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JUST RAKU
The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers
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November 2005
Issue #36
Published by
Gary R. Ferguson - Raku Artist
http://www.garyrferguson.com
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In This Issue
* While the Smoke Clears - 29 lb Turkey and Young Eyes
* Sunshine on my Horsehair makes me happy?
* Glaze Quest
* Naked Raku Books
* Air Compressor Crackle
* Wax on, Wax off
* Dark Hawaiian Blue
* Raku Links
* Workshops

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* While the Smoke Clears *

I want to start off by thanking everyone for the kind words
in regards to my wife's surgery. She is recovering fine,
slower than she would like, but without any complications.

I hope you survived the Thanksgiving Holiday (at least the
US readers). We had a total of 14 relatives at our house
again this year and made a serious dent in the 29 lb turkey
I prepared.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year as our
oldest son (3.5 years) is starting to understand the
concept of gifts, giving, and Santa (the threat of coal in
his stocking for Christmas will get him to behave for at
least a few minutes!) It's really exciting to experience
the holidays through "young" eyes again.

Well I hope your holiday season is great and you enjoy this
issue.

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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* Sunshine on my Horsehair makes me happy?
(-- my apologies to John Denver)

A reader writes: "Do you know if Horse Hair pottery will
fade in the sun. I have several pieces at a gallery in
town and they have them set in the window that gets the
afternoon sun. The last time I was in the gallery and saw
the pieces I thought they are bleaching out. They are not
as marked as before. If so, will waxing them help and what
kind of wax does one use?"

Basically, strong direct sun on anything for a long period
of time is not good. Unlike our skin that gets darker in
the sun (at least before we peel) most other objects will
eventually fade.

Now how long this takes is based on many, many variables:
the object itself, the colorant involved, the strength of
the sun, the duration of exposure, humidity, etc.

So basically I would not recommend placing horsehair (or
normal Raku for that matter) pieces in direct sunlight for
long periods of time. They will definitely be affected.

As for coating or protecting them a wax, this may help
(just as is does on car paint), but I don't think
dramatically. In fact, depending on the wax used, the sun
exposure may cause a yellowing effect.

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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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* Glaze Quest

Hi Gary
Thanks for the ebook (http://www.rakuglazes.com) it looks
great. Have you heard of a glaze called JR metallic or matt
blue? I think it is a luster.
Thanks
Teresa H.

I have not run across a glaze by this name yet. That's not
to say the glaze is included in the ebook under another
name.

Any Just Raku readers have a recipe for a JR Metallic Raku
glaze that they would care to share? Let me know at
editor@garyrferguson.com

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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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* N@ked Raku Books

Hi Gary.
I have just joined your newsletter and think its great to
have something just for Raku. I live in Australia and have
been potting for 25 years. I have dabbled in Raku on and
off over the years but just recently I have got a passion
for naked Raku. I would be really grateful if you could
advise me on what books to buy that covers naked Raku.
Yours
Sue S.

Sue:
One book is "Raku: A Practical Approach" by Stephen
Branfman (http://www.garyrferguson.com/branfman). The
revised edition apparently has an expanded section on N@ked
Raku (and other Raku alternatives). I have not seen this
edition yet, but if it is anything like the prior version
it will be very good.

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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~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

* Air Compressor Crackle

Hey Gary,
I noticed in the last newsletter that someone was having
trouble with getting an even crackle on his or her pieces.
I have a little trick that I use on my white crackle pieces
and it works great! When I fire crackle pieces I have my
air compressor ready to go with my airbrush attached. When
the crackle pots come out of the kiln I set them on soft
bricks on top of a banding wheel and then spray them with
the air from the compressor. The crackling really takes
off! You can even control the crackle with a little
practice. Once the pots are sprayed with air I put them
into the reduction cans. This technique also works with
naked Raku too but you have to take care not to blow the
sacrificial slip/glaze completely off the pot! Hope this
helps with all you crackpots!
Peace,
Allyson M.

Thanks a bunch for the tip Allyson. You have provided a
great contribution as always. I would assume if you don't
have an air compressor you could you always just pump up an
empty garden sprayer and blow air that way.

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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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* Wax On, Wax Off

Ruth A. writes: "I have made my own paste wax from Bee's
wax and mineral oil. Use a double boiler or a can in a pot
of water works well. Melt the wax and add slightly more
mineral oil than wax and stir. Pour into wide mouth
container. I used a plastic tub. I use the wax on smoked
pieces. Burnish with a cloth. I made a smoke fired bird and
after year the smoke had come off since it was outside. So
I tried making another and waxing it. That works!"

Thanks Ruth. I would assume this works best with Horsehair
N@ked Raku pieces.

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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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* Dark Hawaiian Blue

Hi Gary:
I do Raku jewelry that and used the Hawaiian blue glaze
recipe, which I used on my bisque fired beads. I tried
one, two, and three coats and tried several firings between
1600F and 1850F degrees. One and two coats came out a very
dull blue and three coats a dull black. I even tried
dipping the beads in lacquer and still dull. Any
suggestions as to why they came out dull?
Donna R.

Well Donna, Hawaiian Blue is sometimes a challenging glaze
(who am I kidding - it is always challenging), especially
on small pieces, but I will try to provide some ideas.

Normally Hawaiian Blue is a matte glaze, so it should be
dull in texture. If you want more of a semi-gloss effect,
then it has to be fired hotter and/or longer. The 1850F
you mention was probably hot enough, but you didn't mention
how long you soaked it at that temperature. It might need
more time.

As far as the color goes, blue, black (lacking copper),
etc. This is usually a result of not enough reduction.
Heavy reduction of small pieces is very difficult to
achieve because they cool off so fast. You want to move the
beads from the kiln to the reduction chamber as fast as
possible and use the smallest reduction chamber you can,
such as a small can in a sand pit (not a 30 gallon garbage
can). This will reduce the volume of oxygen that needs to
be burned to create an reduction atmosphere.

Hope this helps.

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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 *

Some very nice examples of N@ked Raku by Jan Lee
http://www.mudfire.com/jan-lee.htm

Copper Matte & N@ked Raku by Dan Leonette
http://www.leonette.com/english/om_leonette.htm

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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Raku: Investigations Into Fire by David Jones
Order 30% off at: http://tinyurl.com/8m5x
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* Workshops, Ads, etc. *

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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If you are interested in making a little extra money for
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