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The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers In This Issue ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Welcome all you new and continuing subscribers. New! For a limited time only you can get Just Raku Logowear. This is a
great way to show your support for the newsletter. To see what is
available go to: This month I conducted a survey of Raku Artists I found selling on eBay, and the results of the survey is the basis of this month's article. There are some nice tips here if you are, or are thinking about eBaying your artwork. Be sure to check out the participants' websites at the end of the article. As always, if you want to subscribe to the paper version of the
newsletter, 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: mailto:editor@garyrferguson.com. Gary R. Ferguson ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * From the Studio * Glaze - Fire - Repeat. Raku Jewelry Ebay Listings. Notkin Workshop ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ eBay Your Raku: Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere on the Moon, you have to have heard of eBay. If it exists on earth, it is probably available on eBay - so why not Raku. I did a quick search on eBay and found about 375 listings for items with the word Raku. I did a little more looking and found about 10 artists that seem to have consistent listings. I created a short survey and emailed each of these artists hoping they would impart their wisdom on selling art on eBay and I was very grateful that 6 responded. The following is a summary of the results along with my personal experiences. I first wanted to know, how long these artist had been selling on eBay. The responses ranged from 2 to 4 years so this told me it was a profitable direction to pursue. Nobody is going to waste 2+ years selling via a venue that was not working. They all stated they would continue selling via eBay that again indicates it was working for them. I also wanted to know how much of their work they sold via eBay and in conjunction with other channels. This ranged from 5% to 90%. The 90%-ers had started concentrating less on shows and galleries and more on eBay and their direct web sales. The 5% to 25% artist were primarily focused on shows and galleries and using eBay as a supplement to these sales (in between shows, etc.) This tells me that both methods are applicable. If you wanted to go purely on-line the opportunity is there. This makes a lot of sense for rurally located artists. Most of the artist indicated that they have several active listings at one time. This usually ranged in 4 or 5 to 20 or 30 per week. I can see this being a trade off on determining how many to list. It is very easy for an eBay buyer to see all the listings for an Artist. If they do this and the Artist only has one listing, the buyer might think the artist is less "serious" than an artist that has several pieces available at the same time, while on the other hand if the artist has hundreds of pieces available, there would be a lesser sense of urgency to bid on a piece thinking they will always be available in large quantities. I think having a few expire each day is probably the best method. It shows the buyer that you are serious (and should be taken seriously) but the work is "rare" enough to warrant a bid now. I asked what percentage of your work that you list, actually receives a bid and sells. This ranged from 50% to 99%, which seems like a very good average. To achieve the higher percentage of sales some of the items have to be re-listed if they don't sell the first time, but most indicated they don't have to re-list the piece more than once or twice. I was curious to find out what type of Raku pieces the artists listed. In several cases, smaller pieces were the focus - easier to ship and provided an opportunity to up sell larger pieces from their website. Most list their best work while some do list what they call their seconds. Hopefully this has peaked your interested into the eBay marketing for
your Raku. If you do not already have an account, you can easily open one
by clicking the link below In part II of Ebay your Raku I will share what the survey revealed about prices, reserves, listing options, auction length, and closing times. Please visit the following survey participants' links: Zion Canyon Raku, Norman & Janet Prentice William K. Turner Warewolf (James) Orchard Pots Pauline Van Drent Shelley Cignoli Rod Sanata ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Tips and Techniques * How long to wait between Glazing and Firing? There is some question as to how long one should wait to fire a piece after it has been glazed. For example, a reader wrote the following: "Hi, I love your newsletter. I have done many Raku firings in a college setting, but never on my own. I have wanted to do Raku parties, but a conflict of info has me puzzled. From what I have read, one glazes the pots then fires them. My professor says that the glaze must dry overnight or the moisture will cause the pot to explode. What do you say?" Oh sure, try and get me in trouble with your professor! I have heard some artists taking that stance with glazing and firing (same with a non-Raku glaze firing as well), but I have never really taken that route. I may glaze a piece and then fire it within an hour or two (less if I am in a hurry) and I've never had a piece explode on me. Now I don't fire real fast - around 1 hour so maybe that is a difference compared to someone firing a load in 15 minutes. I also fire slowly at the beginning, to help evaporate any water that may still remain, by candling (very low flame) the kiln for 5 or 10 minutes. You can also place freshly glazed pieces on the top of or along the sides of the kiln during a firing to pre-warm the piece, which would also dry the piece before a true firing. You could also place waiting pieces in an electric kiln set on a very low temperature as well. Other factors can also come into play, such as how thick the glaze is applied, to what temperature the piece is bisqued, the type of clay used, and how thick are the walls of the piece. The bottom line is you should not have to wait a day to fire a piece after it has been glazed, so have a party! ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- * Q & A * Q: I have just begun exploring the fun of mixing my own glazes. I had my first test firing on Monday and was VERY pleased with most of my test glazes. All of these, by the way, I got from your wonderful website! THANKS! I am looking for a white crackle glaze for Raku and was not very pleased with the one I tested (Gerstley Borate 80, Nepheline Syenite 20, Tin Oxide 10, Bentonite 10) because it had very little crackle and went silvery gray in many areas. I have your recipe for Basic White Crackle but noticed that it calls for Tennessee Ball Clay, which I do not have. Can I use the same amount of OM4 and get the same result? I looked up the chemical analysis of both and they seem fairly close. I can get the Tenn. but I will have to order and wait for it and I am anxious to try out some more test. A: If the chemical make up of the two different clays are similar I
would go ahead and make a test batch and try it, especially with a clear
crackle. Who knows, the new clay ingredient may work better with your
throwing clay and produce a better crackle pattern than the Tenn clay
ingredient would. Some general tips I've heard or experienced with crackle
glazes: ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Glazing * Hello Gary, Riggs Pop-Off Slip (by volume) I hope this will give an idea of where to start the Candy/Sugar Raku investigation. I have done some research on this and as yet have not found an exact recipe. I just struck out on my own and hoped for a pleasant outcome. I cannot guarantee that your results will be similar to mine and I hope they will be even better. [Thanks Allyson M. This should give everyone a nice place to start with Sugar Raku] ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Bookworm * In keeping with the eBay theme of this issue, the following are some excellent guides to creating, starting, and promoting eBay auctions and/or an eBay business. Starting an eBay Business for Dummies eBay Hacks: 100 Industrial-strength Tips and Tools How to sell anything on eBay…and make a fortune! ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Reader Feedback * Thanks for the recipe for the Lizard Skin glaze! I was just about to
buy some when I read the Just Raku Newsletter and there it was! I will be
mixing that one next week!! * * * The recipe of "candy Raku" seems to be a well-kept secret. I
have heard so many people say the results were so beautiful, but no one
ever seems to have a recipe, or remember just how much sugar they added.
Looks as if everybody wants to keep it a personal secret. Last year, I
started experimenting myself. Added 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, finally 35% to my
normal slip mixture. All results were completely identical, and similar to
my normal result. So I finally gave up. Maybe the recipe calls for a much,
much higher amount of sugar - 50% or 75%? Or a "special kind" of
sugar: cane sugar or brown sugar? I used plain white household sugar. I'm
curious about other reactions, and looking forward to your next
newsletter. [See the Glaze section above in this issue] * * * Gosh has it been a year already? I have been on the mailing list from
almost the very beginning and I must say I really LOVE it. Thank you for
putting the Raku newsletter out there for us fellow potters. I've learned
loads from it and I've been able to get my own pottery biz up and running.
(I still have a long ways to go) but, thanks again for a years worth of
useful info and stories. [Thanks Bob! Its actually 800+ now. If anyone wants to take Bob's advice you can use the following link: http://tinyurl.com/52cq] * * * [Any co-opers out there? Do you have any suggestions for Rick?] ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * 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 On Going eBay Listings ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Just Raku Logowear Francine Haines Bill Herb Just Raku Newsletter Archive ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ 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 an 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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