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

It took two electric kilns to get all of the Ghouls, Pumpkins & Jack-o’-Lanterns in to be fired.
Two kilns at the same time… so good to see these four letters TWICE!!!
A huge sigh of relief… can’t wait to crack them open to see the results!!!
And to pack everything up for ART IN THE BARN… just in the nick of time!!!

Categories: process, production, terra cotta, wheelthrowing

Okay, so I’ve thrown all FORTY base cylinders…
and a few pumpkins while I was at it. Now it’s time to start “Ghoul-ifying” them.
Just adding another Ghoul to the collection next weekend at ART IN THE BARN!!!

Categories: holiday, process, production, studio, terra cotta

With the soda kiln filled & firing, I can finally focus on my next task at hand…
making my annual Halloween Ghouls for next weekend’s ART IN THE BARN.
Sure, I night be running a bit late, but I seem to thrive under a good deadline!
Here we go… gotta get my ghoul on!!!

Categories: kiln firing, pottery, process, production, soda-fired

With ART IN THE BARN next weekend, I tried my best to pack the kiln full of new pots that will be headed out to Barrington!!! Packed tight with a LOT of pots!!! It’s gonna be a long firing to “push” the soda through all of the pots. I’ll be soda-firing all day tomorrow… “plenty of time” before the art fair!

Categories: process, production

Well, my studio cart is finally full. And I’ve found that a full studio cart pretty much equals a full soda kiln! So I’ve transported my filled cart downstairs to the kiln room via the rickety-old freight elevator. I like to put a “safety-belt” of masking tape across the shelves so nothing jumps off during the ride!

Categories: glaze, process, production, stamped, textures

Still glazing, still wiping. I like to fill all of my stamped impressions with a darker glaze (like tenmoku) to help accentuate the textures & patterns when I’m glazing for the soda kiln. So I paint them all in with a layer of glaze, and then wipe away the top surface to reveal the pattern accentuated by the inlaid glaze.

Categories: glaze, mugs, process, production, stamped

Moving into mugs…
still glazing, still wiping, still wadding…

Categories: glaze, process, production, stamped, vases

Working on glazing some stamped vases. Starting with some tenmoku glaze inlay into my stamped impressions. I slather it on, and then wipe off the top layer so it only stays in the indentations. And then I’ve added a liner glaze of tenmoku to tie it all together. Some of these might get some colored glaze accents, while others will go “raw” into the soda kiln. The atmosphere in the kiln will “glaze” the pieces and change the colors of the flashing slips all at the same time!

Save

Categories: glaze, mugs, process, production, studio

So the bisque is LITERALLY piling up in my studio… gotta get my glaze on!
                                                                          … starting with a LOT of mugs!!!

Save

Categories: porcelain, pottery, process, production, stamped, vases

Just finishing up another batch of stamped vases… some porcelain, some stoneware. All complete with colored flashing slip accents… and trying to dry ’em a bit quicker on an elevated plastic grid for better air-flow on all sides! Gotta get these babies into a bisque kiln quick… deadline approaching faster than I’d like…

 

Save