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JUST RAKU
The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers
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August 2005
Issue #34
Published by
Gary R. Ferguson – Raku Artist
http://www.garyrferguson.com
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In This Issue
* While the Smoke Clears – 2 days, 970 Miles and 2 wheels
* Steven Branfman Interview
* Bowl Flashing
* Garbage Can Kiln Done?
* 100% Raku Glaze
* More N@ked Raku
* Mystery Glaze Quest
* Raku Links
* October Workshops in Kansas, Arizona and Numerous in Utah

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* While the Smoke Clears *

I just had a wonderful adventure. Late last year I bought
a new motorcycle and me and a buddy took an interesting
two-day trip a couple weeks ago.

We belong to a club that has an Idaho Tour program this
year. What this entails is visiting 25 of 30 pre-selected
small towns in Idaho and collecting pictures of you, your
bike, and the road sign. It is fun and a great excuse to
be on the bike.

Well I plotted a trip for Eastern Idaho to visit about 8 of
the 25 needed cities. This involved 2 days, about 970
miles, and lots of fun. I saw parts of Idaho that I'd never
seen before (and I've lived here for 37 years).

Anyway, I wrote an interesting "Road Tales" summary you can
read at: http://tinyurl.com/7gnl7 By the way, "Watch for
Stock" is not just a sign.

Overall it was a great chance to clear my head and plenty
of time to think of creative things to do with pottery.

As always, I look forward to your feedback, suggestions,
questions, and article ideas at: editor@garyrferguson.com

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"I must thank you for all the great recipes. I was a bit
stuck for new recipes. I'll be here for thirty years
trying all these out." - Simon D. http://www.rakuglazes.com
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* Steven Branfman Interview *

I have been a fan of Branfman's books and pottery for many
years. He likes to do a lot with textures such as heavily
scoring the piece, which can greatly affect how the glaze
appears on the final piece.

There was a phone interview conducted a while back and the
transcript in provided at the following link.
http://www.vasefinder.com/steven.branfman.html In addition
to his insight on several areas of pottery and Raku, there
are some wonderful pictures of his work.

Hope you enjoy the link.

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"Our class fired again last night, and the instructor
followed your tips and voila. Boy do we have copper. Its
great knowing we can do it, and I really appreciate your
help. Thanks again!"-Shannon P. http://www.rakusecrets.com
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* Bowl Flashing *

I had a question this month from a subscriber in Nebraska
that is having trouble with firing bowls. Particularly
getting nice flashing on the inside of the bowl.
Apparently he is able to achieve nice flashing on the
outside, but not on the inside.

Not knowing any more of the particulars of what he is doing
(or not doing) I can't provide an exact answer, but I can
provide some general thoughts on how to successfully fire
Raku bowls.

First is the glaze factor. How the piece is glazed can
affect the result. If you are brushing or spraying the
glaze you are probably getting about the same thickness of
glaze on the inside as you do the outside, but if you are
dipping and pouring, you are likely applying more glaze on
the inside due to the basic process. The inside will
easily hold more glaze than the outside. So be careful how
you are glazing.

Second is the firing factor. The inside of a bowl
(assuming it is being fired right-side-up) will heat a
little slower than the outside of a bowl, especially in a
really fast firing. So you can either fire slower or fire
the bowl on its edge like you would a plate to help the
inside glaze mature at the same time as the outside glaze.

Third is the reduction factor. If you place the bowl in a
nest of paper or leaves, the outside will be heavily
reduced compared to the inside. To increase the reduction
on the in side, make sure you throw a handful of reduction
materials inside the bowl or place the bowl in the
reductions materials upside down. This should create a
heavy reduction and increase the likelihood of flashing.

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Raku: A Practical Approach by Steven Branfman
The "nuts and bolts" how-to book of Raku
Order 30% off at: http://www.garyrferguson.com/branfman
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* Garbage Can Kiln Done? *

Another reader asked how to tell if you need to replace a
garbage can kiln. Hers is starting to rust and she is
concerned it is time to build a new one.

Basically the important part of your Raku kiln is the
lining, which in most cases is ceramic fiber. This is what
holds the heat in the kiln and protects external stuff from
the heat. As long as this is in good shape (no holes, no
extreme sagging, doesn't fall off during firing, etc.) You
are probably in good shape.

Some Raku kilns are built using just a shell of expanded
metal (not solid like a garbage can) because all that is
needed is something to hold the ceramic fiber in place.

So if your rusted can is holding the ceramic fiber in place
and your ceramic fiber is in good shape, I would not worry
about a new kiln yet.

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Books, Music, Videos and that's just the start. Amazon
sells more than books! Help support this newsletter by
using this link: http://www.garyrferguson.com/amazon
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* 100% Raku Glaze *

A common question I get all the time is "What units are
your glazes in?" This was discussed in a prior issue of
Just Raku http://www.garyrferguson.com/justraku22.htm
I also cover it extensive in my Raku Glazes eBook
http://www.rakuglazes.com

But what came up this month was a question in regards to
why the total of the glaze ingredients don't add to 100%?
That is a little different.

Most glazes are normalized in that the total of the non-
colorant ingredients total 100% and then the colorants are
added in addition to this. This is done to make x-times
batches easier to calculate.

But there is no hard and fast rule that says a glaze has to
be normalized to 100%. So take them as they come and try
what sounds good.

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Raku 2nd Edition – Tim Andrews
This new edition has been completely re-written and updated
with over 200 all new, full-color photos of beautiful Raku
pottery http://tinyurl.com/bt7fk
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* More Naked Raku

I had several people respond to the Naked Raku article in
last month's issue. It appears there is a common problem –
getting the correct formula for a slip that will stay on
during the firing, yet can still be removed fairly easily
after firing.

In general the stickiness of the slip will be due to the
amount of Alumina (probably in the form of Alumina Hydrate)
that is in the slip. The more you have, the better the slip
will stay on, but the harder it will be to remove. That
makes logic sense. So the challenge is to fine a happy
medium, which can be influenced by other things, such as:
What clay you are using
What temperature you bisque to
Are you using burnished pieces?
Do you use a glaze over the slip?
How thick you apply the slip
How fast/hot you fire

One technique that was shared was to slip the piece, glaze
the piece, then before dries thoroughly, fire to about 600F
to set the glaze. This apparently helps keep the slip on.

But in contrast, I had another reader state they had
problems with pieces cracking if they fired the piece
before the slip thoroughly dried. The thought was the
bisque piece was absorbing the water from the slip and then
cracking during firing. This again would be due to some of
the points listed above.

There were a couple slip recipe shared:

Slip A
Fire Clay 5 parts
EPK 3 parts
Alumina Hydrate 1-2 parts

Slip B (apply at the consistency of cake mix)
Soldate 60 Clay

Either can be covered with a layer of clear glaze.

So play around with your pieces and how you fire to see
what works best for you. You could even consider taking a
workshop (there are several listed at the end of the
newsletter).

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Raku: Investigations Into Fire by David Jones
Order 30% off at: http://tinyurl.com/8m5x
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* Mystery Glaze Quest *

I have a reader that is desperately trying to recreate a
glaze that they have fired several pieces with. It does
look somewhat like what I get when using Hawaiian Copper
Blue (sometimes), but I invite any readers to take a look
at the samples here: http://tinyurl.com/d634g and let me
know what you think. Any insight would be greatly
appreciated.

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"It's all your fault! I was up all night reading "Raku
Secrets". I have been Rakuing for about ten years, and
still so much to learn. Your Raku Secrets gave me a lot of
new insight. Thanks so much". - Elaine S.
http://www.rakusecrets.com
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* Click Away *

My eBay Listings http://tinyurl.com/tn08
Just Raku Blog http://justraku.blogspot.com
Just Raku Logowear http://www.cafepress.com/justraku
Got Raku? http://www.cafepress.com/gotraku
Just Raku Archive http://www.JustRaku.com
Just Raku Article Archive
http://www.garyrferguson.com/justrakuarticles

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Here is an easy (and free) way to support this newsletter.
Open a new eBay account by clicking on the link below and
select "register" at the top of the screen. Then look for a
deal and bid. Your support is greatly appreciated!
http://www.qksrv.net/click-411938-2202639
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* Workshops, Ads, etc. *

Bracker's Good Earth Clays, Inc. will be hosting a 2-day
workshop with Bob Piepenburg on October 8th & 9th 2005. For
more information about the workshop or to sign up, go to
http://www.brackers.com/store/results_detail.cfm?cat=645&pr
odid=WKPIE for information about lodging for the workshop
go to http://www.brackers.com/workshops.cfm
Bracker's Good Earth Clays, Inc.
1831 E 1450 Road
Lawrence, KS 66044
TOLL FREE: 1-888-822-1982
FAX: 785-841-8142
http://www.brackers.com

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N@ked Raku Workshop, From Slip to Fire with Anne Carrel in
Oracle Arizona
October 22 and 23rd. Two-day workshop costs $85 per person
or $75 for registrations before 10/01/05. Limited to 12
people. If you would like to see images of N@ked Raku go
to: www.nakedraku.com. For additional information contact:
Anne Carrel
1470 W. American Ave
P.O. Box 823
Oracle , AZ 85623
Studio: (520) 896-9558
cell: (520) 603-8174
Or email : anne@nakedraku.com

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Raku workshop that covers: Hand building, Raku glazing,
Firing and Reducing flashing glazes and the super secret of
crackle glazes. You will leave with instructions on how to
build you own Raku kiln, glaze recipes and your finished
hand-built piece. Notes on proper firing for all 7 glazes
we use. Workshops include all your meals and lodging. Cost
is $750 for 5 days and $550 for three days. Three day
workshops do not include hand building project, just
intense glazing and firing. The only dates not available at
this time are: Dec 10th. thru Jan. 3rd. Feb. 5th.-10th.,
March 1st. thru the 10th. and April 10th.- 20th. (we
have workshops and a vacation planned on these dates).
If you are flying in we are 2 1/2 hour from Las Vegas and
will pick you up. We are in southern Utah overlooking Zion
National Park. For more info
http://www.rakufountains.com/ebayindex.html

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taking on-line surveys, click on the link below. Go to
http://www.surveysavvy.com/?id=1424287 and click on 'Join'.
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JUST RAKU (C) Copyright 2002-2005 Gary R. Ferguson