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Showing posts from June, 2014

Day 2 of 3...Raku firing in June

I'm busy firing copper mattes at the moment- the first batch in a long while. I'm about half way through the cycle- and so far as usual it's a mixed affair. However, there is this beaut- which photographed pretty well- even in a quick "just out of the kiln" snap. So here it is. Off to visit Art in Clay at Hatfield next weekend- I am sure that I will report back. Hopefully with lots of new ideas and pots seen!

Raku day in June

I've had a new batch of work sitting around in the studio waiting to get fired, so at long last I found time to fire up the kiln.  Yesterday was probably the hottest day of the year so far.... maybe not such a great idea after all! The hot weather does seem to play a part with the cooling process with copper matte slips. On a really hot day, pots  don't cool down as fast during the  reduction, and that can affect the spread of colour development. Yesterday, I let the work  cool under a sealed tin for at least another 10-15 minutes. You can "feel" the heat coming off the top of the tin- so that's how I gauge whether they're  ready or not. On a cold day- reduction takes on average- 15 minutes ( 1 x10 - then 1 x 5)- yesterday the pots were getting 25 minutes in total. (1x10, 1x10, 1x5) Each reduction is punctuated by a "burp"- that is lifting the tin to allow in air and re-oxidation. There were some fair to good results- hoping for even better in