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The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers In This Issue ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Hello and Welcome Old and New Subscribers, The "sign up your friends" contest for the free Raku Glazes ebook is going well. There is still time to enter for your chance to win: http://www.garyrferguson.com/contest.htm Quick Poll To all my US subscribers I want to wish you an early Happy Thanksgiving. We will be having a "mob" at my house for dinner, so wish me luck! Remember I always look forward to your feedback, suggestions, questions, and article ideas at: mailto:editor@garyrferguson.com. Gary R. Ferguson ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * From the Studio * Well I was busy in the studio again this month, with glazing and firing. I managed to get all the pieces I needed to deliver to the Beaux Arts sale. The sale is over and I've picked up what didn't sell. It was pretty much an average year for sales. With no more art shows scheduled, I'll be hitting eBay pretty strong for the rest of the year. Christmas is just around the corner. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Article * What Kind of Kiln? So you want to do Raku? Well you need a kiln, but what kind? Well there are basically two types of kilns: electric and gas. Both have their positives and negatives for the Raku potter. So which should you choose? Electric Gas Best of Both Worlds Only one? If I was more experienced potter, I would get a gas kiln which would allow for all types of firing, but would require more experience to fire properly. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Tips and Techniques * How to keep pots from exploding? I've had several reports of exploding pots, and questions as to what can be done to prevent it from happening. The following are some questions you should ask yourself and see if they address the problem: Is the Glaze still wet? If so, make sure you wait until they are good and dry (24-hours is ideal.) How fast are you firing? Small kilns with large burners can reach Raku temperature is just a couple of minutes. I normally take it a little slower - around 60 minutes for a firing. What cone do you bisque your pieces? I usually fire to cone 06. If you don't bisque hot enough, the bisque ware may absorb too much water and glaze. What kind of clay are you using? You want to use clay that has a little grog or sand in it. If you clay doesn't, you can always wedge in some Kyanite. Finally, are you setting pieces directly in front of the flame or directly on a kiln shelf? This is a harsh thermal shock. The burner flame should be set to miss pieces directly, and you should set pieces on stilts. ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- * Q & A * Q: Have you ever heard of tweaking the firing / reduction process with a propane torch after the majority of the effect has happened. I imagine this would be on a piece cool enough to touch. A: Yes I have and I have actually used the technique a few times. I do it if I feel a piece has too much copper. I take the piece when it
has cooled a little (but still have to use gloves to handle it), and wave
a small blowtorch over sections of the piece. As these sections heat, they
will start to re-oxidize (go from copper to blue/green). As the heat is
removed they will flash rainbow colors around the edge of the heated spot. You want to be careful you don't apply too much heat on any particular section for too long or the piece may crack, break, or explode. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Glazing * Ancient Amethyst (Purple Revisited) Gerstley Borate 80 When I read about your purple crackle, and the variable colors you got, I thought I would share one of my glaze experiments. I have tried a variant of the Soldner 80/20 glaze, with 0.5 % cobalt, and 2-5 % Manganese. I consistently got purple color only when the pot is aired enough to both get good crackle and hardened enough to not actually reduce the glaze. Just the smoking, and no reduction of the actual glaze produce purple. Good post firing reduction consistently produced blue. The more manganese the darker the purple up to a certain point, at least, and the lower percentages produce a lovely glaze that I named it "ancient amethyst" for its smoky amethyst color. I bet the higher amounts of cobalt give a darker purple. 300+ More Raku Glazes can be found at: http://www.rakuglazes.com ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Reader Feedback * Hi Gary Here's a good cheep way of sealing Raku pots for functional use. Just use some wood varnish or anything similar. By the way I've tried 15 of your Raku glazes from your e-book (http://www.rakuglazes.com) and they all look great. I added silver nitrate to 5 of them and got some stunning effects. Just wondering do you know anybody who would be interested in buying
1kg of Silver Nitrate? ~ ~ ~ Hi John: * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary, I am a glass blower but have always loved the look of Raku. All the information you sent me inspired me to buy my first 50 pounds of clay. The experiment begins! Thanks Again, ~ ~ ~ Hi Tim: Have Fun!!! * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary - I tried to make a basket using a barbecue grill as the base and wiring some heavy duty wire mesh (the kind with the little squares - I forget what they call it) but after three fires the mesh gave way where the wire was holding it to the grill. So if you - or anybody - have come up with a way that'll work I'd really appreciate it. Take care - and thanks - ~ ~ ~ Joanne: Firing small items can be a challenge for both removal and reduction. I have fired earrings, broaches, and pendants a few times and have created a handy little tool to do this. What I did was threw a disk/plate about 8 inches across and about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. In the center I threw a small cylinder about 4 inches tall and about 1 1/2 inches across. Then I bisque fired the piece. I now place my small Raku items on the plate and place the whole thing in the kiln. The cylinder gives me a good thing to grab to remove the whole thing from the kiln to the reduction chamber. It has survived about a dozen firings and has started showing some stress cracks so I may have to make another soon, but it has worked well so far. Hope this helps.
Hello, Any ideas? I thought I remembered a mention of jewelry in a past newsletter. Thanks in advance, ~ ~ ~ Hi Bianka: I basically threw a cylinder about a foot tall, slightly tapered so it was about 1.5 inches across the top about 3 inches across the bottom. I then got some High Fire Wire (Nichrome I believe) and cut several 8-inch pieces. I then stuck these through the cylinder creating a "wire tree". I then bisqued the piece and can now hang beads on these wires and remove the whole tree from the kiln at the same time. Hope this helps. * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary, ~ ~ ~ Hi Norma: In my Raku Glazes ebook (http://www.rakuglazes.com) I do include several possible substitutions for Gerstley Borate (testing of course is highly recommended), but I have done limited testing so far. Gerstley Borate is still available in most areas and to my understanding will for a few more years, so you might still be able to get enough for your work. Gary F. * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary, Just received your first newsletter - glad that I found your site, it has got a lot of good information for me. I've been doing Raku here in Denmark for 4 years now. I I have tried with a thick bone ash neutral glaze as base and then a normal glaze on top - but that did not quiet make it. I have heard something about adding a lot of Hope that you can answer my question and thank you in advance for this.
And greetings from Denmark! (I have already recommended your site to my
ceramic friends here ~ ~ ~ Lars: Thanks for the referrals to the website and newsletter. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Calendar * eBay listings are the only thing left for this year http://tinyurl.com/tn08 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Click Away * Chris Tennis Quiddity Studio & Gallery Just Raku Logowear Got Raku? It does a Clay Body Good! 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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