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In This Issue
* While the Smoke Clears
* Gold in that there Crackle
* Higby Glaze
* Red Heat Timing
* Can I use this Glaze?
* New Just Raku Blog
* Raku Links
* Workshops
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* While the Smoke Clears * Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I had several people ask recently if I was all right since
it has been a while since the last issue of Just Raku was
published. Yes, I am fine, but the last couple months have been insane
with sick kids, sick wife, my Grandmother in and out of the
hospital, "taxi" rides for my house-bound Dad, two (yes
two) hip replacement surgeries for my Mom, etc. etc. etc. Everyone is finally on the mend so hopefully my life will
get back to normal (whatever that is any more). I do appreciate the "wondering when the next issue is going
to be published" or "did I miss an issue" emails. It lets
me know that you actually read and appreciate these
newsletters. This issue kind of ended up being a "glaze" issue, so
enjoy! As always, I look forward to your feedback, suggestions,
questions, and article ideas at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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"I must thank you for all the great recipes. I was a bit
stuck for new recipes. I'll be here for thirty years
trying all these out." - Simon D. http://www.rakuglazes.com
~-~-~ * Gold in that there Crackle Shari asked if I know of a Gold Crackle glaze. From my book "Raku Glazes" www.rakuglazes.com there are
several "gold" glazes. A couple of these are noted below: Gold
Gerstley Borate 80
Cornwall Stone 20
Nickel Oxide 10 Gold Luster
Gerstley Borate 80
Cornwall Stone 20
Silver Chloride 5 Gold/Silver Gloss
Frit 3134 90
EPK 10
Tin Oxide 3
Silver Nitrate 1 In general, you have a greater chance of getting a gold
color with heavy reduction. For crackle, you typically
want to apply the glaze fairly thick and also have a "bad"
glaze to clay fit. ~-~-~
"Our class fired again last night, and the instructor
followed your tips and voila. Boy do we have copper. Its
great knowing we can do it, and I really appreciate your
help. Thanks again!"-Shannon P. http://www.rakusecrets.com
~-~-~ * Higby Glaze Another reader, Nada, asked about a commercial dry mix
glaze named Higby Green, which fired to a turquoise to
glossy copper red. Again from Raku Glazes www.rakuglazes.com ebook there is a
Higby glaze (not but Higby Green glaze - but a Higby Water
Blue glaze), which does produce turquoise effects that
sound very similar to the one noted above. Definitely worth
trying. Higby Water Blue
Frit 3110 70
Gerstley Borate 5
Silica 5
Soda Ash 10
EPK 5
Copper Carbonate 3
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Books, Music, Videos and that's just the start. Amazon
sells more than books! Help support this newsletter by
using this link: http://www.garyrferguson.com/amazon
~-~-~ * Red Heat Timing Kathryn Write:
Gary, I enjoy reading your Just Raku newsletter. They are a
big help as I recently got access to Raku kilns. It has
been more than 15 years since I did Raku at University. I
mostly went by the visual aspect of it i.e., liquid surface
and red heat. I rarely hear about red heat in a Raku
firing, always a cone tipping. Yet, the last firings I did
came out great. The glaze doesn't rub off when I scrub them
with a metal scouring pads. Unlike the exact 50 minutes the
other teacher uses. So what's the correct procedure?
>
I'm not sure how one would ever successfully fire based
purely on time. There are so many variables in a kiln load
that the firing time can never be the exactly the same from
firing to firing. Each glaze will have a slightly
different maturity temperature, the burners will be opened
or closed slightly differently, and the pieces themselves
will be different sizes or different thicknesses in each
load, which will influence the firing. So I don't see how
you could ever fire based purely on time. Now "red heat" refers to the general color seen in the kiln
at a certain temperature. The "color" chart of firing
ranges from various colors of red, to orange, to yellow, to
ultimately white. Bright Red on the chart I have is associated with 1500F,
which is a little lower than most Raku glazes mature. I
typically fire to about 1750F (depending on the glaze),
which is associated with Orange. So somewhere between Red
and Orange would be a normal Raku temperature. Now cones are normally referenced in relation to a Raku
firing because they also take into account "time." For a
glaze to mature, it needs to reach a certain temperature
and maintain it for a certain period of time. When this is
achieved, a cone will bend to show this fact and should
indicate the glaze is mature as well. So colors can be used, but they are a little subjective and
don't really take into account the time factor, and firing
based purely on time would not be accurate either. It
takes a combination of both for a successfully firing. ~-~-~
After reading Sue's book I discovered dozens of tips,
techniques, and methods of creating Raku beads and jewelry
that I never would have thought of. The hundreds of color
photos are not only instructional but inspiring as well.
There is a new idea to try on almost every page. This book
is a gold mine!" http://www.rakubeadjewelry.com
~-~-~ * Can I use this Glaze? Ruth writes:
I just got 60 gallons of commercial 06 clear glaze for
$1.25 a gallon. It was too good of a deal to pass up, but
now I was trying to determine what chemical makes crackle?
There has got to be a way to use this vast amount of clear
glaze for more than clear and use it for Raku.
>
Just for the record, any glaze that matures at Raku
temperatures (such as ^06) can be used for in your Raku
firings. The clear you mention could be very beneficial as you can
probably add various colorants and/or stains to the glaze
and produce a multitude of different colored glazes. For
example, adding various percentages of copper carbonate
could produce a green, copper, red, or turquoise glaze. Now as far as crackle goes, this is not really due to a
particular chemical but more to the "fit" of the glaze to
the clay body. If the glaze shrinks more than the clay
body then crackle (crazing) will result. ~-~-~
Discover the secrets to creating multiple streams of income
using the power of eBay. A Powerseller shows you how at:
http://www.planetsms.co.uk/partners/?a=9OpcT9Pu&p=1
~-~-~ * New Just Raku Blog Just so you know I have started hosting a new Raku blog at
http://www.garyrferguson.com/wp I will post most of the newsletter articles here, but also
anything else I find interesting in the world of Raku or my
life. For example: http://www.garyrferguson.com/wp/?p=4 Feel free to post your own comments here as well. ~-~-~
"It's all your fault! I was up all night reading "Raku
Secrets". I have been Rakuing for about ten years, and
still so much to learn. Your Raku Secrets gave me a lot of
new insight. Thanks so much". - Elaine S.
http://www.rakusecrets.com
~-~-~ * Click Away * Raku Glazes http://www.rakuglazes.com
Raku Secrets http://www.rakusecrets.com
Raku Beads http://www.rakubeadjewelry.com
Got Raku? http://www.cafepress.com/gotraku
Just Raku Archive http://www.JustRaku.com
Just Raku Blog http://www.garyrferguson.com/wp
Hypnotic Auctions http://www.hypnoticauctions.com ~-~-~
Books, Music, Videos and that's just the start. Amazon
sells more than books! Help support this newsletter by
using this link: http://www.garyrferguson.com/amazon
~-~-~ * Workshops and Seminars April 21st-22nd 2007:
"North Mount Pleasant Arts Centre"
Calgary, Alberta, Canada. April 28th-29th 2007:
MudFire Clayworks
Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Info at: www.mudfire.com May 4th-5th 2007:
ClayWorld
San Antonio, Texas, USA. June 2007:
'La Magie du Tour'
Ottignies, Belgium.
Info at: www.lamagiedutour.com ~-~-~
Learn the secrets to creating eBay auctions that get more
bids and higher final prices. Don't list artwork, or
anything else without this book by your side.
http://www.hypnoticauctions.com
~-~-~ This newsletter is send to opt-in members only. If this
issue was forwarded to you and you would like your own copy
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JUST RAKU (C) Copyright 2002-2007 Gary R. Ferguson
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