Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery
A Chicago potter’s somewhat slanted view of clay & play
Categories: bowls, process, production, stamped, stamps

Spent a little time making some more bowls. They’ve were thrown yesterday and kept under-wraps overnight. So today they were just a little too damp to stamp. But after leaving them set out for a half hour or so, they were good to go. So I did some stamping… because I’m addicted… and because MORE IS MORE!!!

So here they are… before… after… and the stamp that did most of the work!!!

BOWL ONE

BOWL TWO

BOWL THREE

BOWL FOUR

BOWL FIVE

BOWL SIX

BOWL SEVEN

So for now, they’re all back under plastic so they can dry a bit slower. They still need to be trimmed & dried… and then bisque fired… glazed… and fired again! Still a ways to go – but they’re looking pretty good so far!

Categories: mugs, pottery, process, production, stamped, studio

And another batch of mugs done! Well, kinda…
still waiting for some clean-up, detailing & accenting
with colored flashing slips for the soda kiln.

Categories: mugs, process, production

Two done… eighteen more to go!
I always love when my making more mugs lines up with MUGSHOT MONDAY!!!

Categories: mugs, process, production, stamped

Score…. slip… attach… turning stamped cylinders into STAMPED MUGS!!! I’ve got twenty mugs to work my way through this morning. A labor of love as they are my favorite thing to make!!! Mugs, mugs & more mugs!!!

Categories: mugs, process, production

Enjoying the shadows thrown on my wedging table while I wait for these handles to stiffen up a bit before attaching. They’re still a bit too squishy to work with… gotta wait.

Categories: mugs, process, production

Pulled handles ready to go… and then looped them over onto themselves to help establish the curve right away. I let them stiffen up a bit like this before cutting & attaching them to make new mugs!

Categories: mugs, process, production

Carrot-shaped nuggets ready to start pulling handles. I know most people hate making handles… but I kinda love it. No worries here… if I could make mugs every day I would be one happy potter!

Categories: mugs, process, production

Kicking off MUGSHOT MONDAY by finishing off a new batch of mugs. The cylinders are stamped & trimmed. Now they just need handles. So here we go… cutting clay & starting with carrot-shaped nuggets.

Categories: bowls, process, production

Just finishing up a second batch… racing for the kiln…
prepping & producing & pottery-ing for ART IN THE GARDEN next weekend!!!

Categories: collaborations, porcelain, process, production, stamped

YEAH!!! The lids all fit… as you can now hear me exhale!

Throwing lidded jars in porcelain with lids that fit is not an easy task. A lot of caliper measuring & hoping for the best. My biggest piece of advice?… throw a lot of extra lids. Because inevitably a “few” of them are not going to fit the way you want them too!