Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: Chicago, special events, workout

Today was sunny, hot & steamy… with a side of gusty winds & stormy clouds with a quick deluge of a raining downpour!!! Not quite ideal… but another fun day at the 2021 CHICAGO TRIATHLON!!! Sure my finish time might not have been my best, but we had a great time swimming, biking & running with friends!!! It felt so good to get back to a little slice of “normal” during these crazy times! Luckily, we were all outside with plenty of fresh… err, make that thick & humid air!!!

Categories: process, production, stamped, vases

Just finishing up another batch of stamped oval vases quickly before the Chi Tri tomorrow. Hoping these dry while I’m outside sweating tomorrow so they can make it into my bisque kiln Monday, and my next soda kiln on Friday!!!

Categories: Chicago, production, stamped, studio, vases, workout

With this being the hottest weekend of the summer, I’m tagged & ready for another Chicago Triathlon tomorrow! It’s going to be a sweaty race… as I’m currently in the studio sweating & racing to finish a new batch of oval vases. We’ve had no air conditioning on the second floor of Lillstreet for over a week now!!! Not good during the heat wave hitting Chicago this week! Just trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate…

Categories: collaborations, wheelthrowing

Sometimes it’s all about the spout. I wasn’t so sure about them. But now that they’re all in place I’m kinda diggin’ them. Sure, they still need some clean-up & smoothing, but I like how these are coming together for ART IN THE GARDEN!

Categories: art fair, artists, collaborations, handbuilding

Looks like Cory McCrory has started adding a splash of color to her pieces in her studio! Can’t wait to see how these get finished… and how they’ll work together with my parts of this collaboration project. One of the best parts of ART IN THE GARDEN is the collaborations between a bunch of talented friends! A fun grassroots art fair in Glenview, Illinois… coming soon on September 11th & 12th.

For more info in ART IN THE GARDENhttps://www.grassrootsartfair.com/

Categories: color, flowers

A little sunshine this morning… a bright pop of color… a sunny yellow hibiscus flower for a beautiful Floral Friday! Thanks to one of my neighbors for growing these in their front yard!

Categories: classes, wheelthrowing

In one of my recent wheelthrowing classes, we were focused on “throwing-off-the-hump.” And somehow, these mini trees came along… part of a “demo-on-demand” by my students. We had made larger trees a week before… so it was only a matter of time until we went a bit smaller. I’m thinking I might need to make more?!

Categories: art fair, artists

Colorful & whimsical… some original paintings by Mary Foster coming soon to an art fair near you! Quite possibly… allegedly… maybe part of a collaboration project for ART IN THE GARDEN!!! Mark your calendars now… September 11th & 12th in Glenview.

For more about Mary’s artwork… https://www.maryfosterstudios.com/

Categories: summer camp

Lots of kids, lots of cleaning…
Summer Camp Rule #3 is still working well…
“Whatever mess you make, you will be cleaning up.”

And the cuteness factor continues…. thank you Erik!!!

Categories: clay, summer camp

So it’s another week of Wheelthrowing Summer Camp… and another week of “covered” CUTENESS!!! I mean, really… pretty darn cute even with hands covered with a gloppy-goopey mess & half of her face covered with her yellow mask!!!