A sweet little setting for one of my terra cotta flower pots… planted up & sharing a space with a fun birdhouse. Thanks Karis for sharing your garden space with us!

Celebrating a little FLASHBACK FRIDAY with these wonderful chess pieces made by Mathieu last summer during Chess Camp at Lillstreet Art Center! He came in with a plan & made a wonderful version of the Terra Cotta Warriors. His chess set was all handbuilt with terra cotta in five days! He decided to keep his set unglazed to be more “authentic.” It was my favorite set of chess pieces from last summer!

And for those who don’t know… The TERRA COTTA ARMY was created by China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who began the construction of the army in 246 BC after he (then aged 13) ascended the throne. It was an afterlife army for Emperor Qin. It was believed that objects like statues can be animated in the afterlife. The clay soldiers remained untouched for more than 2000 years, until 1974, when they were unearthed by Chinese farmers. Experts estimate there are more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots, and 670 horses.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Celebrating a day full of costumes & candy… and showing off one of the biggest collections of my Ghouls!!! My friend Keith & Julie recently moved to Ohio… just in time to show-off their Ghouls Collection on their new fireplace mantle! Not quite all of them… as it looks like their missing the Skull, Frankenstein, Mummy & Vampire!

Does anyone out there have MORE Ghouls in their collection?…
Send me a photo if you do!!! – gary@firewhenreadypottery.com

So my “Ghoul” Pirates are coming along nicely… looking even more dashing in color! A few different options for bandanas… and some more details still to be painted like earrings & belt buckles. Some even have swashbuckling swords in their belts! Still on track for the “Big Reveal” of the newest addition to The Ghouls Collection this weekend at ART IN THE BARN in Barrington!

For more information – click http://www.artinthebarn-barrington.com/

So the past couple days I’ve been swarmed by pirates everywhere!!! Working feverishly in my studio to get these little “Ghouls” done in time for ART IN THE BARN this weekend in Barrington. I finally got them all assembled. Cute in terra cotta brown… even cuter in color, but still painting!

So today is NATIONAL “TALK LIKE A PIRATE” DAY!!!… aaarrgh Matey!!!

So what better day to “reveal” the doodle & the first prototype of this year’s new addition to The Ghouls Collection?! Sure, he’s cute now… but wait until he’s all painted in colors!!! They’ll be “sailing in” to “plunder” ART IN THE BARN this weekend!!!

The first of many “details” added to my new “Ghoul”… and many more pieces & parts added throughout a full day in the studio. A lot of scoring & slipping… but it’s always good to have a plan. I struggle each year to finalize my “Ghoul Plan”… but once I have a sketchy doodle on my work table that I like… I’m all in!

Moving right along… forty faces done… next up?… character details! The newest addition to The Ghouls Collection is well under way… gotta have them all done by next weekend! Yikes!!! The “big reveal” happens at ART IN THE BARN in Barrington!

Okay, that’s a good start! Gotta stay focused if I’m going to have these done in time for ART IN THE BARN! I finished throwing them all tonight… now I just have to “ghoul-itize” all forty of them!

Here we go… time for some terra cotta wheelthrowing!!!
Slimy, messy, dirty fun!!!