Raku: Part 1

So this is the outdoor setup for my pottery class. The kiln is off to the far left and is placed outside because we crack it open at 1800 degrees and pull our pieces out to drop into flaming canisters of hay ... The canisters are actually made out of old chimneys, with lids to cut off the flames when the proper level of oxidation is reached. I was surprised to learn that we raku and saggar fire out of the same kiln. For some reason I thought saggar firing was less technical ... The entire firing took place in the two hours we had class. The traditional japanese method of raku is to submerge the piece in water direcly after taking it from the kiln. However, this can cause pieces to crack with the abrupt change of temperature so instead we left them in the chimneys and later sprayed them down with a hose. I brought the only two pieces I had thrown this year that might be considered non-functional, using the B-mix 5 clay I've been working with, although after this I will use the stoneware made in class. For my first piece I chose a matte glaze called copper sand and learned the hard way that the longer it stays in the kiln after opening the more blue it begins to turn ...

I also wanted to try out the glaze I helped make in class, called crackle clear. I didn't have many pieces already bisqued to experiment on so I used an old bowl that had cracked through the bottom and had to be cut away. I really like how this glaze ended up and will be using it on some more quality pieces in the future, provided I can throw some quality pieces ... I thought maybe I could put a mirror in the bottom of it and hang it on the wall.

To glaze these I used the spray booth at the studio and just sprayed a consistent coat. I guess as I learn how the glazes react I can get a little more experimental. Some of the other students work came out so beautiful that I wish we also glazed together as a class so I could re-create the effect ...