Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play |
For the final challenge of my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN class, my students were tasked with making a teapot with matching cups & saucers. They have also learned that I love a good challenge… so I’m now making the same.
But you know I can’t make just ONE… so I’m doing FIVE!!!
All assembled and freshly slip painted with colored flashing slips for the soda kiln.
TEAPOT SET A
TEAPOT SET B
TEAPOT SET C
TEAPOT SET D
TEAPOT SET E
So we’re now in the final week of classes for this session. Which means my LILLSTREET THROWDOWN students are working frantically on their final challenge… okay, maybe a “double” challenge?! A week and a half ago in class they got the assignment of a teapot for the last class. So they all started out making their best renditions… although several of them had never made a teapot before!
Then last week in class I surprised them with one last twist of a challenge. Now that they have a teapot started… now they need to make two cups & saucers to go along with that teapot! All to be “finished” greenware by this Thursday’s last class. SURPRISE!!!
And of course, I too was challenged to make a teapot along with them… so I am! You know I love a good challenge. So I’m working on my teapots…. yes, plural… you know I can’t do just ONE of anything!!!
Attaching handles to freshly stamped mugs.
I always attach the top first, and then “play with” the bottom attachment
to get the size & proportion right… like this one that’s still a bit too big!
With Spring pop out all around us, I figured I better start cranking out some more flower pots for my first few art fairs! Throwns & stamped… still need to be trimmed, clip painted and have drainage holes drilled through the bottom.
Oh yeah, and I still need to make their drip plates too!
Stamped, trimmed and now painting a layer of colored slip accents on these cuties…
little flower pots for my Spring art fairs!
Fresh out of the soda kiln just in time for Mugshot Monday.
Lots of colors & flashing effects on this little one!
And now they’re even starting to look a bit like ornaments… as I just did some stamping & trimmed off of the “stump.” Next I need to handbuild caps & rings to hang them from!!!
These little cuties got even cuter (if that’s even possible)
with mini stamps & tiny accents of colored slip!
Time to do a bit of refinement on the bottoms of these bowls…
trimming a clean foortring setting the stage for some holes soon to come!
Time to do a bit of detailing on the latest batch of bowls. They’ve set-up a bit and are now a “wet-leatherhard” stage. Not quite dry enough for trimming, but stiff enough to hold it’s shape during the stamping process. Gauging the right wetness is kind of mportant when you’re going in to for a full day of stamping!!!
Bowl #1 –
Bowl #2 –
Bowl #3 –
Bowl #4 –
Bowl #5 –
Bowl #6 –
Bowl #7 –
Bowl #8 –
Bowl #9 –
Bowl #10 –
Bowl #11 –
Bowl #12 –
And for now these bowls are stamped and back under plastic for the night.
But then coming soon… power tools to make them berry bowls!!!
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Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
Lillstreet Studios ∙ 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois 60640 ∙ 773-307-8664 gary@firewhenreadypottery.com |