I’m headed up to Minnesota for a fun weekend with friends, family and a LOT of pottery!!! It’s the annual St. Croix River Valley Pottery Tour. Seven studio locations with 51 incredible potters… with TONS of pots for me to see, fondle, covet and possibly add to my collection?! This could be dangerous $$$ ?!

It’s been a crazy busy week… glazing, wadding, loading, firing, cooling, Dover, flying home yesterday… and teaching class last night!!! Tonight I’ll be scraping shelves, cleaning the kiln & sweeping up. Here’s a couple quick shots of my recent soda kiln. More photos & stories to come… but right now, I’ve got to get my act together before I head out on the road!!!

Time to make more oval casseroles!!! So I started by throwing the side walls on the wheel. I let them sit-up so that they’re not squishy & sticky.

Once they get to a good “wet” leatherhardness, I carefully wire them off the bats, and curve them into the oval shapes I like. Then I go around and stamp the patterns… one stamp at a time!!! Then I wrapped them up and let them stiffen up even more.

When I came back the next day, I made some nice slabs of clay and attached them to the thrown oval sides. A lot of scoring & slipping, a little paddling to make a tight connection, and a lot of good smoothing & blending to make it appear as though it was all one piece.

I also added handles and then set them aside… trying to keep them out of my way. It’s getting more than a little crowded in my studio these days!. “Real estate” and shelving are getting very important.

Once I had them all constructed & handled, I did a little bit of slip decorating before I set them off to dry. I’m always concerned with warping as these larger, handbuilt pieces start to dry. So I’ve placed them on elevated plastic grids with a sheet of paper on between. My thought is that the paper will help draw the moisture out, and the elevated grid will allow air circulation around all sides of the pots.

Once these are dry, they’re going to go into the bisque kiln.
Okay, who am I fooling… I need these to be dry FAST so they can get into Wednesday night’s kiln loading. Let’s hope they dry quick… and flat… and crack-free!!!

I just posted my SECOND pottery video on YouTube!!! Whoo-hoo!!!
And let me just say for the record, this one went a LOT faster in iMovie… and I remembered to shoot the footage in landscape mode so it fills the screen this time!

Click here for the YouTube video : Bowl Stamping by Gary Jackson.

Today I continued working on my latest batch of flower pots. I trimmed all of the bottoms on the flower pots… AND threw all of the drip plates to go with them! And again, by the time I finished throwing the last one, the first ones were ready for fluting, stamping & detailing. I love when a plan comes together.

If all goes well, I hope to finish up the flower pots by drilling drainage holes and then letting them dry. As for these drip plates, they all need to be trimmed with a good “deep” foot. When this batch is done, I’m hoping to make another batch… a little shorter & wider! Similar, yet different. Might be cute as a twosome of flower pots?!!!

I think it might have been the hint of Spring yesterday that “inspired” me to make flower pots. So I spent the day in the studio throwing tall flower pots. I decided to make them in two pieces, instead of the attached water drip plate version. Today I focused on the flower pots… the drip plates will be another day.

It was an extra productive day today… as I not only threw all of the pots, but I also had the time to stamped them all as well. It was great how quickly they were drying. When I finished throwing the last one, the first ones were getting stiff along the top edge – perfect for stamping. Talk about a pottery assemble line!!!

Twelve Tumblers. Made of Mud. Not that I had to explain…

I met a coworker of my sister a few years back.
They’re both teachers at the same school.
He was a novice potter and became enchanted by my pottery.
He was a fan, and a great friend to my sister.

Unfortunately, he recently passed away from a chronic heart condition. My sister donated a vase from her own “Gary Collection” flowers to be presented at the memorial service. She knew that he would be looking down admiring, and his family will be able to keep the vase as a keepsake for years to come. Such a sincere, loving & thoughtful memento.

A beautiful friendship… A beautiful thought… A beautiful life.

So I’ve posted about my Mom’s handmade pottery aprons before…
but then I must admit that I got distracted, overwhelmed & slid right into holiday frenzy mode! I know some people expressed interest in them then… so I’m posting them again! This time I am not so busy… I promise to follow through this time!!!

It was a bit reassuring to see that there weren’t really any good pottery aprons at the NCECA Expo. Not that we’ve “invented’ the apron or anything… but I do think we’ve designed a pretty sweet apron. It “works” in all the right places! Many of the potters at Lillstreet are already rockin’ a durable “Mom original” apron.

Here are some quick details about the aprons…
*  durable & washable heavy broadcloth fabric
*  lower section splits into two panels to cover each leg as you sit at the wheel.
*  patch pockets on the back of each hip.
*  straps actually go over the shoulders to avoid neck strain & fatigue.
*  three buttoned height adjustments.
*  three buttoned width adjustments.
*  “one size fits all”… for the most part.

Here is my friend & potter Greg Schultz throwing a large pot on the wheel…
and keeping his clothing clean all at the same time!

The following shows the current apron inventory. I have them for sale in my studio at Lillstreet. If you are interested in purchasing an apron – please send me a quick e-mail to “secure” your choice. They’re $50 each which includes shipping & handling (within the contiguous US States)… and they’re first come, first serve! Don’t miss out.

APRON A –
From the “Eclectic Collection”, a patchwork mix of gold-brown-earthtone
geometric patterns & textures. SOLD to Pam in Wisconsin!

APRON B –
From the “Eclectic Collection”, a striped patchwork with assorted pattern accents.
SOLD to Nikki in Illinois!

APRON C –
Navy blue with a small pattern of green, red & light blue across the apron.

APRON D –
A blue “denim” background with some printed patterns in yellows, reds & greens.
SOLD to Verna in Montana.

APRON E –
A cool mint green apron with whimsical butterflies flying across the apron.
SOLD to Fiona in Indiana.

APRON G –
A mind-bending pattern of black & white.

APRON H –
A retro-vibe with a musical flair!

Again, just let me know if you would like to purchase an apron.
Send me a quick e-mail to “claim” your apron. My Mom would be thrilled
to sell some more of them… which then means she can make some more!

Who knew that there would be beautiful pottery to purchase at NCECA?!
I expected to see lots of potters, tools & schools. Lots of pottery in gallery displays.
Sure, I probably could have read the NCECA Program a little closer. But I was excited to see so many great artists represented by different galleries… with so many great pots & pieces for us to purchase. And I did. I decided this was a great opportunity to add to my already overflowing “Mug Collection.”

Stacey Stanhope, Vermont
I love the rustic, yet whimsical, sort of woodcut designs. Love the simplicity & humor of the basic mug with a very comfortable handle & incredible illustration.

Karen Newgard, North Carolina
So many of our long bike rides have taken us through rural farmlands. The imagery in Stacey Stanhope’s mug (above) is very familiar… but these red-winged blackbirds made me smile. And reflect upon so many rides where we’ve seen red-wing blackbirds watching us, and occasionally swooping down at us if we got to close to their nests. I really like the simple, slightly crude, sgrafitto technique… with a tiny splash of color in just the right places!

Matt Long, Mississippi
The perfectly thrown, yet loosely altered & undulating shapes of Matt Long have intrigued me for years. My own personal “control issues” just don’t allow me to throw “loosely.” So I’m intrigued by people who can – and can make it look so simple. add some beautiful colors, slip & flashing and you’ve got one stunning mug!

Kip O’Krongly, Minnesota
I first saw Kip’s beautiful work up at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. She wasn’t there, but I loved the pieces in her studio. About a year later, I finally met her in her studio and got two wonderful bicycle plates. So it was just a matter of time before I added one of her bicycle mugs to my collection!!!