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The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers In This Issue ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Welcome to the first issue of the Just Raku newsletter. I hope you find something of interest in each issue. I will try to include articles for both the artist and the art collector. My plan is to publish an issue approximately once a month. I will look forward to your feedback, suggestions, questions, and article ideas. You can send these to me at: mailto:editor@garyrferguson.com. In "While the Smoke Clears" I will include ramblings of any topic or housekeeping issues that I come up with for each issue. Much like now! In "From the Studio" I will give you some insight on my latest forms, work, techniques, and piece availability. I'm sure to include some shameless promotion here as well. In "Tip and Techniques", I will generally include a How-to article on some facet of clay, Raku, shows, or sales. In "Q&A", I will answer a commonly asked question - so ask a question! In "Glazing", I will take one of the glazes published on my website and go into a little detail on the application, firing, and post-firing techniques to produce different results. In "Bookworm", I will review a book that I have gained inspiration from in my own clay work. I will provide a link to easily purchase the reviewed book as well. In "Calendar", I will list all my upcoming shows and exhibits. If you are in the area - come by! Finally, in "Click Away", I will list a couple of interesting clay or Raku oriented sites you many be interested in visiting. Well, that's the plan so lets get "firing!" Gary R. Ferguson ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ After a month or so hiatus, I've gotten back to the clay again. I have a couple shows coming up this fall and I need to get more work done. Sales over the Internet have been way up over the last couple of months, which is good, but has dwindled my inventory. My latest work can be seen at: ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Candle in the Kiln One of the best tips I learned early on was bisque firing and to "candle" the kiln before turning up the heat. When I first starting bisque firing pieces in my electric kiln, every opening was an adventure to discover how many piece actually survived. I would spend hours throwing and trimming, and then wait weeks for the pieces to dry thoroughly (or at least so I thought). I would load and fire the kiln according to the instructions: 2 hours on low, 2 hours on medium, and then high until the kiln shuts off. Following this method I would see crack, splits, or breaks in 25%-30% of my work. It was very disappointing. Then I took a college pottery class and learned from the professor, that he candled his kiln over night to ensure the pieces were thoroughly dry. Candling is basically turning the kiln on the lowest setting possible, leaving the lid slightly open, and firing this way for 8+ hours (I usually do it over night). By firing at this temperature (which is below the boiling point), it helps ensure all the water is driven out of the clay before the "heat" is applied. Since I have started using the candling technique I have lost very, very few pieces to breaks, splits, and cracks. This might be partly due to other factors as well, but I believe the candling is a key factor. So Candle that Kiln! ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Q: What cone do I fire Raku glazes? A: Generally Raku glazes are fired by sight and not purely by cone, because of the speed of the firing. But as a general guideline, most Raku glazes are fired to around ^06. Some glazes are fired a little hotter and some a little cooler. As a rule I use a pyrometer to gauge the temperature. When it gets around 1500F I start visually checking the glaze until it has matured. A glossy glaze at maturity will appear shimmery like water. A matte glaze is a little tougher to tell. It usually helps to include a piece with a gloss glaze as an indicator to determine when to unload the kiln. Sometimes a different effect can be achieved by over-firing a glaze. For example a matte glaze can be made somewhat glossy by over-firing the glaze. ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- Hawaiian Copper Blue The method I use (and it doesn't always work) is as follows: Sometimes I get what I want and sometimes I don't and refire the piece. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Raku Pottery - Robert Piepenburg Sprinkled throughout the book are excellent examples of Raku artwork from a variety of artists. A wide variety of shapes, forms, glazes, and techniques are all detailed and described. There is also a nice collection of glaze recipes along with application methods and testing techniques. There is a section that talks about Raku kilns and burners and some basic information on how to build them. Finally there is an introduction into the firing and post-firing techniques that are used in Raku. Overall it is a very nice introduction to Raku with a very nice gallery of pieces to inspire you to create your own works of art. To order a copy with f r e e shipping click on the following link (if
it is split, cut and paste both pieces into your browser): ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ My full calendar can be seen at: http://www.garyrferguson.com/events.htm The remaining shows for 2003 are as follows: Eagle Holiday Show at the Eagle High School from November 2nd-3rd. Beaux Arts Holiday Sale at the Boise Art Museum from November 6th - 13th. The following is a link to the event. Empty Bowls project 500 Bowls - New Lark Publishing Book ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Just Raku Newsletter Archive Plans to build a Garbage Raku Kiln (much like the one I use) at: Clay Times - The Journal of Ceramic Trends and Techniques. The Gallery
section is always interesting! ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ If you wish to no longer receive this newsletter send a email to
unsubscribe@garyrferguson.com with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. |
