Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: platters, stamped, stamps, surface decoration, textures

Just stamping another large dinner plate… all with one handmade clay stamp!

Categories: flower pots, process, stamped, terra cotta

Mental note to self… during an early-morning trimming session, don’t leave a stamped pot “unattended “ on the wheel. Because you might accidentally step on the pedal while you’re sitting down. And then bad things might happen.

Oh well, it’s just clay! 🤣

Categories: stamped, vases

Just doing a little stamping here on some little oval vases!
All with my own handmade stamps pressed in one by one… by one… by one…

Categories: bowls, classes, stamped, stamps, surface decoration, textures

This week in my SURFACE DECORATION class, we tackled stamping & sprigging. I showed them the basics of how I approach a pot, how try emphasize the shape & geometry of the pot with my stamps… and the most important part… how to stamp! Sure, not rocket-science, but there are a few tricks!!! I did my demos and then set them loose… with their own stamps they had made the week before, as well as some of my collection. Many of them had made their “homework” pieces to work on, but I was glad I had a made a bunch too so they had more to “play” with! I tried to emphasize how stamping can become addictive… and they heard the mantra more than once…

MORE IS MORE!!!

Categories: flowers, soda-fired, stamped, vases

It’s another Floral Friday… this time with an oval vase full of orange tulips gracefully cascading to the side. I love how oval vases allow the flowers to spread more side-to-side… and not always so vertical like in normal vases. A little stamping… a little soda-firing… and a little soda flashing on “raw” unglazed B-Clay!!!

Categories: mugs, soda-fired, stamped

Good thing there are “always” more where that come from!
Plenty of mugs for another MUGSHOT MONDAY…
and a LOT happier than Matthew’s broken one!!!

Categories: flowers, soda-fired, stamped, vases

A true harbinger of Spring… a beautiful vase full of orange tulips for another Floral Friday!
Two different varieties of orange tulips to compliment my stamped & soda-fired vase.

Categories: glaze, platters, stamped, textures

Another large stamped platter fresh from the kiln. Loving how this glaze pools & puddles in all the right places… totally accentuating all of the stamped textures along the way!

Categories: stamped, textures

Gray morning. Gray clay.
Another batch of “gray-for-now” textured nuggets!!!

Categories: process, production, stamped

Time for some stamping… giving the spoon rests some decorative edges.
Gotta make those sloppy spoons look good while you’re cooking, right?!