Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: artists, summer camp

Over the course of the week, my Summer Campers also memorized over 50 famous artists & sculptors… first AND last names!!! Sure, we’ve all seen the bronze lions in front of the Art Institute… but who made them??? The Bean? The Statue of Liberty? My campers know them all!!!

So on Friday we did a big game of “Memory” using my famous artist flashcards… 130 cards to match-up with their new art history knowledge all in the guise of a fun game!!!

Categories: summer camp

On Thursday, after a full day of plaster gauze detailing & acrylic painting, my Summer Campers knew immediately what was next… and Thank You kiddos!!!

Categories: sculpture, summer camp

After layers & details of plaster gauze, my Summer Campers were ready to start painting their sculptures. I love when their sculptures start “coming to life” in vivid colors & details… and their laser-focus is always so impressive!

Categories: summer camp

After working with plaster gauze all day in Summer Camp, the floor had a lot of plaster & water drips all over… so here we go again… RULE #3 : “Whatever mess you make, you WILL be cleaning it up.” And they did without complaint. Grab a sponge & start scrubbing!!!

Categories: creativity, sculpture, summer camp

On Wednesday, my Summer Campers switched their focus to their large scale sculptures. We discussed their ideas, the postures, the armatures & how they were going to tackle the project. We constructed most of the armatures out of boxes, wire, cardboard & dowel rods… and then covered the armatures with newspaper & masking tape. The goal was to get them as “identifiable” as possible at this point… so that the layers of plaster gauze to come would solidify everything & give them a surface to add more details & paint later.

Categories: handbuilding, summer camp, terra cotta

This past week at summer camp, I taught a class called “SCULPTURES SMALL TO LARGE.” So we started the week with a fun clay project… constructing thematic terra cotta birdhouses and painting them with colorful glazes. It was a great group of kids… including two that had done the camp before, and came back for another round of Sculpture Camp with ME!!!

Categories: weather

Another beautiful blue sky day as seen from below.

Categories: art fair

We’re just one week away from the GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR. Always a fun art fair with talented local artists. Be sure to mark your calendar… and note the new location at Attea School.

FYI – There will be TWO art fairs in Glenview next weekend. The GLENVIEW SUMMER ART FAIR with many talented artists from the surrounding area.

The other art fair will be at “The Glen” with a conglomerate of artists that travel the country hawking their wares… kinda like Corporate Americameets the art fair! So if you need to make a choice… please choose to SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS. Thank You.

Categories: animals, classes

So look who came to join us again for another week of my Tuesday night Beginning Wheel class! Yep… our little “abandoned-puppy-friend” was back for another week with our student & vet Nick who is caring for this little 5-week old cutie!

Also, my fellow teacher Chelsea had been having a tough week…
so he also supplied some much-needed PUPPY THERAPY!

Categories: bike, sunrise

Another beautiful start to the day… not a lot of clouds on the horizon. But those that made it in time were quite pretty as they took on the morning’s colors. A bit cooler than yesterday… but you could already feel it getting warmer… again!