make pottery

I just did this today for the first time. :) A lot of fun.

Working with clay is fantastic! Relaxing and meditative, too!

The use of a reduction chamber at the end of the raku firing was introduced by the American potter Paul Soldner in the 1960s to compensate for the difference in atmosphere between wood-fired Japanese raku kilns and gas-fired American kilns. Typically, pieces removed from the hot kiln are placed in masses of combustible material (e.g., straw, sawdust, or newspaper) to provide a reducing atmosphere for the glaze and to stain the exposed body surface with carbon.

Western raku potters rarely use lead as a glaze ingredient, due to its serious level of toxicity. Japanese potters substitute a non-lead frit. Although almost any low-fire glaze can be used, potters often use specially formulated glaze recipes that “crackle” or craze (present a cracked appearance), because the crazing lines take on a dark color from the carbon.

Western raku is typically made from a stoneware clay body and are bisque fired at 900°C (1650°F) and glaze fired (the final firing) between 800-1000°C (1450-1800°F), which falls into the cone 06 firing temperature range. The process is known for its unpredictability, particularly when reduction is forced, and pieces may crack or even explode due to thermal shock. Pots may be returned to the kiln to re-oxidize if firing results do not meet the potter’s expectations, although each successive firing has a high chance of weakening the overall structural integrity of the pot. Pots that are exposed to thermal shock multiple times can break apart in the kiln, as they are removed from the kiln, or when they are in the reduction chamber.

The glaze firing times for raku ware are short: an hour or two as opposed to up to 16 hours for high-temperature cone 10 stoneware firings. This is due to several factors: raku glazes mature at a much lower temperature (under 1800°F, as opposed to almost 2300°F for high-fire stoneware), kiln temperatures can be raised rapidly, and the kiln is loaded and unloaded while hot and can be kept hot between firings.

Because temperature changes are rapid during the raku process, clay bodies used for raku ware must be able to cope with significant thermal stress. The usual way to deal with this is to incorporate a high percentage of quartz, grog, or Kyanite into the body before the pot is formed. Each is used to add strength to the clay body and to reduce thermal expansion. When used at high additions, quartz can increase the risk of dunting or shivering therefore, Kyanite is often the preferred material because it contributes both mechanical strength and, in amounts up to 20%, it significantly reduces thermal expansion. Although any clay body can be used, most porcelains and white stoneware clay bodies are unsuitable for the western raku process unless some material is added to deal with thermal shock.

Aesthetic considerations include clay color and fired surface texture, as well as the clay’s chemical interaction with raku glazes.

In a craft conference in Kyoto in 1979, a heated debate sprang up between Western raku artistsPaul Soldner and Rick Hirsh and the youngest in the dynastic raku succession, Kichiemon, concerning the right to use the title ‘raku’. The Japanese artists maintain that any work by other craftsman should hold their own name, (i.e. Soldner-ware, Hirsh-ware), as that was how ‘raku’ was intended.

_{from Raku Ware in Wikipedia}

that got away from the stress of his career by making beautiful pottery. He was a very special friend and quite an inspiration. I really want to learn to make raku pottery.

Although my cups and bowls are not perfect, i’ve made pottery. I hope to take up this goal again within the next five years.

I order to support some of my other goals, save money and travel, i am suspending pottery classes for a while. Maybe in January i will start up again.

I haven’t made any pottery since I took a pottery class while working on my degree in graphic design, back in the late eighties, but I enjoyed the process very much and would like to do it again sometime. I used to make these low-profile wheel-thrown bowls that were really attractive.

One caveat: if you’re making anything to eat out of/off of, be careful what type of glaze you use on it, as most of them are toxic. As I recall, a salt glaze is safe, though.

Finally making plates and bowls, but my cups still look like crap. Need to still work on them.

I threw again today and it has been about a week beause I’ve been busy with other things. My first two pieces were nice, but I still think they are quite small. I’d like to throw a few larger pieces. I think I’m just lacking patience…maybe focus.

I took a few pottery classes last year and got completely addicted!. I bought my own wheel and try to throw as much as I can. My goal right now is to make 20 mugs/cups, 20 plates, 20 bowls, and 10 teapots (teapots take a little longer since there are more parts). Some other forms make there way on the shelves too.

I’m making good progress so far. I can’t hook up my kiln until summer when it’s nice outside, so my collection is growing.