We’re planning a raku firing this weekend. What is it about the smoke, the fire, the stress, the waiting that gets us potters so excited? I guess it’s the ‘not knowing’ – the gamble. Raku fired pottery is so unpredictable. You might think you’re going to get a lovely shiny copper finish and plan for that, and one unknown factor like position in the kiln may make the piece green. I love it! Here are some images of the pieces I’ve glazed for the the weekend firing.
TIles all prepped and ready to be raku fired this weekend!
These pieces were previously fired in a Woodfire and don’t come out so well, so I am hoping the raku process will make them prettier. I’ve used a bright, shiny copper glaze (the red color) and Blue Belle (the light colored glaze). I am not sure what the Blue Bell glaze will look like. Since I am not attached to these pieces I am ok with experimenting. Anywhere that is not covered with glaze should pick up the carbon from the smoke and turn it black.
My huband is working on some rad pots. He’s doing some underglaze work, clear crackle and black. He’s also going to do some pots using horse hair. He’ll get the kiln up to temperature and pull the pot out while it’s super hot. Then he’ll take strands of horsehair and place it on the pot. The hair burns, and leaves a lovely, unpredictable pattern on it.
I’ll post some pics of our firing this weekend so you can see if the pots came out as we expected. My guess is – they won’t! 😉
My husband Bob, preparing his pottery for the raku fire.
