Firing new work part 1

It's been a long while since I've had any work to fire- probably the first batch since the summer. So it was with trepidation that I have begun some new Raku firings.

I've got a few commissions for people so this creates added pressure! At first the Copper matte results were a bit poor- a dodgy thermocouple meant that I was firing the kiln a tad low at around- 1020oc instead of between 1040-1050- which always seems to give better results and a better chance of achieving a good oxidation and reduction during the cooling process.

Once I had sussed this- and upped the temperature with the aid of a new thermocouple- the results have improved.

That said the pots have been interesting, with a lot of deep copper blue- some gold flashing and a bit of red. Though not much this time around. Oh well- keep on going maybe I will get it right one day soon! More post to follow I am sure.

Comments

Making and firing Raku tiles

I have just had in one or two orders and enquiries concerning Raku tiles. Making them can drive you to despair- what with their tendancy to warp, crack and shrink! It's amazing how something so simple is in actual fact so hard to make. It's also very difficult to lift a flat object out of the kiln with tongs from a red hot kiln. Well, with some prior experience, I've developed a firing system for tiles now which is now working pretty well. Quite simply, I lay each tile on a flat bed of ceramic fibre. That way each tile is raised slightly off the kiln shelf- and it's then easy to grasp the tile with tongs and drop into your reduction chamber/smoking bin. I stack two or three kiln shelves and can pack in about 20 tiles in one batch - depending on size. I do let the kiln cool slightly before carefully removing each shelf of tiles. I back off the gas- get each shelf of tiles out- then power back up to temperature and repeat till they're all safely ...

Good-bye for now see you around the internet!

As you no doubt have garnered I haven't been posting much on my blog as I would have liked this year. A combination of Covid, lockdown, and a double family bereavement have kind of lessened my enthusiasm this year for blogging. However, I am still potting, perhaps more so than ever and hope now that my work/life circumstances have changed I can devote more time to my passion for making ceramics. I've always potted in my spare time, so the only good thing to come out of this last year has been time and the ability to focus more on my ceramic work. I have some exciting opportunities in the pipeline which I'm sure I will mention when the time is right on other internet forums! In the meantime I'm continuing to make and fire raku work and develop work in textural high fired volcanics. I hope in 2021 to push the scale aspect of my sculptural work and return to some copper matte firings. I've enjoyed sharing what I do here on the blog. You can always track me down on f...

Mo Jupp

My connection to Mo was as a student at Middlesex University in the dog days of the ceramics course during the 90's. He was my personal tutor for four years. Diminutive of stature and blinking in the funny way he did, we all came to love him as a tutor. Middlesex then, had a reputation for slip casting and mold making, and I was awful at both! Instead I had more of an interest in sculpture rather than functional tableware. Mo seemed to take an interest in my progress. He was very perceptive of individual students' abilities and offered guidance without ever dominating the discussion. He could be critical of course, but in such a way that was constructive and not "dead ended." At times he played down his reputation ,when we first year students twigged what a great artist he really was. He simply claimed that he was a big fish in a small pond unlike his heroes - Giacometti or Modigliani. Modestly he said his income nearly all came from teachi...

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