Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: art fair, vases

Just a few of the stamped vases that are part of today’s CYBER MONDAY online pottery event! They’re all ready to be packed up, shipped and put under your Christmas tree for that special someone! Just click the link for the full assortment, purchasing details & today’s CYBER MONDAY freebie offers!!! Click here… http://firewhenreadypottery.com/my-online-pottery-store/

Categories: flowers, vases

You know how I love seeing my pottery being used… fresh flowers, pretty vase, nice lighting. But in a true sign of the times, it looks like this stamped vase got totally upstaged!!! Figures.

Thank You 2020!!!

Categories: classes, clay, soda-fired, vases, wheelthrowing

One special piece that came out of my soda kiln firing, was this vase that was a class demo from a couple weeks back. We’ve been playing with some colored clays & marbled wheelthrowing. This piece started with “white” B-clay, brown clay, and a “green” B-clay we made with mason stains. It was an experiment to see how it would turn out in the soda kiln with nothing but the soda atmosphere to “glaze” the exterior. Looks like a great success to me!!! I think we’re onto something…

Categories: process, production, stamped, stamps, vases

Making some mini vases in the studio today…
and of course, mini vases need mini stamps, right?!

Categories: classes, clay, color, vases

And here’s the vase I threw last night as part of my marbled clay class demo… now trimmed & skinned to reveal the marbling better. Enamored by the three color combo, the layers & ripples. We decided in class that maybe this one should be soda-fired with no glaze on the outside just to see how the soda effects alter or enhance the marbled surface! That’s the plan!

Categories: flowers, soda-fired, stamped, textures, vases

Summer may be drawing to an end all too quickly, but there are still plenty of flowers to bring indoors to make it last just a bit longer. A few simple stems in an ikebana vase can make a dramatic splash on your table! And celebrating TEXTURE TUESDAY with these stamped & soda-fired textures!

Categories: pottery, stamped, vases

Looks like another mini vase found a great use at a good home.
So fun to see these cutie-patooties making their way out into the world! If you think you might “need” one or two… I just uploaded a bunch of them into My Online Pottery Store on my blog. Here’s the link… http://firewhenreadypottery.com/my-online-pottery-store/

Categories: flowers, garden, soda-fired, stamped, vases

When the big storm came though a couple days ago, apparently is broke off a bunch of Rosene’s coleus plants. Not to be beaten down, she gathered them up and made a cute little centerpiece for herself! Helps when you have a nice little stamped & soda-fired vase to put them in!!!

Categories: creativity, friends, inspiration, pottery, vases

Who knew that one little piece of pottery could draw out such creative wackiness?! Whether it’s a horn-holder on top of a watermelon?… or a kitten spittle-catcher?… or a zucchini bread holder???

Looks like he might be going a little “covid-quarantine-crazy”… but I LOVE It… and I can’t wait to see what he’ll do with larger pieces of pottery?!!! Bring it on Matthew!!!

Categories: artists, classes, sgraffito, vases

Pre-pandemic we were just finishing up our Great Lillstreet Throwdown class… just a couple days later the world shutdown! So now, several months later, some of my students are just now getting around to glazing their pieces. These are two pieces by Jacob… a sgraffito carved bowl and his Volkswagon VW flower brick!!!

A far cry from Jacob’s penchant for dipping all of his pots in a plain lavender glaze like he did for the first couple years!