Shaun Hall's Raku Ceramics Blogspot

My website is back up live! It needs a bit of tweaking to bring it up to date, but thanks to my good friend and chief designer - Bergy it is live. He did a great job for me. Have a look and hopefully it will get updated as we go. That's my aim anyhow in between making pots....and teaching....if I get a chance! http://www.shaun-hall-raku.com/

A big thanks to Dr Badar Al Malmari of Sultan Quboos University. I picked up my package posted all the way from Oman, and lo and behold is my copy of "Ceramics and Glaze"- just about the only book on the subject written fully in Arabic! Ok, my Arabic is not that good- but I am featured in the Raku section- next to David Roberts. Pretty good eh?! Anyway if this carries on- I am going to need to put up another another bookshelf. Fifth book now- now I just need to sell some bloody pots....

You may remember my last disastrous attempt at building a Raku box type kiln. Suffice to say it didn't work- and the temperature stacked at 800 degrees c. This time I've recycled the fibre and mesh and reverted to the tried and trusted barrel type kiln- and dug out my old raku kiln given to me by a fellow potter. Essentially I've made a top hat to fit on the kiln base- and I am firing tommorow to check it reaches temperature.. It better bloody had I am doing a Raku firing demo on Saturday as part of the Braintree Arts Festival in Essex. I'll be stuffed if it doesn't work!

I photo'd up some work recently and some of the results can be seen below. These are the last of a batch of pots I've making since around Christmas- yes it does take me that long to get work together these days! One of the pots is already sold to a customer at   Pell Stevens Architects literally the day after it first appeared on Facebook.