Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: bowls, patterns, surface decoration, tools

I took one of my class demo bowls that was covered with white slip & a few banded details… and started carving into it. Love my DiamondCore Tools for clean & crisp carving lines. Going right through the leatherhard white slip & digging into the darker clay body for a nice contrast. The details & pattern will look great after glazing… as the color difference & grooved carving lines work well with the glaze!

Categories: process, production, tools

Cleaning off the bottoms of these stamped cylinders and creating footrings at the same time. Always more enjoyable when I’m using my DiamondCore Trimming Tools for sharp, clean trimming ribbons… and my Giffin Grip to keep everything centered & secured!

Categories: bowls, surface decoration, tools

Spent a little time this afternoon carving some leaf patterns on a small bowl with white slip banding. Always easier with my DiamondCore Carving Tools!

Categories: process, production, tools

Just doing a little trimming working on some of this week’s class demo pieces! Sure, I make them in class, but find I need to finish them up in my studio before the next class so they don’t dry out too fast over the week. So I spent some time tonight trimming a few pots… always more fun with my DiamondCore Trimming Tools!!!

Categories: lidded jars, surface decoration, textures, tools

Boy, these class demo pieces sure seem to dry out fast?!…
even though it was under plastic, this lidded jar demo piece was surprisingly dry when I checked on it. Too dry to stamp!!! So I resorted once again to carving some patterns on the lid with my DiamondCore Tools. Sure they work best on leatherhard clay, but still work great on drier clay too!

Categories: summer camp, tools

Today my Summer Campers switch from wheelthrowing to trimming… and carving, decorating, stamping, adding handles & a lot more to make their pots more special… and thinner! No plain paperweights this week – HA!!!

Categories: summer camp, tools

Another week of Wheelthrowing Summer Camp…
bring on the kids, bring out the sponges!!!

Categories: bowls, surface decoration, textures, tools

Carving through some white slip decoration… playing with my DiamondCore Tools again! Making fun leafy patterns through the widest band of white slip… to create a little color contrast when it’s glazed later.

Categories: mugs, process, production, tools

Spinning fast… trimming bottoms… loving my DiamondCore Tools for smooth trimming! A perfect combination when used with my Giffin Grip to help center & hold the mug down for easier trimming!

Categories: mugs, process, production, tools

I’ve been working on another batch of mugs after the Glenview art fair… thrown, stamped & leatherhard… and getting ready to trim the bottoms this afternoon. Ready to use my trimming tools from DiamondCore Tools for clean & smooth trimmings!