Monday, August 16, 2010

raku = pyromaniac party!

Raku is a fast fire process involving a lotta flames and drama. Martha had a raku party on Sunday, and there were maybe 12 of us there. Above, Chris and I mixed some glazes...

The kiln in this case is just a wire cage with ceramic insulation set atop bricks with a small burner blowing in fire....
I had 2 pieces in the first batch. The kiln goes up from zero to 1000 plus degrees in a half hour. You sorta look inside, see glowing pots and know they are ready to be taken out so you lift the lid off and pull out the glowing hot pots and then dumped into a trash can full of paper and sawdust for the smoky reduction (adds color and effects)






14 comments:

  1. Wow Gary! Those are beautiful.. And you make much better dumpster fires than I do!!

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  2. Completely awesome... gives new meaning to the term 'hot pot'. :)

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  3. I love, love love to Raku! Yay to fire and beautiful colors and rich blacks!

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  4. yeh baby...RAKU woohoo!!! you make a mean glaze mr G... :P

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  5. Those pots are stunningly beautiful! The process is kinda like magic, too.

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  6. That is awesome, and the pots are gorgeous!

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  7. This is super cool. I had no idea...

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  8. RAKUUUUUU!!!! my favorite way to spend a day. Jeff and I both have raku kilns and we can't wait to fire them up again.

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  9. Oh wow that's a fun firing party!
    Love the results too!

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  10. I'm soooo jealous! You're a man who knows how to work a set of tongs ;o)

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  11. Love those vases Gary! What a neat process.

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  12. Oh how fun! We love Raku parties! they are so way cool...! :) Love the pots...:)

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  13. Wow!

    Without the pottery and all, it looks like a camping trip: a bunch of folks standing around the fire with greenery everywhere. (Hurry up, Autumn!!)

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