Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: art fair, mugs, soda-fired, stamped

As we’re quickly slipping towards Christmas, I figure there are plenty of last-minute shoppers out there… and everyone on your gift list can use a new handmade mug, right?! So I’ve been pulling together a LOT of my mugs for a quick PROCRASTINATOR’S POP-UP SALE this Thursday in my studio! Shop small. Shop handmade.

Thursday, December 23 from 10:00am-7:00pm.
Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago
Studio 205W on the second floor.

Categories: glaze, platters, stamped

Still a good spiral, with a “few” less stamps… but that glaze running situation is kinda perfect! A little more “simple” than the fully-stamped platters. Yet still perfect for the holidays!

Categories: platters, stamped, textures

Just a little more stamping going on! This class demo platter has been under wraps for awhile… sprayed it a couple times… and finally did a little stamping & texturing. It’s always amazing to me to see what just ONE stamp can do to plain platter!!!

Categories: classes, glaze, pottery, stamped

Last night I helped one of my students load her very FIRST KILN!

Christine has been testing every underglaze & clear glaze in class… and has been wanting to test the commercial celadons in cone six. So she saved some of her stamped work from class, spray-glazed them up with commercial glazes… and soon enough we should have some beautiful pots to show off! Can’t wait to see your results Christine!!!

Categories: platters, stamped, textures

Another pretty green platter fresh out of the kiln. A beautiful green glaze that highlights the stamped patterns & textures, as well as the concentric circles in the center… an ever-so-slight diversion from my typical spiral-addiction!!!

Categories: bowls, color, stamped, textures

You gotta love it when the sun comes streaming through your window catching a Christmas crystal and making mini-rainbows appear in all the right places!

Categories: art fair, mugs, soda-fired, stamped

You know MUGS are my favorite thing to make.
And I’ve made more than “a few”!!!

So I’m restocking the shelves and will again have more than a HUNDRED handmade stamped mugs ready for this weekend’s MUD & METAL Holiday Home Show!

Categories: friends, pottery, soda-fired, stamped

Not the best photo… but FUNNY nonetheless!

My friend Carla was walking through her neighborhood and saw one of my pots “out in the wild.” And she thought she needed to “capture” it and send it my way! So of course, I had to share… scratches, glares, reflections and all.

Categories: handbuilding, soda-fired, stamped

Hard to believe it’s the last day of November… and therefore time for another handmade chain for the “Chain Of The Month Challenge.” So here’s November’s entry… fresh out of the soda kiln. Fired in a “medium” soda area so that the links wouldn’t fuse together… and yet still get enough soda exposure for some fun flashing effects! Number eleven… can’t believe we just have one more to finish off the year?!

#2021chainchallenge
#handmadechain
#chainlinks2021

Categories: friends, mugs, stamped

I just love when my friends & customers share their pottery being used at home. Seeing how my pottery is becoming part of their everyday rituals excites me.

“Enjoying my first cup of coffee in my newest mug from Fire When Ready Pottery” – Kristen