Some of my favorite surfaces are the “plain” stamped pieces! Not a ton of bright colors… maybe just a few little pops here & there. It’s more about the soda-firing process creating the surface. But for me it all starts with the STAMPING!!!

And don’t forget… these “teasers” are NOW AVAILABLE in my brand new ETSY Shop! – www.etsy.com/shop/FireWhenReadyPottery

Don’t forget that I will be doing a ZOOM demo this evening at 8:00pm CST live from my studio! You just need to pre-register for the free demos on the Pottery Tour website to get the ZOOM link! – www.northernilpotterytour.com

Tomorrow is the big kick-off of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR! Check-out the website for information, artist links & to register for FREE POTTERY DEMOS!!!

We have twenty-one potters on The Tour, many of which will be doing free demos. I will be in my studio tomorrow night doing a demo on how I uses handmade stamps to add texture to my pottery. If you would like to join me in my studio, you just need to register online to get the ZOOM link for all of the demos… plus, you’ll also be registered in a drawing for some free pottery by our Tour Hosts!!!

GARY JACKSON : STAMPED POTTERY DEMO
FRIDAY, JUNE 18th, 2021 @ 8:00pm CSTMore info at www.northernilpotterytour.com

Some more stamped surface decoration for this weekend’s NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR!

Wanna see how I do it…
Well, tomorrow night I will be doing a ZOOM demo live from my studio at 8:00pm! You just need to register for free on the Pottery Tour website to get the ZOOM link. And if you do, you’ll have access to all of the free artist demos… and have a chance to win a free piece by one of the tour host artists!

Check out the list of free demos on the website… www.northernilpotterytour.com

So I finally got around to starting to post pieces on my new ETSY page… or so I thought?! For some reason the whole site is pretty user-friendly… until you get one of these big red error boxes!!! Nothing to click. Nothing to edit. No drop-down menus??? I couldn’t get past this!!! Ugh. It’s never easy.

I even asked some of the other potters on the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR for advice… lots of suggestions, and nothing worked. I called my friend Nancy and she tackled it for over an hour… even trying it on her computer… but to no avail. I even texted both of the organizers of the pottery tour… more for updates & moral support.

Jon called me right back to walk me through it if he could… and lo & behold… it seems to now be miraculously working. He didn’t even have to do anything… it just showed up… and it was working?! I’ve got options. I’ve got shipping profiles. I’ve got my first six pieces “posted” in draft mode… and all seems to be going well.

Although it’s kinda tough to type the info in while my fingers are still crossed.

So the process has finally begun…
Picking out the pieces that will make it into the inventory for my very first ETSY SHOP launch!!! Yes, it’s true… I’m finally putting together an ETSY page just in time for the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR! The tour kicks-off next Friday morning, so I’ve got just less than a week to get my act together… which is tough as my bike is already calling my name to go play outside today!

There’s currently nothing in my ETSY SHOP…
but here’s the link for when it goes live Friday at 8:00am – https://www.etsy.com/shop/FireWhenReadyPottery

And then be sure to check-out the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR website for updates, demo schedules & more!!! www.northernilpotterytour

Front stack loaded… two shelves deep with a lot more pots. Quite a few mugs. You know they’re my favorite thing to make! I love loading the soda kiln… pot by pot, shelf by shelf until it’s full.

Now time to brick up the door… ugh.

Back stack packed & loaded… lots of pots already in the soda kiln.
And that’s just the back third of it!!!

Well, my studio cart is all glazed, wadded & full…

…with masking tape “seat belts” in place for the arduous journey downstairs via the rickety old freight elevator! Always hoping for no jumpers or speed bumps!!!

Back to glazing… as I’m nearing the end. Lidded jars glazed… inside the jar & inside the stamps! Next up… soda-resistant wadding on the bottoms & lids.

You’re the “Master of Water-Etching”… and I’m sure my students loved your demo! You went above & beyond with that splash of color… but I knew you would. Thanks for being the best sub teacher ever for my SURFACE DECORATIONS class last Thursday!