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

Looks like Rosene has her first bloom of the season on her Thanksgiving Cactus… about a week early! Mine is already blooming beautifully right now too! Come to the HOLIDAY HOME SHOW this weekend and you can see my blooms… and perhaps buy a new flower pot for your indoor garden too?! I’m convinced that houseplants prefer handmade pottery flower pots… with drainage holes!!!

Categories: food

This week, to celebrate the end of the Fall session… we may have had another “yellow towel moment” in both of my classes… allegedly. For the record, we were hoping for more pumpkin, and not just the “spice” of pumpkin spice! I mean, we still finished them though…

Categories: kiln firing

Right on schedule…
one last kiln to unload before this weekend’s HOLIDAY HOME SHOW!!!

Categories: bowls, food

Another snowy & chilly day up in Wisconsin… and it looks like Kristy & Matt are staying warm with some homemade potato & leek soup. Just remember, homemade food tastes even better in handmade pottery!!! Just sayin’…

Categories: classes, mugs

This week, my Tuesday night Beginning Wheel class finished their Fall session… and we played a game!!! A little white elephant trading-stealing-sharing kind of game where they each brought in one of their handmade mugs to add to the game… and they went home with someone else’s masterpiece mug! I brought in this stamped & tenmoku glazed mug… and after some “stealing” went home with this red & white beauty by Karin. A great way to finish off this session with a great group of students!!

Categories: bowls, glaze, surface decoration

My carved green bowl fresh out of the kiln…
just in time for this weekend’s HOLIDAY HOME SHOW!!!

Categories: nature, seasons, weather

A bit rainy & slushy today… but not too much accumulation in the City. So does this still count as our first official snowfall of the season???

Categories: soda-fired, stamped, vases

Celebrating TEXTURE TUESDAY with another stamped & soda-fired vase from my most recent firing. Another one making its “big debut” next weekend at my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW!!!

Categories: challenge, classes, holiday, Mom

Many years ago, I bought this cute ceramic snowman for my Mom while on a bike ride. At the time I had just started taking my Beginning Wheel class. Fast forward to now… where I now own this guy after downsizing my Dad’s place…. and teaching pottery classes! My Monday night class was looking for a fun “challenge” project… something holiday… and something fun! So this guy served as the prototype for our challenge. Where they’re all making their own snowman in their own style. Tonight is the last class of our Fall session… so it’s also the big “Snowman Reveal.” I can’t wait to see what they’ve all come up with!!!

Categories: mugs

Celebrating another MUGSHOT MONDAY with a few more mugs! Still setting up for this weekend’s HOLIDAY HOME SHOW… at last count we were already over 120 mugs!!! And I still have more if there’s any extra shelf space???… plus, enough to replenish throughout the weekend. Plenty of mugs for everyone… as they make the perfect holiday gift!!!