Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: bike, flowers, nature

What a beautiful day… blue skies & the feeling of “freedom” all day on my bike! At least until you get to this sign… that makes me laugh EVERY time!!! Yes, the bike trail LITERALLY stops right there!!! Dead end. No more cement. Done. But if you know how to navigate around it, you can easily make it all the way to Waukegan in time for lunch & ice cream! Of course, after several stops along the way… especially for all of the Fall wildflowers along the north shore & Openlands Lakeshore Preserve just south of Fort Sheridan! Enjoy… I know I sure did.

Categories: bowls, seasons, stamped

Hard to believe it’s already October! While I want Summer to last forever… I actually LOVE Fall too. And I’m ready to kick-off October with a big bowl of gourds on the table. Thanks to the folks at ART IN THE BARN for selling off their seasonal decorations at the end of the art fair. I came home with a couple bags of pumpkins & gourds! Although we all know that in a side-by-side contest… GOURDS are so much cooler!!!

Categories: bike, sunrise

Second verse, same as the first… another day just like yesterday! Not a cloud in the sky (almost) and very few people out along the lake. Just a couple bikers… and a few runners possibly still training for next weekend’s marathon? Been there, done that… glad I’m not this year! I’d rather be pedaling…

Categories: Chicago

We had beautiful blue skies today… warm temps & not a cloud in the sky! Just a little hazy day lingering downtown. I kept trying to stay focused to get some work done… but instead, my bike won out again! That’s why I’m in the studio tonight!!!

Categories: platters, stamped, stamps, surface decoration, textures

And there it is… after “just a few” stampings! I’m always enamored by how the repetition of just one handmade stamp can transform a smooth platter into a crazy cool textured pattern. Each stamped pressed in one by one… by one… by one…

Categories: platters, process, production, stamped, stamps, surface decoration

Here we go… the first stamp is always the toughest. Once you press that first one in, you’ve kinda committed to doing it all. And it’s difficult to stamp with my fingers crossed! HA!!!

Categories: platters, process, production, stamps

Another night in the studio… tackling a class demo platter. Sure, I could leave it smooth & plain, but what fun is that? So instead… time to pick “the right” stamp!!!

Categories: bowls, food, stamped

Looks like Rosene is enjoying a crisp & juicy summer salad on the this warm & summery Saturday! Looks yummy in that green stamped bowl! Thanks for sharing!

Categories: creativity

A lakefront morning chuckle!

Categories: bike, sunrise

Not a cloud in the sky… and surprisingly few people out this morning. It was a beautiful ride… kinda like I had the whole lakefront to myself?! I’m guessing that with the beautiful forecast for today, more people will be outside playing this afternoon in the summer temps! I know I will be…