Today was a fun day at the studio. After a hectic holiday, it was great to get back in the mud again. And today, my parents brought my niece Taylor into the City for a day at the studio. She’s been there a few times before, but this was her first day working on the wheel. I gave her the choice… hand-building or wheel-throwing?! Never afraid to get dirty… she chose to spin fast with wet sloppy clay.

We started out with the basics. A demo of wedging, followed by a step-by-step tutorial on the wheel. With quite a few mentions of how “frustrating” this is going to be. And that my adults take a 10-week class to learn, and she’s got just a few hours. My Mom bowed out of the fun, but Taylor and my Dad stepped up & hopped onto their wheels.

As always, centering is the hardest part to learn. Both were struggling. See?… not so easy.
I was just happy that they were both keeping at it… and Taylor was still smiling!
Already wearing clay in all the cutest places!!!

More centering. More throwing. More goofing up. More splattering.
More wedging. More centering. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Whoops…

A few hours later, Taylor was still focused. Eyes on the prize.
She wouldn’t give up… as my Dad was quickly reaching the end of his adventure.

Still smiling… and still making some sweet pots.

At the end of the day, they both had the “fun” of cleaning up their workspace. They cleaned their wheels, tools, buckets, splash pans AND the wedging tables too!!! It’s all part of the process, right???

And I was left with a couple ware boards of pieces to finish up for them…
and a sheet of instructions as to how she wants her pieces glazed!!!

Another great day at the studio… and hopefully another great memory for Taylor!!!

As a functional potter, it warms my heart to know that my pottery is being enjoyed.
To see that my work is actually being used on a daily basis or for special occasions.
I love hearing how my work has made someone’s day brighter or in some way happier.
Thank you to everyone who shares their photos & stories…
like this one which made MY day today a little brighter!

“Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I had bought a platter from you earlier this year in Schaumburg and we finally inaugurated it over Christmas dinner. So I just wanted you to know that there was a lot of praise for you that night! I’ve attached a few photos of your work… we really love the piece!”    – Ria

…now if she could just share some of that cheesecake too!!!

So if you want to make this humble potter a little happier, please take a second to e-mail me a photo or two. gary@firewhenreadypottery.com. I’d love to see how you’re using my pottery in your everyday world. Thank you!

Tomorrow is my last holiday home show of the season!
Mud & Metal : A Collaborative Holiday Home Show.
After Saturday, the shelves can start coming down… finally…

And I thought I might just taunt you a bit with a few shots of some of my work that will be available tomorrow! Lots of stamping. Lots of textures. Lots of soda-fired flashing. Be sure to stop by for some great holiday shopping… and warm apple cider too!

We’re open from 10:0am-6:00pm on Saturday, December 13th.
Me, my pottery, my tiles and Amy Taylor with her beautiful jewelry.
The perfect chance to knock some names of your holiday shopping list!!!

And as always, we still have “The Tired of Shlepping Sale” going on my back porch. The shelves have been replenished with even more clearance & discounted pricing! First come, first served… they’re priced to move!

Still trying to check some names off your holiday gift list?
Well this Saturday might be the perfect chance!!!

Stop by my place between 10:00am-6:00pm for some great handmade gifts. Plenty of pottery in every room of my condo AND wonderful jewelry by my metalsmith friend Amy Taylor. And heck, while you’re at it… why not get a gift or two for yourself too?!!!

Special Thanks to everyone who made it to my condo this weekend for my Holiday Home Show. I had a wonderful weekend with lots of friends, family, customers, students & more stopping by. It’s my biggest show of the year with pots in every room. And every room is decked out with holiday decorations as well. Like my fireplace mantle… with my collection of handblown glass pieces.

Inside there were pots in every room. My dining room was filled with pots stacked up on the table. The shelves lined the walls and blocked the windows… pretty much making my condo a “store” for the next few weeks!

Around the place there were LOTS of pots to look at. Here’s a quick example of some of the work you missed out on if you didn’t stop by! Teapots, over 100 mugs, wall pocket vases, bottles, vases and so much more!

‘Tis the season… and to celebrate the season, of course I had a LOT of Christmas ornaments. First off, my wheelthrown ornaments with wire ring hangers were scattered in every room.

I also had collections of other ornaments. Plenty to choose from!!!

My living room wall had a selection of ceramic masks, ClayQuilt tile boards and my round, textured wall pillows. I love how they can be grouped in random “constellations” on the wall.

I also have a LOT of tiles. Not only did I have several ClayQuilt tile boards, but customers could also see the wall I tiled in my place. Just under three thousand tiles on the wall… and a few more ornaments hanging in the doorway!

ClayQuilts come in different color palettes. Always fun to see what hues & shades come out of the kiln, and then assembling them to create a unified “picture” with each Quilt.

In addition to tiled ClayQuilts, I also have tiled mirrors.

But one of the biggest “draws” for my regular customers is my annual “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” where I have my seconds, class demos and many pieces that I’m just tired of shlepping around from fair to fair. It makes my back porch a huge destination for the bargain hunters!!!

I also like to show off some of my other artworks & collections around my place. Even though they may not be for sale, it’s fun for people to see where I live, what my place looks like and what inspires me. I think an artists home says so much about them. I love seeing where they live and what they choose to surround themselves with. So this weekend may have been “insightful” for some first timers to my place! Including this textured button tapestry I made for myself a few years back.

As well as many of my collections all over the place. Sure, I could hide them all away… but why?! Instead they just add to the ambiance of my place. Including my collection of sgraffito beauties by Matt Metz.

But there always collections of MY pieces too… like this stack of stamped bowls & plates. All waiting in the kitchen for some snacks. Brownies were baked this morning, and cookies were cooling. These plates were waiting for the onslaught of customers!

And who doesn’t LOVE a huge bowl full of M&M’s???

At the end of their shopping adventure, customers were greeted with a fond farewell from my Santa bear… and another HUGE Thank You to everyone who stopped by. Whether you did your holiday gift shopping, bought a few goodies for yourself, or just sat on the sofa and snacked on cookies… it was great to have you stop by for a visit. You all made my weekend!!!

So?…. did I make you feel bad that you missed the Holiday Home Show this weekend?!

Well, there may be a “good chance” that there will be another opportunity…
maybe?… quite possibly?… a good chance of Saturday, December 13th.
Allegedly… hypothetically… and there may even be a Guest Artist too! I’m just sayin’…

More details to come… but go ahead and mark your calendar now!!!

Now it’s time to clean up, put some snacks away and then pull up some more pottery from the basement and replenish the shelves for tomorrow! Already added a few more things to the “Tired Of Shlepping Sale.”

Day One was great, looking forward to Day Two!!!

Special thanks to everyone who made it out my Holiday Home Show today.
It was a crazy flurry of holiday fun, with LOTS of pots moving everywhere.
It was great fun to see so many of my loyal customers all in one place… MY place!!!

Thanks so much… and I’m looking forward
to doing it all over again tomorrow from 10:00am-6:00pm.

If you need address information, just send me a quick e-mail or Facebook message.

Here’s a quick glance of my new bottles after the soda firing. I’m quite pleased with how they turned out. Still arranging & rearranging them into trios & groupings. Yet I’m sure people will re-arrange them and make their own sets to take home tomorrow. So this might be the last chance to see them all together in one place!!!

I’m pretty excited about these new little cuties. They’re pretty much my “first” foray into porcelain… thanks to Emily for giving me all of her reclaim scraps a few months back.

They looked pretty sweet in the kiln, and even sweeter as I’m prepping them for this weekend’s Holiday Home Show. Love the soda finish on porcelain, and the colorful orange slip variations

First thing on tonight’s project list… prepping & pricing all of the pieces that came out of the soda kiln Monday night. Including “just a few” new mugs! My goal every year is to start the Holiday Home Show with over a hundred mugs. Pretty sure this batch puts me well over that. C’mon by and snatch up a new mug this weekend!!!

Yep, you just counted them, right?! Couldn’t stop yourself.