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JUST RAKU
The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers
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August 2006
Issue #41
Published by
Gary R. Ferguson � Raku Artist
http://www.garyrferguson.com
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In This Issue
* While the Smoke Clears
* How'd they do that?
* Water Logged Glaze?
* Smoking the Neighbors
* Raku in the News � William K. Turner
* Raku Links
* Workshops - Arizona
* Pottery Business Available - Utah
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* While the Smoke Clears *

Hello All,

As you probably gathered from some of my recent emails it
has been Hot Hot Hot in my neck of the woods. It has
finally started cooling off some. We only have a 100+ day
every 3 to 5 days instead of 9 days in a row. Whewh! I
know, I know, fall and winter are just around the corner
and I'll be complaining about the ice and cold. I'm just
never happy am I? ?

I want to mention something to you. If you received this
email � great - you are lucky, especially if you are using
a Yahoo or Hotmail account. For some reason, about half my
newsletters get rejected from these accounts. Not sure why,
but they do. So if you want to make sure you receive these
newsletters I would suggest you register a different email
address if you have one. If not, you can watch my Just
Raku blog at: http://justraku.blogspot.com for when the
newsletters are published.

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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* How'd they do that?

A while back I had a reader send me a photo of a glaze with
the hopes that someone would know a recipe for the glaze.
The picture can be seen at:
http://www.garyrferguson.com/justrakuarticles/misc/zion_mystery_glaze.htm

Well another reader saw the picture and had a new question:
"How did she get the coppery lines affect?"

It is a great affect and this result (or something similar)
could be achieved relatively easily.

First the piece is covered with a glaze, generally quite
thin. This is often done via spraying or dipping the
piece. Then another glaze is drizzled over the first
glaze, which is much thicker.

Now the second glaze may be the same glaze or it may be a
completely different glaze. Often a matte or semi-matte
glaze is used as the base and a glossier glaze is the one
drizzled over the top.

Because either a thicker layer of the same glaze (or a
different glaze) is used, it reacts differently to the
reduction process than the base coat glaze. You will
typically either get a base glaze with more copper than the
dripped glaze or the dripped glaze will have more copper
than the base glaze (as in this example).

This is a great area to explore, overlapping two or more
glazes on the same piece.

As always, test, record, and test some more.

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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~-~-~

* Water Logged Glaze?

A reader asked:
"In the current issue when describing fixes for crawling
you say: 'Using glazes that have been mixed with water for
a long period of time can cause another fit problem,
especially with glazes that are high in Gerstley Borate.
You might try mixing a fresh batch of the problem glaze and
see if you get the same result.' Why should mixing with
water for a long period of time cause problems? I'm
assuming here that you, of course, mix thoroughly before
using. And why, in particular, Gerstley Borate? Does it
loosely bond with the water, or lose internal water to free
water?"

That's a good question.

In my experience, I usually see one of two things with a
glaze that has been mixed with water for a long period of
time (maybe as short as a few hours). It either settles to
the bottom and turns into cement that is very difficult to
get mixed back up, or it turns into a thick sludge that you
have to add more water, to make it useable again. (Gerstley
Borate glazes generally fall into the later category)

The "cement" glaze generally changes on you because it is
so difficult to get it properly mixed again, the formula
will change slightly. It may not be much, but can impact
the result, plus it is just more work.

With the "sludge" glaze, adding more water is what causes
the crawling problem. The added water increases the
shrinkage of the glaze and can affect the bonding
properties of the glaze to the clay body, which is almost
the definition of the crawling defect.

You can read a bit more about this at:
http://www.ceramicsmonthly.com/mustreads/borate.asp

In general my pottery production is very sporadic, so I
only mix up the amount of glaze I will use at one time and
I get more consistent results than using glazes that have
been mixed for a longer period of time.

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After reading Sue's book I discovered dozens of tips,
techniques, and methods of creating Raku beads and jewelry
that I never would have thought of. The hundreds of color
photos are not only instructional but inspiring as well.
There is a new idea to try on almost every page. This book
is a gold mine!" http://www.rakubeadjewelry.com
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* Smoking the Neighbors

Given the dryness of my area, everyone gets nervous when
they see smoke. Any smoke. Apparently another reader's
neighbors are nervous as well. He writes, "I was wondering
if you have any ideas how I can contain my Raku smoke or
filter it somehow. My technique involves pulling the piece
from the kiln, then putting it in a metal trashcan. Then I
like to flash the pottery, so I'll put the lid on for a
bit, then I'll take it off until the flames start again,
and do that a few times, then finally I quench it with
water. This gives me the results I want. However, in this
same process I get a lot of smelly smoke. I've tried the
technique of just sealing the trashcan with damp newspaper,
and not quenching it with water, but I don't get good
results that way. The smoke upsets the neighbors."

There are a couple of techniques that can reduce the amount
of smoke you get during your reduction process.
1) You can use a sand pit. Just place the piece on a nest
of newspapers in a sand pit and then cover with a can. The
sand seals the lip of the can.
2) You can try spraying the piece with isopropyl alcohol.
This should cause a reduction on the surface. There will
much more flame but less smoke.
3) You can create a water lock. Which is detailed in Raku
Secrets (http://www.rakusecrets.com). Basically you use a
large tub with a brick in the bottom. Then you fill the
tub with water keeping the water level below the top of the
brick. Then a piece is placed on the brick and another
can, with reduction materials in the bottom is placed over
the top of the piece. The lip of the smaller can sits in
the water and creates a "lock" that keeps the smoke in.
4) You could tell them you are just really lousy at cooking
on the barbecue.

5) You could invite them over to see what you are doing and
even give them a piece as a "please don't complain" bribe.

Hope this helps.

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Discover the secrets to creating Hypnotic Auctions that get
more bids and higher final prices. If you sell on eBay or
want to, then join the fr.ee newsletter at:
http://www.hypnoticauctions.com
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* Raku in the news

A couple years ago when I was on a business trip to Florida
I had an opportunity to visit a Raku artist that I
discovered on Internet - William K. Turner.

He is a full time artist who creates hundreds of slip cast
pieces year. He creates multiples of the same form, but
uses the dynamics of Raku, and different glazing techniques
to create unique pieces. He also Raku fires using only
electric kilns so this is proof that you can create
beautiful Raku without a gas kiln.

The reason I brought this up is because there is an
interesting article about him online at:
http://brandon.tbo.com/brandon/MGBPIR35EQE.html that you
may be interested to read.

Unfortunately the link to his site in the article was
incorrect. I should be http://www.raku-art.com

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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 *

Greg Ashbaugh http://www.rakupots.com
William K. Turner http://www.raku-art.com
Barbara Kobler http://www.claywoman.net

Raku Glazes http://www.rakuglazes.comRaku Secrets http://www.rakusecrets.com
Raku Beads http://www.rakubeadjewelry.com
Got Raku? http://www.cafepress.com/gotraku
Just Raku Archive http://www.JustRaku.com
Just Raku Blog http://justraku.blogspot.com
Just Raku Logowear http://www.cafepress.com/justraku

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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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* Workshops and Seminars

SEP 30-OCT 1, 2006 � Northern Arizona
ALTERNATIVES FIRING WORKSHOP AT SEDONA ARTS CENTER
Instructor: Barbara Kobler - Two Days, Full Participation
$105. Limited to 10 people. Techniques Included: Fire 8-12
pots using various tin foil saggars with sulphates,
nitrates, carbonates and combustibles. Ferric chloride
sprayed on hot colored glazes, Layered Raku. Kosai fuming.
Maybe one Naku pot if time permits. See
http://www.sedonaartscenter.com/index.htm
And click on summer 2006 Community Workshops to see the
class description. For technical details contact her at
barbara@claywoman.net

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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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* Home/Business for sale

Move in and start Rakuing the Same Day!
We are getting out of the business and want to sell our
home, studio, and equipment to another potter. This
includes: a 6,200 sq. home with 2 bedrooms, dream master
bedroom, and three bath. Also there is a 1,200 sq. ft.
covered firing area, kiln room and two studios on 2 acres
of land. Equipment includes: a potter's wheel, a Peter
Pugger, large digital Paragon kiln, and 5 Raku kilns. There
is a great local art market including 35 galleries within a
50-mile radius and several local art fairs. Our home has a
75-mile view of Zion National Park. Property taxes are only
$1,200 a year. Asking price $625,000. Contact Janet
Prentice at Zion Canyon Raku. Toll free number is
866-301-8649 or email zcr@color-country.net

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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 2002-2006 Gary R. Ferguson