Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: holiday, terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

It’s a spooky Friday the 13th night… and it looks like there are more ghouls coming out to play! Yep, another line-up of my Halloween characters hanging out on a bookshelf! Not quite the “full” Ghouls Collection… but quite a few nonetheless! They’re all made as a Limited Edition. And when the new “yearly” character is gone, they’re gone for good. But… there “might just be” a little bit of a “Ghouls & Pumpkins Sale” only on my pottery Facebook page next week of those characters still in my inventory!!! More details coming… Pirates & Devils & Scarecrows, oh my.

Categories: holiday, terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

It’s the first chilly Saturday night of October… and the Ghouls are coming out to party!!! Here’s an almost complete collection sparkling with some festive Halloween lights… missing just a couple Ghouls from the party! Thanks for sharing Chris!

Categories: terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

Just in time for ART IN THE BARN… the “big reveal” of this year’s new Ghoul to add to the collection! SCARECROWS!!! Adorably smirky “brainless” scarecrows… each with a hat to finish the look. It’s a Limited Edition of forty and they’re available this weekend at ART IN THE BARN in Barrington, Illinois. On the grounds of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. It’s the original farms of Quaker Oats, so the barn is pretty cool… as well as the corn crib, machine shed, silo, and so much more! And this weekend… it’s all filled & surrounded by talented artists. Come on out this weekend for a fun Fall art fair! And stop by the Lower Barn in booths E4&E6 to say hello!!!

Categories: process, production, terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

All forty Ghouls painted with underglaze… and ready for a quick layer of clear glaze. Pushing the deadline… but you know I work best under a tight deadline!!!

Categories: terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

So here they are… the first real “peek” of this year’s new addition to The Ghouls Collection! Just picture them in color and with a hat… maybe some “straw” colored underglazes?! !!! Keep in mind they will make their real debut at ART IN THE BARN this weekend. A Limited Edition of forty… and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

Categories: terra cotta, textures, The Ghouls Collection

After several hours of painting with underglazes, the textured hats are done & ready for a layer of clear glaze to finish them off. Then into a kiln later… hoping to get them cooled off before I bring them out to Barrington this weekend for ART IN THE BARN.

Categories: terra cotta, textures, The Ghouls Collection

So like I said… I’ve been busy-BUSY!!! I typically make a Limited Edition of forty Ghouls each year for ART IN THE BARN. But why not make my job harder than usual?… and so decide to make a two-parter Ghoul this year?! Yes, my new Ghoul will come with a hat. I mean, who doesn’t like a Ghoul who can accessorize?! Yet at the same time… now I need to make forty hats AND forty Ghouls! That’s EIGHTY pieces instead of the usual forty!!! Yikes! At least I finished assembling the hats over the weekend… which gave me a bit more time to focus on the Ghouls!

Categories: terra cotta, textures, tools

So it’s been a VERY busy past couple days… knowing that I’ve got to get my new Halloween Ghouls done by this weekend! I’ve spent a LOT of time in the studio over the weekend!!! So I’ve been handbuilding… adding parts & pieces to create the characters… and texturing as much as I can! And it’s so much easier with great textured handrollers from MKM Pottery Tools.

Categories: production, terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

Well, here they are… forty terra cotta cylinders waiting to be trimmed… and then GHOUL-ized!!! I have a plan, I have a doodle… but I’ll feel much better after I make the first new Ghoul to make sure it lives up to my vision.

And just to make my job harder, this year I’m going for another two-parter! Yep, twice as many pieces to make… forty of this & forty of that… and I have about a week to get them all done!!! YIKES!!!

Categories: art fair, process, production, terra cotta, The Ghouls Collection

So here they are… the beginnings of this year’s new Ghoul. The first batch… and the fresh batch still on the bats. I’m making another “limited edition” of forty Ghouls for ART IN THE BARN on September 23rd & 24th. Starting to feel the pressure…