” Photo Album on my Fire When Ready Pottery Facebook at 10:00am CST. The first person to claim a mug by leaving a comment of “MINE” gets it. And when they’re gone, they’re gone!!! These are just a few more “teaser” photos!