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

Okay, back at it… prepping, pricing & packing! Going through a LOT of mugs getting them ready for my first couple art fairs! Schaumburg this weekend… and the Northern Illinois Pottery Tour in just two weeks!!! Gotta stay focused…

Categories: flower pots, process, production

Looks like “someone” has a lot of trimming to do today… flower pots & drip plates here we come!!!

Categories: flower pots, production

So I may have been gone for a quick weekend away… but it’s right back in the studio this morning! With another 10×10 challenge… more than ten pieces before 10:00am! This time it’s more flower pots with water drip trays! Stamping still to come… obviously!!!

Categories: bowls, classes, process, production

Possibly my fastest turn-around ever?!

After returning from Minnesota… I realized I had nothing ready for my SURFACE DECORATION class for a night of glazing fun. So Tuesday early evening, I threw fifteen bowls before teaching my Tuesday night class. That same evening late after class, I trimmed them all… dried them as much as I could overnight on plastic racks… and then they were in a bisque kiln early the very next morning! Done, fired & ready in time for last night’s class… a fun SURPRISE!… with a “free” bowl for each student to experiment on instead of using one of their own “precious” pots!!!

Whew, that was a quick one!

Categories: process, production, surface decoration

Just a few plates with bands of color… ready for some sgraffito fun!!!

Categories: production, wheelthrowing

Another chilly start for an early morning in the studio.
This time tackling small plates for this 10×10 Challenge.
More than ten pieces thrown before 10:00am. Gotta love a productive morning!

Categories: production, wheelthrowing

With dark clouds & some rainy sprinkles this morning, I decided to get to the studio early instead of my morning bike ride! So it was another 10×10 Challenge with more than ten pieces thrown before 10:00am! Gotta love an early start…

Categories: ikebana, production

More than ten discs thrown before 10:00am!
Working towards another batch of ikebana vases for my upcoming art fairs!

Categories: glaze, process, production

My studio cart was filled with glazed & wadded pots… ready for a soda-firing!
We all made it safely downstairs in the rickety freight elevator.
Thanks to some masking tape “seat belts” to keep pots from bouncing off
the shelves during the journey downstairs!

Categories: process, production

Early morning bisque kiln unloaded… and now it looks like “someone” has a lot of glazing & wadding to do in the next couple days! My hope is to finish it all in time to load the soda kiln this Friday night! Fingers crossed…