Tomorrow is the big kick-off of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS POTTERY TOUR! Check-out the website for information, artist links & to register for FREE POTTERY DEMOS!!!

We have twenty-one potters on The Tour, many of which will be doing free demos. I will be in my studio tomorrow night doing a demo on how I uses handmade stamps to add texture to my pottery. If you would like to join me in my studio, you just need to register online to get the ZOOM link for all of the demos… plus, you’ll also be registered in a drawing for some free pottery by our Tour Hosts!!!

GARY JACKSON : STAMPED POTTERY DEMO
FRIDAY, JUNE 18th, 2021 @ 8:00pm CSTMore info at www.northernilpotterytour.com

Last week in my Beginning Wheelthrowing class, we threw larger bowls. And then last night, we did a bit of stamping on the same larger bowl demo piece. My students have already made bowls & made their own stamps… now they just need to put it all together!

Today I did a bit of stamping… surprise, surprise… and added a row of textured fun to the oversized flower pot I made in my ADVANCED WHEELTHROWING class last night. Next up… trimming, flashing slip and a water drip tray!

Another platter. Another stamp. And what happens when they meet up in the studio. Sure, it could have stayed plain & smooth… but why?! The stamped texture is so much more fun!!!

Perfect for another Texture Tuesday!!!

Last week in my SURFACE DECORATION TECHNIQUES class, we tackled the traditional Korean technique of sanggam.

SANGGAM : The delicate technique of sanggam involves etching the desired motifs on the dry clay body and filling in the carved space with black and/or white slip, after which the translucent glaze is applied and the vessel fired.

I wanted to pre-prep my demo piece in advance, so I started by stamping a pattern in a platter made with brown stoneware. I used a few of my pre-existing handmade stamps. To be quite honest… this is my first time ever trying this technique, so I wanted to keep it kinda simple. Maybe more like a “mandala” kind of stamped pattern. I tried to keep it pretty clean & organized… with some “deep” stamps to help with the white slip that was still to come!!!

Tonight in my Beginner’s pottery class, we tackled throwing plates again… and then BY POPULAR DEMAND we made some stamps for them to use next week! It was all their idea… really… I was just there to encourage & teach!!! Let the addiction begin…

Just for kicks, and to mix it up from all-plates all-the-time…
I did a quick demo bowl in class that also needed some stamping!

So last night after stamping, my SURFACE DECORATIONS class switched to using sprig molds for their textured decorations. We just pressed clay into the molds, popped them out and then “scored & slipped” them into place! I don’t do a lot of sprig work, so it was kind of fun to watch my demo bowl evolve one layer at a time… a row of sprigs…some stamps… maybe a scalloped edge… some more stamps… and maybe some holes… wait, what?!

I always have trouble knowing when to stop… as MORE IS MORE.
But I do think it’s done – after a bit more cleaning up!

In preparation for last night’s class, I also made a new batch of sprig molds last week for us to use. They’re just patterns carved into porcelain and then bisqued. I figured if we were going to stamp “into” the clay… we could also use sprigs to have the patterns bulge “out of” the clay! I kinda look at sprigs as the opposite of stamps! Textures coming out as opposed to textures pressing in.

After my quick stamping demo, my SURFACE DECORATION students set-off to start stamping their own pieces & the bowls I gave them. So much fun to see them getting their groove on… and adding grooves & textures into the clay! So much fun for all of us… as MORE IS MORE!