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The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers In This Issue ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Happy Birthday Just Raku Newsletter! According to the results of the last month's poll, about 20% of you are
interested paying for a printed version of the newsletter so that your
Just Raku Newsletter does not get lost in the glut of email that most of
us receive these days. If you are one of these subscribers, click below
(sorry US subscribers only) and sign up via PayPal: Remember I always look forward to your feedback, suggestions, questions, and article ideas at: editor@garyrferguson.com. Gary R. Ferguson ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * From the Studio * Well I finished the wall art commission pieces, sent digital pictures for approval, got approval, packed, and successfully shipped them to the collector. I'm always nervous when doing a commission piece because with Raku it is sometimes very difficult to match someone's expectations - let alone your own, but this time went very smoothly. Spent most of the studio time last month was spent throwing to get ready for two shows at the beginning of November. It's almost the Christmas season - where has the year gone?!? ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Article * Glaze Testing (Part II) Glazing & Firing Last month I covered some techniques to quickly and efficiently mix test batches of glaze. This month I will cover some glazing and firing techniques to help in testing the glaze firing results. Glaze results can be greatly affected by how thick or thin the glaze is applied to a piece, so to effectively test a glaze, you will want to test various thickness of the glaze. Once easy way to do this is to apply the glaze using three different thicknesses to the same piece. You first want to cover the whole piece (or the section of the piece where you are testing the glaze) with a single layer of glaze. Then after it has time to dry. Apply a second layer to the top two thirds of the section. The top section is the section that will be further from the kiln shelf during the firing. Finally, after waiting for the second layer to dry, apply a third layer to the top third of the piece. This glazing pattern results in a thin layer near the bottom, an average layer in the middle, and a thick layer near the top. The reason you want the thickest layer at the top, is in case the glaze is very fluid or runny. If it is a runny glaze, the thicker it is applied, the more likely it will run, so you want the thick stuff toward the top of the piece so if it runs, it can run along the length of the piece instead of directly onto the kiln shelf. You may want to create two pieces with the same glazing pattern that can be fired differently (detailed below) to further test the firing results. When testing a glaze, it can be greatly affected by the reduction process as well. Heavy and light reduction can provide and good indication of how the glaze will be behave at the two extremes and what my lie somewhere in between. This is why you want two similarly glazed pieces to fire. One you can heavily reduce and one you can lightly reduce. For the heavy reduction, you will want to remove the piece from the kiln and quickly get it into a reduction chamber with lots of combustibles and quickly lidded. For the light reduction, you will want to remove the piece from the kiln and then hold it in the air for 30 to 60 seconds before placing it in a reduction chamber with a small amount of combustibles. The results from these two reduction methods should give you a good indication of what could happen with the glaze. For example a glaze may appear almost solid copper in the heavy reduction firing and forest green in the light reduction firing. This should indicate that a medium reduction might result in a dark green with copper flashing. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Tips and Techniques * Segregated Brushes It is a good idea to have segregated brushes so you are less likely to contaminate your glazes. For example, I have a set of brushes (small, medium, and large) that I only use when applying clear or white glazes (glazes without colorants). I have another set (of all three sizes) that I use for glazes that have strong colorants, like cobalt or copper. This way I don't have to worry about cleaning my brushes so thoroughly before using the clear glazes. I keep them segregated by simply writing the word white on set of the brushes with a marker. Now I don't get blue or green specks in my clear glazes anymore. ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- * Q & A * Q: One thing that is really unclear to me is the difference between reduction during firing in Raku and the post firing reduction. Specifically, what is the difference in a copper based glaze result if you do or do not achieve reduction during the firing cycle? Is reduction during the firing cycle really important to the end result? A: As with all good answers - it depends. Both the reduction firing and post-reduction can affect the glaze results. For example, copper reds can be achieved with a normal reduction gas firing (ever see pictures of Tom Coleman's Reds? - see link in the Click Away section of this issue) with no post-firing reduction. On the other hand, solid metallic copper colors can be achieved in the Raku process with an oxidation firing and very heavy post-firing reduction. It is possible that both can affect a glaze. According to Robert Piepenburg, the clear crackle he uses will turn out gray if the glaze is fired in reduction, regardless of the post-firing process. In my experience, I find I can more easily control the glaze result with the post-firing reduction than with controlling the reduction firing. It seems the post-firing reduction affects the glaze much more than the reduction firing. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Glazing * Lizard Skin 10 Borax I just tested this glaze for the first time a few weeks ago and it is a very dynamic glaze. It produces a wonderful rainbow oil slick pattern with a subtle platelets texture. The platelets seem more pronounced with a heavier application. The glaze is a semi-gloss when fired to about 1800F. I am adding this glaze to my "regulars" list. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Bookworm * How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist This book is basically broken into two parts: the "How To" section and the "Resources" section. In the "How To" section she covers all aspects of being and artist and how to promote you and make money as an artist. No "starving artist" mentality here! If you want to focus on an art career you need to be organized and have a plan and this book provides you the tools and techniques to do both. She covers what you should include in a presentation package such as artist's resume, artist's statements, visual representations, brochures, and electric media such as websites and CD-ROMs. She tackles the difficult subject of pricing. How much is your art worth? Should you discount? And when? How much do you need to charge to stay in business? Etc. You want to make sure you are not giving your art away. She details the whole world of selling venues, such as the standard gallery, but also cooperatives, juried exhibitions, museums, public art programs, your own studio, and on-line. Also what you can do to supplement art sales, such as lectures, workshops, licensing, and printed images. In the "resources" section, if it deals with art, artists, or the business of art, it is in there. There are thousands listings for publications, websites, organizations, and software in areas such as Law, Gallery Relations, Employment, Pricing, Accounting, Health, and Art Services. The author is a successful career coach to artists, and she offers practical advice on launching or re-launching your career. Available at a 30% discount at: http://tinyurl.com/p9ru ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Reader Feedback * * * * Ok, Anyone every worked with "candy" Raku and would like to share their experiences? If so, send me the details at: mailto:editor@garyrferguson.com. * * * ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Calendar * My full calendar can be seen at: http://www.garyrferguson.com/events.htm Nov 1-2 Eagle Holiday Bazaar Nov 5-12 Beaux Arts Society Holiday Sale ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Tom and Elaine Coleman - Not Raku but Reduction Red Example Glaze Terms Defined Raku Webring Just Raku Newsletter ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ 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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