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

Just a quick sandwich before teaching class tonight. And you know I love a good “holiday.” So I’m celebrating NATIONAL FLUFFERNUTTER DAY!!! A whimsical sandwich on a whimsical plate made by my pottery pal Cory McCrory! My favorite “collaborator” unknowingly collaborating on my tasty celebration!!!

Categories: surface decoration, textures

A little swirly fun with thick white slip on a large platter.
Just some rhythmic tapping with a rubber rub through the slip while the platter is still spinning.

Categories: flowers

A new surprise blooming in the shade on my front porch!
And the beautiful weather continues here in Chicago!!!

Categories: bike, sunrise

Another “splashtastic” sunrise morning. Always trying to “catch the wave” without it catching me!!! I know this is a lot of splashy photos… but this is what I narrowed it down to. Trust me… I started with twice as many!!! HA!!!

Categories: bowls, stamped

Like I said before… I liked all of the “not-so-basic bowls” after my class demo last Tuesday night. But I kinda thought they were missing something?! So I did a little more stamping & detailing on all of the bowls tonight. A lot more texture & stamped details on all of the bowls. I feel better now!

Categories: bike, nature

A beautiful day for a bike ride north along the lafefront, past mansions & scenic vistas… past lighthouses & Ravinia Festival. Through Openlands Lakeshore Preserve & Fort Sheridan. Pedaling north until the “Path Ends” much like a Shel Silverstein book. HA!!! Then a quick lunch at Waukegan Harbor, and then a return trip home.

Only after hanging out at the Waukegan Lighthouse… where you could actually see Chicago way off in the distance!!! Funny I’ve never noticed that before?!

Categories: architecture

Always a beautiful stop on a bike ride headed north… and you know I’m always up for a good photo-op. The B’ahai House of Worship in Wilmette is just a few miles north of me on Sheridan Road. Such amazing details & craftsmanship on every surface. I still think it is one of the coolest architectural buildings in the Chicagoland area… even if it does look a bit like an oversized citrus juicer?!

Categories: bike, sunrise

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was all windy & splashy. Today, not so much. It was much quieter along the lakefront this morning with a bit of a haze over the lake. A nice morning ride… albeit except for the flat tire I got halfway through! ugh.

Categories: bike, sunrise

Plenty of clouds & plenty of pretty. It was another beautiful morning to be outside playing along the lakefront today. And it sure does feel like Fall now… crispy & chilly… I even had to pull out the long sleeves & gloves this morning! Yikes!… too soon, too soon!!!

Categories: bowls, classes, wheelthrowing

By the end of class Tuesday, we had a tableful of bowls… all with some fun alterations & decorations! They’re safely under plastic for a couple days… as I think they “might” just need a little more. Perhaps a bit of stamping??? You know, more is more!!!