Shaun Hall's Raku Ceramics Blogspot

It's been 17 years since I last fired any pots with ash glazes... I tend to be known for somewhat "whacky" Raku...but I do have an appreciation for classical  japanese and korean pottery. I'd also been experimenting with ash glazes and nuka glaze- which traditionally is made from rice hulk ash...but in my case - whatever I burned in the fire place over winter! It's been an enjoyable process. Whether or not I pursue this line..I don't know, although I would like to develop the texture into bowl forms. I'm still deciding on the glaze...it's all good fun and experimentation is good for the soul with pottery. I haven't been doing enough of late.

I've been testing out some sodium silicate wash on porcelain slip....in an attempt to generate some more textured surfaces. Some of the results are shown below. It's definitely something I want to progress with and especially with bowl forms. For now I'm going to try out a raku glaze and "wipe back" but I'm also keen to try out Obvara firing and also maybe some wood ash. It will have to wait until the weather warms up!