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

Working on my holiday ornaments this afternoon.
Cleaning them up & getting ready to add a metal ring to hang them with! I love how each one of them is so different from the soda-firing… and surprisingly light for a clay ornament! Gotta get them all ready for MY HOLIDAY HOME SHOW which starts next week with socially-distanced appointments.

Click HERE to get more information & appointment times!

Categories: bowls, stamped, wheelthrowing

NEVER ENOUGH. After teaching class this morning, I stuck around in my studio and made a few more bowls! Probably my second favorite thing to make… next to MUGS of course!!!

Categories: mugs, soda-fired, stamped

I love seeing my pottery shown off in other people’s homes!
Like this where Betsy is showing off her wonderful mug collection…
with the addition of her two newest mugs!

Seems like a perfect reason to celebrate with a MUGSHOT MONDAY!
And thank you Betsy for sharing your photos!

Categories: glaze, mugs, process, production, stamped

With the stamps all cleaned off, I just added a liner glaze to the mugs. Since these are going into the soda kiln this weekend, they don’t really need any more glaze on the outside. The mixture of soda ash & soda bicarbonate that I add into the soda kiln towards the end of the firing will “magically” create a kind of glazed finish on all of the mugs! I still need to clean up the edges on the rims… but we’re getting there! Might be done for the night though… as it’s time to head downstairs to teach class!!!

Categories: glaze, mugs, process, production, stamped

By wiping the top surface of the mug, the tenmoku glaze stays only in the indented impressions. Sure, it might be labor-intensive… but I really think it makes a HUGE difference to the stamped details!

Categories: platters, process, production, stamped, studio

Bright & sunny outside… but I’m trying my best to stay focused & productive inside! The sun is streaming in through the studio windows and creating some cool shadows as my platters continue to dry.

Okay… truth be told… MY studio has no windows! But my friend & studio-neighbor Karen has windows and plenty of unused table space! Well, “unused” until I needed to spread out just a bit. Thanks Karen… we miss you!

Categories: platters, process, production, stamped

Did a little stamping again… go figure.
Always fun to see what kind of pattern emerges using just one stamp over & over again! This pattern & this stamp are quickly becoming one of my new favorites!

Categories: ornaments, process, production, stamped

Added some accents & details of colored flashing slips onto my latest batch of holiday ornaments. Hopefully these colors will “pop” after the soda-firing! Which is coming up very quickly… it’s THIS Saturday!!!

Categories: classes, platters, stamped, stamps

After my sgraffito demo Thursday morning, I also did a quick stamping demo for them as well. One stamped impression at a time… one after another… all the way around!

Categories: process, production, stamped, stamps

Doing some more repetitive stamping on a couple larger pieces tonight… row by row, layer by layer… one stamp at a time!