Yesterday my adventure took me out to Illinois Beach State Park… about an hour north of Chicago, just a smidge south of the Wisconsin border. I enjoyed the fresh snow, the blue skies & just playing out in nature. It was so weird to practically have the entire state park to myself?! I think I saw less than a dozen people all day long!

So I had free run of the place to enjoy the magic & majesty of it all… no random people in my photos! And along with the freezing temperatures came some amazing ice sculptures… windblown & gravity-defying. So much fun to experience these magical moments all around. Such a great day. Such a wonderful adventure.

So we finally go some snow in Chicago on Saturday night!!! Happy New Year to us all. Not nearly as much snow as predicted, and it was followed-up with beautiful blue skies the next day. So yesterday I put on the hiking boots and went outside to play in the snow! So much more fun than curling up on the sofa… which it seems like we’ve all been doing a little too much of these past few gray & gloomy days!

So excited to see that the new cast of the next GREAT POTTERY THROWDOWN has been announced… as the new season begins airing tonight in the UK. Unfortunately, we need to wait for awhile to see it here in the US.

Can’t wait that long?… there are still a few spots open in my upcoming pottery class at Lillstreet Art Center… THE GREAT LILLSTREET THROWDOWN. This will be “Season Four” for our own version of challenges, contests & projects! If you’re in the Chicago area, sign-up soon to be part of the fun starting on Thursday, January 13th!

Click here for more information & registration!

VERY EXCITING!!!
Except I don’t have Channel 4…
and I’m not in the United Kingdom…
so I don’t get to watch tonight!!!

We Americans need to wait for it to come “across the pond”
for us to watch on HBO Max… soon I hope?!

Appears that Diane is still enjoying her new handmade dinnerware… and celebrating the New Year with a great brunch spread. The fun of the holidays continues… and it looks like Diane is really loving the surprise pottery Christmas Gift she got from her husband Jim!!!

Looks like Kristy is kicking off the New Year with a yummy bundt cake… lemon & blueberry!!! Of course it doesn’t hurt any to put a homemade cake on a handmade platter!!! A beautiful way to kick-off the New Year!

And here’s a fun New Year’s Resolution for YOU… when you use my pottery at home, be sure to send me a picture so I can share it with everyone here!… gary@firewhenreadypottery.com

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year… and huge thanks to everyone who has stuck it out during another tough year! Thanks for following me & my pottery adventures throughout the year. Thanks for supporting artists. Thanks for supporting small businesses. Thanks for all of your comments & kind words. Here’s to a better New Year… with less pandemic & more pottery for everyone!!!

Hope everyone is celebrating the end of 2021…
another mishigas of a year with so many highs & lows.
Looking forward to a better 2022.

So go out there and celebrate the New Year…
even if “out there” is your own back porch!!!
Make friends, make resolutions, make memories…
but also be thoughtful, be kind & BE SAFE.

A few weeks before Christmas, I was contacted by the boyfriend of a good customer-friend of mine. I’ve known Allison for several years… and now her boyfriend Terry had a Christmas “plan” for Allison. He decided he wanted me to make a “custom” mug just for Allison… something… err, ANYTHING with moon & starts on it. Since his request was a little to close to Christmas, I knew I didn’t have time for a good soda-fired mug. So I had to go another route!

I decided to go for a little more whimsical approach… with some fun textured stars, colorful underglazes & a moon that rattles!!!

After it dried, I had to bisque fire it and give it a coat of glaze. In the effort of time, and my “control” over the firing schedule, I decided to go for a clear cone 6 glaze. It gave the mug a nice shine, and helped “pop” the colors!

So then Christmas came… and Allison received her surprised commission mugs! Oh yes… plural… TWO MUGS as Terry came to my studio to make one of his own for Allison too! She seems like she was totally diggin’ the “moon & starts” vibe of her gifts!

The mug that Terry made started with a wheelthrown cylinder I pre-made for him, and trimmed the bottom. He handbuilt the accents & details… with lettering that says STAR SHINE!!! After he finished his piece, I had to bisque fire it, and glaze it to his glaze choices & specifications.

Little did Terry know that Allison had pre-purchased a special mug for Terry’s Christmas Gift as well!!! She had come to my Holiday Home Shows and picked out one of my soda-fired mugs with pointy spikes on them… little tetrahedron stamps to give it a fun detail.

Looks like Allison & Terry’s mugs already have a special place of honor… joining the others on custom shelving unit for their combined Mug Collection!

So exciting to be part of a quickly-blossoming Mug Collection!!! Surrounded by some textured & colored cuties by my friend Cory McCrory… and a few I don’t recognize?!