The morning after… trimming scraps ready to toss into my reclaim bucket!

Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play |
The morning after… trimming scraps ready to toss into my reclaim bucket!

Spending a little time this evening crushing up some of my dried reclaim scraps… trying to make them as small as possible so that they slake down faster in my reclaim bin. Sure, it takes a little effort.. but reclaimed clay is the best! Because it’s FREE!!!


When the classroom reclaim buckets seem to take on a life of their own!!!

Cuteness in the reclaim buckets…
so many fun things popping up around Lillstreet these days!



One of the “benefits” of being stuck in my studio all day yesterday while firing the soda kiln… is being able to get a lot of side odd projects done. Like turning out my latest batch of reclaimed clay… now sitting on a large plaster bat drying up until it’s good to wedge up and start over with some new “free” clay!!!

As seen on a shelf at Lillstreet… looks like Chuck is conducting some sort of science experiment in his clay bags?! I know it’s just an organic slimy mold growing in the bag… which will be wedged in making the clay more “plastic”… and will be burnt out during the bisque firing. No worries… perhaps a little off-putting… but also a fun little pottery petri dish!


So now that we’re in between class sessions at Lillstreet… looks like our clay monitors have some catching up to do! The class reclaim buckets are overflowing… in the best way possible! I love the precarious balance of that big pile.

You know my Summer Camp kids would never allow this to happen… as pressing the chunks through the metal grid lid is one of their favorite projects!


he first “event” of our Pottery Olympics last night was to have each team cut certain weights of clay off the big block. They had like nine different pieces to cut… but the twist was that they could NOT use a scale!!! They had to do it “logically”… or some tackled it “analytically”… but it was amazing how close they all got to the correct weights!




Which we did double-check with a scale before awarding points for first, second & third places!

Another batch of balls… another batch of Ghouls!!!
Next weekend is ART IN THE BARN… after a long year’s hiatus… so it’s time to introduce a new member into The Ghouls Collection!
Giddy-up Ghouls!!!

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!!!

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Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
Lillstreet Studios ∙ 4401 North Ravenswood, Chicago, Illinois 60640 ∙ 773-307-8664 gary@firewhenreadypottery.com |