2017-11-29 - Wednesday - Raku fire fish

Wednesday night I fired the fish in the raku kiln at Clayworks.

Before I get to that, here is a photo of the trees at Clayworks from last night (ok, it was morning). The light was very strange; it made me think I was on another planet. Interesting.

Now, on to the raku firing...

Cans lined up for receiving fish.

The fish are getting hot.

Zebra/tiger/angel fish, depending who you talk to.

Almost the whole school.

Oops! Dropped one.

Fish in the kiln.

On the way home I was taken with some Christmas lights and thought I'd make another pass and video them.

Christmas lights.

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2017-11-28 - Tuesday - Glazing fish

Tuesday I glazed the batch of fish I made back in May(?!). I had no idea I'd had them so long. I'm trying some new glaze ideas on this batch, as always. If things go well, I'll fire them tomorrow night.

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2017-11-25 - Saturday - Old pots

While cleaning out the garage, I found a box of pots that I made back in the 90's. It was entertaining to revisit them. Some were interesting pieces and some were embarrassing experiments, so I sorted them out to my seconds shelf and the shard bin accordingly.

Frankenstein porcelain pot.

"Acorn" raku pot.

Spotted knob-and-all.

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2017-11-17 - Friday - Raku night

Friday was one of our studio raku nights where everyone at the studio is invited to participate and share some food and beverages. We had a good turnout and lots of pieces got fired.

I'm usually in the middle of everything, but Ralph had it well in hand so I kind of sat back and enjoyed the festivities.

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2017-03-10 - Friday - Empty Bowls and raku

Friday was a busy day for Clayworks.

South Charlotte Middle School was here for a raku firing class.

The mud daubers were making pots in the courtyard.

Adrienne, Kimberly, and I went to the Empty Bowls event at the convention center. It was larger than ever and I forgot to take photos inside the ballroom, but I got some of the line outside.

People picking out their bowls.

It was quite a long line.

Really long line.

I was demoing.

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2017-01-27 - Friday - Photos

I took some better photos of my raku fish and they're still making me giggle. I'm enjoying them and will make more when I can.

Click on the photo to see the rest of them.

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2017-01-26 - Thursday - Baked fish

Thursday night I fired four loads of raku while trimming more Empty Bowls. This was an important firing for me since I was curious to see how the fish I'd made would come out.

I love them.

I'm really pleased with the results and am planning on making more of them. There are so many glazing options I want to try that I don't know where to begin. Stay tuned.

On the left side you can also see two urns I made for a friend's dog who was mottled with patches of black and white. I made two in case one broke.

I forgot to take a photo of the guinea pig urn (I made two of those, also) before I delivered it to the owner so I asked her to send me a photo of it.

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2017-01-17 - Tuesday - Glazing raku

Tuesday I finally got around to glazing the second batch of raku pots I made last year. I was waiting on making some copper sand glaze and it was finally done.

Lots of pots and fish.

Guinea pig urns.

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2017-01-14 - Saturday - Muddy Fun and raku

Saturday was Muddy Fun day! We had another great group of students giving it a try for the first time. Having wonderful volunteers makes it all work. A big thanks to Susan, Susan, and Vince!

If you'd like to try throwing pots, check out our Muddy Fun classes.

Saturday was also the first day of our new Saturday raku class. This will be another fun addition to our schedule and with Greg teaching it'll be full of new experiences.

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2016-11-17 - Thursday - Faces and fish

Thursday I worked on the faces a bit more. They make me smile.

I also "crash-dried" the raku fish so I could bisque fire them. They make me giggle.

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2016-10-14 - Friday - Raku and pack the van

Friday afternoon I packed the van for tomorrow's Carolina Clay Matters Fall Pottery Festival. It was postponed from last Saturday because of strong winds and rains from hurricane Matthew.

After that it was off to Clayworks for a studio-wide raku party. We offer raku firing and a pot luck to everyone at the studio every few months. We always have a good time and I'm always amazed at the diversity of work people bring to the kiln.

The van is locked and loaded.

This was my raku piece.

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2016-10-05 - Wednesday - Gas kiln and more raku

Wednesday night the gas kiln was cool enough to open, but we're not unloading it until Thursday. I really liked some of the pots I could see.

We did have a minor issue when the low temperature cone pack melted into one of Jeff's bowls, but I don't think it looks too bad.

I fired another round of raku pots. I've been firing a lot of raku lately and I still have another bin full of pots to fire.

The results of the raku firing.
The character on the last two pots is 'fire'.

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2016-10-02 - Sunday - Raku and gas kiln = busy day

Sunday we were loading the gas kiln and while waiting for Jeff to finish glazing his work I fired some of the raku pots I've been making.

Raku paraphernalia all ready to go.

While waiting for the raku kiln to heat the first load
I glazed some more raku pots for another firing.

First couple of loads with underglaze and clear crackle.

During the raku firing I also made my first ever cone 10 cone packs. I know! The people I fired with always made them. Now I've done it too.

My first cone packs.

Another batch of raku, mostly luster glazes.

Same pots, other side.

This video is of the second batch of clear crackle pots
that Deborah helped me with by spritzing the pots
with water to promote crackling.

Finally it was time to start loading the gas kiln. We had a fairly loose pack due to Jeff needing to get some plates fired (and that we didn't have enough work for a tight pack). And here I thought I was making too much work...

Back stack.

Front stack (along with my cone packs)
and you can see by the flames that we started
"candling" the kiln.

By the time I left, the temperature was up to 866 F.
It will go to 1590 F and hold until
the morning when we start the firing process.

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2016-09-29 - Thursday - Raku glazing

Thursday I glazed a bunch of raku pots. As usual, I tried out a bunch of new ideas using some of my underglazes and different types of brushes. I do really enjoy glazing.

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2016-08-24 - Wednesday - Raku

Wednesday was raku night for Greg's class. It's always fun for veterans and rookies alike.

Greg sharing the procedure.

Before firing.

After firing.

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