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The Newsletter for Raku Artists and Raku Art Lovers In This Issue ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Welcome to another issue! January was a busy month. One week, I was in Las Vegas on a business trip. Unfortunately, this was not a "clay trip". It is sometimes overwhelming the amount of "input" that hits you in the big hotels and casinos (lights, sounds, people) - 24/7. I'm not a big gambler, but I did end up leaving town a little bit ahead. My youngest, Trevor, has decide to start walking already at 9.5 months. This was a little unexpected since his older brother, Connor, didn't really start walking until he was 1 year old. This has brought a whole new level of busy-ness to my life. They never seem to take off in the same direction! Finally, the response to my new ebook, Raku Secrets, has been tremendous. I'm very happy with the feedback I've been receiving as well. Just a little confirmation that all the hard work was appreciated. I don't know if I officially announced this yet or not, but if you have a Raku workshop coming up. Send me the info and I'll include it in the next newsletter. As always, I look forward to your feedback, suggestions, questions, and
article ideas at: Gary R. Ferguson ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * From the Studio * Last month, I covered my 2004 Clay Goals. Well I guess I need some for 2005. This year the focus is going to be more on creativity and experimentation. 1) "Touch" clay every week 2) Extremes - Very Large and Very Small work 3) Alternative Raku Well that should be enough. Hopefully you have some "creative" Clay Goals for this year too. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Article * Colorants - Part II Continuing on last month's article, here are some more common colorants and how they will perform when used with other chemicals or types of glazes: Manganese Carbonate These colors are basically the same in reduction, but other chemicals may react differently (i.e. the Copper noted above) Nickel Oxide Rutile When used in reduction colors of Blue and Purple can be obtained. Tin Oxide This is often used to make a clear glaze white or a colored glaze brighter Silver Nitrate ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Tips and Techniques * I had several questions in regards to Firing Crackle glazes which included - How to prevent getting "dirty" crackle, How to get colored crackle, and Why do I get no crackle (especially on slip cast pieces). Dirty Crackle can be caused from several things. If you fire in reduction, you will likely get gray crackle so fire in oxidation. Also you want to glaze fairly thick and make sure you are getting a good melt. If not, the glaze will be a little dry or matte looking. Finally you want to clean the piece really well. My favorite is SoftScrub and steel wool You can color crackle a few ways: add colorants (like copper, cobalt, iron, etc.) to the base glaze, or add stains (like Mason stains) to the base glaze, or use an underglazes on the piece and then cover with a clear crackle. If you are not getting crackle, the glaze fits the clay too well. The glaze needs to shrink slightly more than the clay in order for cracks to form. You can try cooling the piece faster or blowing air on the piece, but normally if you are not getting crackle you either need to change the clay body or change crackle glaze that you are using. ~~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~- * Q & A * Q: I'm looking for a source of "Fine Art Fair" listings in the US. Any ideas? A: I know a few sources that provide Fair Listings Ceramics Monthly Magazine ( http://www.ceramicsmonthly.com) Art Calendar Magazine ( http://www.artcalendar.com) Crafts Report Magazine ( http://www.craftsreport.com) Sunshine Artist Magazine ( http://www.sunshineartist.com) Hopefully this helps, and good luck. ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Glazing * Vapor Glazing There was a question emailed to me after last month's issue as to "What is Vapor Glazing." So I did a little research and discovered an old issue of Clay Times - March/April 2001 that had an article covering Vapor Glazing by Biz Littell. His technique is named "Kosai ware" which means "hue of light" and involves the use of precious metals such as gold and platinum or special salts such as Stannous Chloride. His process is to first bisque fire the piece, then glaze fire the piece to cone 04. Then the piece is fired a third time to about 1000F at which point the kiln is opened to cool down to about 800F. One to two tablespoons of stannous chloride crystals are quickly poured on the hot kiln shelf around the pieces (but not on the pieces). Then the kiln is closed for a few minutes to give the salts time to fume the pieces. This colorant effect is more permanent that the standard Raku copper matte flashing effect. These chemicals are apparently very corrosive so it is critical that the proper safety equipment is used - respirator, mask, gloves, etc. The following website has a very similar article: More examples of this type of work: ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Reader Feedback * * * * * * * * * * Gary: ~ ~ ~ Dawn: * * * * * * * * * Hello Gary, I'm writing because as I said, I'm in a remote part of Mexico far away from any ceramics supply store or chemical supply and I have a couple questions for you. I have a good supply on hand of Gerstley borate and Nepheline Syenite and some bone ash, also cobalt carb and copper carb and oxide. I also have quite a bit of underglaze colors. I've tried mixing the underglazes into an 80/20 blend of Gerstley/Nepheline and can't get any true color... mostly white with some light color or flat black and fired to cone 08. I've read that I can add GB to underglaze to get a glossy glaze, but haven't gotten any strong results. Shall I just relegate myself to the world of pastels? Do you have any tips on using underglaze colors in Raku? I'm guessing I must run them thru a light bisque first. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again for your contributions to the crazy world of Raku! ~ ~ ~ Hi Michele: You might also try covering the piece with the underglaze first and
then put a light coat of the 80/20 over the underglaze. Spraying the 80/20
glaze over the underglaze works best. You probably already know this, but you can also add the Copper
Carbonate and Cobalt Carbonate to the 80/20 glaze and get great dark Blues
and Greens as well. Hope this helps. * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary, ~ ~ ~ Hanneke: * * * * * * * * * Dear Gary, I also noticed your ebook, which I am very interested in. My only
concern is that in Australia the ingredients are different eg. It is not
possible to obtain Gerstley borate from the suppliers that I'm aware of.
Can you help me in this question - is there a simple substitute? I want to
be able to make most of the recipes that I have seen for Raku. ~ ~ ~ Hi Jill * * * * * * * * * Dear Gary, But lately I've been dreading opening your newsletter. I couldn't
figure out why I was dreading it so much, especially given the fact I
enjoyed it so much. Then I finally realized: your newsletter is one huge
ad for you; your book, your website, etc. Now, I don't [fault an] artist [for] making a buck (and I enjoy making
one myself!) but seriously dude, enough already. I'd much rather read about your process as an artist or your struggles
to come up with something new, firing surprises and the things that make
an artist's work different than say a lawyers (for example). I'd much
rather read about how you combat burning out on a favorite design that is
a huge seller than where I can get your latest "Got Raku"
tee-shirt. I think you have something to contribute to the Raku community beyond
glaze recipes and books - that is what I'm trying to get across here Thanks, ~ ~ ~ I really debated putting your comments in this issue, but decided, what the heck, at least I'm an equal opportunity newsletter editor. So here goes… I also was going to go on a rant, but I decided against that as well. I'm mellowing in my old age. Instead I have just two comments: 1) I won't tell you how many hours it takes each month to publish this F.R.E.E. newsletter. 2) If you are dreading the newsletter each month - please unsubscribe.
I don't think I can handle being the source of your discomfort. * * * * * * * * * Gary: ~ ~ ~ Elaine: * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary PS Is the new book in hard copy format? Or only electronic? Thanks! ~ ~ ~ Mike B. Seriously, it will take some playing around with different glazes on the clay you use, because the crackle is related to how much the glaze shrinks more than the clay. So there isn't one answer. Typically with a clear crackle you don't need a heavy reduction, but you do need to have a bunch of smoke to stain the clay so the crackle is visible. Hope this helps, PS Raku Secrets is primarily sold as an eBook but a printed-paper
version is available at http://www.cafepress.com/rakusecrets White Cloud * * * * * * * * * Hi Gary Oh, and for what its worth: when mixing a glaze batch I always get out
all of the ingredients first, line them up (next to the scale) in the
order they appear on my 'recipe' card, and then replace each one on the
shelf immediately after adding that component. That way interruptions and
phone calls don't make me miss my place. ~ ~ ~ Mike: Thanks for the additional tips on not screwing up when mixing a batch
of glaze. * * * * * * * * * Happy New Year, Gary, and Buon Anno as they say here in Italy. Hope you
can continue this wonderful initiative that probably takes quite a bit of
your time but connects, through Raku, people in the USA and Europe and
perhaps ~ ~ ~ Hi Ana: * * * * * * * * * * Click Away * My eBay Listings http://tinyurl.com/tn08 ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ * Workshops, Ads, etc. * LINDA & CHARLIE RIGGS For more details and some general saggar firing tips and techniques, check out my blog at: http://tinyurl.com/68wvs or http://justraku.blogspot.com/2005/01/saggar-workshop-in-arizona.html ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ 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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