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

Time to get some glaze going… luckily, I’m getting ready for a soda kiln firing, so it’s more about liner glazes, inlays & accents… and not fully glazing things. So it “might” go a little quicker?… but everything needs to be wadded too, so maybe not so much?!

Categories: kiln firing, process, production

When you’re in the final “mad-dash” preparing for this weekend’s soda kiln… you need that last bit of bisque… and you couldn’t quite fit it all in one kiln?!!! Okay, so maybe that “one last bit” was bigger than I expected… did I make to much?! Time to get to glazing… and we’ll find out!!!

Categories: production, stamped, stamps, textures

Celebrating another TEXTURE TUESDAY with some more stamping in the studio. Handmade clay stamps pressed into the clay over & over & over again to create a fun texture on some new vases!

Categories: kiln firing, process, production

Just loading a last-minute bisque kiln…just under the wire… as I will soon have a LOT Of glazing & wadding to do if I”m still planning on loading the soda kiln on Friday night. Maybe I can focus on getting my taxes finished while this kiln fires & cools??? Fingers crossed… ugh.

Layer One –

Layer Two –

Layer Three –

Layer Four –

Categories: mugs, process, production, stamped, surface decoration, textures

Just finished adding handles to my new batch of “hybrid mugs”… just in time to teach class tonight. Going to try to get these to dry & pack ’em into a bisque kiln quick… gotta get my glaze game going before I load for this weekend’s soda kiln firing.

But I also gotta get my taxes done… when?… not so sure… ugh!

Categories: process, production, tools

A perfect spiral while trimming with a perfect tool!

Trimming fun with DiamondCore Tools!

Categories: handbuilding, mugs, process, production, stamped, textures, wheelthrowing

Doing some trimming on my latest batch of hybrid mugs… making the “wheelthrown” part look even more like a nicely trimmed wheelthrown mug.

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE trimming?! It makes such a difference…

Categories: handbuilding, mugs, process, production, stamped, textures

Checking my calendar… and hoping I can squeeze in just one last batch of hybrid mugs… combo wheelthrown & handbuilt mugs. They’re kind of assembled… but still need to be trimmed & handled…dried “kinda” fast… and bisque-fired so I still have time to glaze & wad them for next weekend’s soda kiln. It’s hard to get this studio stuff done when my “fingers are crossed”!!!

Categories: pottery, production, stamped, vases

With my soda kiln firing scheduled for next weekend, I’m in the final throws of studio production. Making enough to fill the kiln… and replenishing my inventory for the upcoming art fair season! Just another batch of wall pocket vases stamped, slipped & drying!

Categories: mugs, process, production, stamped

Got ’em done… all handles attached for another batch of mugs! You know they’re my favorite thing to make… kind of my default. If I don’t know what to make… I just make MORE MUGS!!!