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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 tomorrow's batch!






Comments

  1. Anonymous7 July 2014 at 20:06

    Great job, when do you burp them in the process?

    ReplyDelete
  2. shaun hall raku ceramics29 July 2014 at 03:40

    usually i leave it 10 minutes under the reduction bin- then another 10- then 5- so about 25 minutes of reduction punctuated by "burping!" Of course it depends on the size of the pot in relation to the smoking bin. There has to be a relationship- in that the bin to pot/ is not too big or small.

    ReplyDelete
  3. raku forme e pensieri7 September 2014 at 14:12

    Your copper mat is absolutely spectacular!

    ReplyDelete
  4. shaun hall raku ceramics21 September 2014 at 12:11

    That's very kind-thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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