Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: sculpture, summer camp

So my Summer Camp kids are rushing towards the end of their week with me… which means tomorrow is finishing touches on their sculptures!!! Followed by their SCULPTURE GALLERY SHOW at 3:00pm tomorrow afternoon. They’ve worked hard on their pieces all week and are anxious to show-off their talents.

Categories: summer camp

As they get closer to finishing their sculptures, my Summer Campers this week would like to invite you another SCULPTURE GALLERY SHOW! Come see their birdhouses & oversized sculptures this Friday afternoon from 3:00-3:30pm at Lillstreet Art Center!

Categories: summer camp

And as always… Rule #3… if you make the mess, you WILL be cleaning it up! Rosie was a trooper… and cleaned up her mess on the floor, and then just kept on going! Fun with the sponge… wiping the floor & sliding on her knees!

Categories: sculpture, summer camp

Yep, another week of gooey-sloppy fun playing with plaster gauze building our larger sculptures! They start with building an armature structure out of cardboard boxes, wire, chicken wire, newspaper, more wire and a LOT of masking tape. Today they covered the armature with a layer plaster gauze. Tomorrow we add on details & textures… and then start painting to make them really come to life!

Categories: summer camp, terra cotta

So their terra cotta birdhouses are all glazed… and my Summer Campers now need to wait patiently to see how they look when they come out of the kiln on Friday!!!

Categories: summer camp, terra cotta

Yesterday my Summer Campers painted their sculptural birdhouses with colorful glazes. Adding layers of low-fire glazes… adding whimsical colors, textures & details!

Categories: summer camp, terra cotta

This week in Summer Camp, I have an other group of creative kids for another SCULPTURE CAMP. We started the week with a clay project… making some sculptural bird houses! Lots of scoring & slipping… lots of dirty fingers!!!

Categories: sculpture, summer camp

Our SCULPTURE CAMP “Gallery Show” was a huge success! My summer campers were so proud & excited to show-off their sculptural masterpieces to the parents & guests that stopped by. They worked really hard all week… not only making their sculptures & flowerpots… but also memorizing over forty famous artists along the way “thinking” it was just a game!!! Little did they know I masterminding a few fun art history lessons along the way!

JANE – Orange Fox

ABBEY – Her Painting Art Table

BLYTH – A Large Bowl of Macaroni & Cheese with a Cat & Mouse Swimming in it!

MAXINE – Stacked Earth… ala Robert Indiana style!

AMAY – An Elephant Head

AVILEY – Chocolate Labroador

CECELIA – The Panda

SOPHIA – Vintage Movie Camera

Categories: handbuilding, summer camp

For our SCULPTURE CAMP “Gallery Show,” the kids got their sculptural flowerpots back from the kiln… and then we planted each of them with a flowering kalanchoe plant. A bright pop of color to brighten up the Gallery Show at Lillstreet!

Categories: sculpture, summer camp

So my summer camp kids spent a lot of time painting their pieces for SCULPTURE CAMP yesterday & today. They were kind under a deadline as their “Gallery Show Opening” was at 3:00pm this afternoon. We finished painting just before lunch as planned… giving the acrylic paints a chance to dry before sending them home in their Mom & Dad’s clean cars!!!