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The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers In This Issue ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ This month's topic is resist techniques, so I hope you find some new ways to glaze (or actually not glaze) your work. I appreciated the additional donations that were submitted last month.
This really helps support this newsletter and the website. If would like
to help support this newsletter, please consider a donation of any size
via PayPal at: I will look forward to your feedback, suggestions, questions, and article ideas. You can send these to me at: editor@garyrferguson.com. Gary R. Ferguson ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * From the Studio * The Lark 500 Bowls book has finally been published and I received my copy. This is the first publication that has included my work and I am very excited (since I took the photograph myself as well). If you find the book, my piece is on page 200 (that's easy enough to remember). If you would like to purchase this book, click here: http://tinyurl.com/8jc7 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Tips and Techniques * Cheap Narrow Resist Tape ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Article * Resist-ing the Temptation of Glaze Sometimes with Raku, what you don't glaze is as exciting as what you do glaze and there are many methods of keeping portions of a piece free of glaze. In most cases, unglazed sections of a piece will turn black as smoke is absorbed into the bare clay during the reduction process. This is something to keep in mind that is different than other firing techniques. With other firings, unglazed clay typically remains clay color (white, buff, red, etc.) but with Raku the unglazed clay will turn black. In most cases you will want to keep the foot of you piece free of glaze. This can be done with the use of a wax resist or masking tape. You can either dip the piece in a shallow pan of wax resist or brush a band around the bottom of the piece. As an alternative you can use masking tape and place a band of tape around the bottom of the piece. Either method should keep the piece free of glaze when spraying or brushing on glaze. If you dip the piece, the bottom of the piece will need to be waxed or covered with tape as well. When the glaze has dried on the pot, you can take a damp sponge and remove any beaded glaze on the wax resist or remove the tape that has been applied. When removing the tape, make sure the glaze dust that is produced does not land on sections of the piece that you want to keep bare. As a decorative effect you may want to leave part of the rim clear of glaze as well. This can be done just like the foot, with either a band of wax resist or a band of tape. In many cases I like to have a black band of bare clay at the top and bottom of my pieces. In addition to the foot and rim, resist techniques can be used to provide some definite order and design to the dynamic and variable Raku process. You can use narrow strips of tape to create geometric designs (like southwestern or Celtic patterns). There are several examples of this on my website. You can draw the pattern on the piece and then place tape strips or brush wax resist over the design. Tape strips will provide a much more exacting and precise line, but you have to make sure the tape is strongly attached to keep the glaze from seeping under the tape. Sometimes it is interesting to combine or overlap glazes on a piece, but sometimes the "mixing" is undesirable. Strips of tape or resist can be placed as a divider between different glazes to make sure they don't "mix" during the firing process. This can produces a very distinct stained glass like affect depending on the pattern and glazes used. Other patterns can be placed on a piece as well. For example, Chinese characters can be brushed on a piece using wax resist before the piece is glazed. Then the finished product will show a dark pattern in the unglazed clay surrounded with the Raku glaze. Templates can be cut out of self-sticking shelf liner and placed on a piece to provide additional patterns, such as leaves, birds, symbols, or any other complex shape that is not easily painted with wax resist or created with strips of tape. One thing you may want to consider when using these resist techniques is the amount of glazed that is applied right next to the resisted section. If a large amount of glaze is applied, and the glaze is runny at all, the intricate pattern you created may be ruined with drips. Good Luck and Happy Resisting. ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- * Q & A * Q: What are some good glazes to start with? A: There are a couple suggestions for what Raku glazes to start with. First, several clay companies provide premixed powder glazes that just have to be mixed with water to be used. This is definitely easier than purchasing all the individual materials and mixed them yourself. I have used several Laguna glazes and some of my favorites are (Dynasty Blue, Tutti Fruiti, and Raku Burst). The second thing to consider is the type of glaze. Copper matte glazes, while very exciting when they turn out, are quite a challenge to achieve consistently in many cases. You may want to consider other, more reliable or forgiving glazes. Glossy white (Clear Crackle), blue (Blue Crackle), or green glazes (Gary's Green Crackle) typically have good results and provide an interesting crackle pattern with some flashing. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Glazing * Gary's Clear Crackle You want to apply this glaze fairly thick and it needs to be fired a little hotter than some Raku glazes - somewhere around 1850F-1900F. The piece should be pulled from the kiln and then held in the air for about 15 seconds and then placed in a reduction chamber with combustibles. If it is reduced too much it will be mainly copper. If it is lightly reduced it will mainly be dark green with crackle. If it is reduced "just right" you will get green crackle with copper flashing. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Bookworm * 500 Bowls: Contemporary Exploration of a Timeless Design Bowls, bowls, bowls, and more bowls - 500 of them to be exact. Just when you thought you had seen every possible form of bowl, you turn the page and there is another shape, texture, color, or technique. This book is quite a collection of "eye candy" for the potter and should give you a wealth of material to spark your creative juices. There are a few examples of Raku bowls sprinkled throughout the book. There are a couple examples of horsehair Raku shown on pages 41 and 244. There are several examples of combining Raku with different resist techniques. Peggy Peak has two plate/bowls (p.136 & p.226) that include the use of resist to create animal shapes. The bowl by Lisa Davis on page 163 shows the use of wax resist to create a pattern around the walls of a bowl. Another of her bowls on p. 195 details leaving more of the piece unglazed than glazed to produce a nice effect as well. There are various other examples on pages 57, 65, 137, 194, 200, 209, 227, and 319. Some of the artists include a small statement about the work or the technique involved, but primarily the book is a "walk through a museum" with examples of all kinds of work. Many of the pieces, I feel, would work well with Raku. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Calendar * My full calendar can be seen at: http://www.garyrferguson.com/events.htm Applications for shows in 2003 are starting to roll in. I will let you know as soon as I am confirmed in any. The publication of "500 Bowls" by Lark Book has been
completed and I just received by sample copy. You can order a copy at: http://tinyurl.com/8jc7 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Click Away * The following artists seem to use various resist techniques in their work. Dave and Boni Deal Tom and Nancy Giusti Just Raku Newsletter Archive http://www.JustRaku.com ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ This newsletter is send to opt-in members only. If this issue was forwarded to you and you would like your own copy each month send an email to subscribe@garyrferguson.com with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. If you wish to no longer receive this newsletter send a email to unsubscribe@garyrferguson.com with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Disclaimer: Just Raku, the owner(s) and representative(s) of this
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