Happy May Day 2016

So yesterday was the summation of the Raku class that I wrote about in the last post.  Here is what happened:  Since we threw our pots, (and no, we didn't throw them anywhere, but when you put clay on a spinning table and shape it into a tubular structure, it is called THROWING a pot) (as opposed to Hand-building which means using a piece of flat clay to shape any shape you prefer) last time, they fired our pieces and made them bisque, (hard), so they would be ready to apply glaze.

Glaze is a funny thing.  It is liquid, usually pastel, and usually doesn't fire out to the color you just painted.   You just trust that whoever brought the glaze knows what color it might fire out to be.  For instance, the baby pink liquid that I painted, turned a mossy green/coppery color.

 Pots can be dipped, or painted with the glazes...

 The chrome kiln in the background fired the glazes up to 1900+ degrees.  Then they are taken out and put in metal garbage cans filled with straw.  (I have seen this done with saw dust too) and the temp of the pottery starts the straw on fire that finishes the firing.

And the results are remarkable.  You can put the glaze on where you THINK you want it, but the same glaze, fired in a different spot of the kiln, or where it sits in the fire, will make it change, or run, or the finish might bubble or crack and be different.  Its kind of controlled chaos.  Did everything turn out beautiful?  Some more than others, but the fun of it all and watching them come out and cool on the ground will make you oooh and ahhhh... just like fireworks!  You can hear the glaze crackle as it cools.

By the way, mine weren't as pretty as the ones in this pic... but I am a rookie and already thinking about what I would do different next time...
Here are mine.  I am happy with them.  Nothing show stopping, but I didn't expect them to be.  I had fun.  And learned something new.  And it keeps you humble because you just don't control it totally.

> This one was dipped in Cobalt glaze on wone side, and then in a shiny pewter on the other side, (looks brown in this pic) with bare clay between..  So the glazes are smooth, the bare clay throws in another texture as its rough.

< This is metallic copper and a yellowish sheen.  The black and grey are bare clay.  It started out snow white that morning!

>This is silvery, with a swatch of copper, with the cobalt blue interior. 


I would definitely take this class again.  I learned that artists can plan all they want but they can be open to something unexpected.   I learned that not everyone thinks cracked is ruined.  I learned that though we all think differently, we can all support and help.  As we should!  I have heard that artists can be different thinkers. (GOOD!) and some can be critical. (I have run across some of those!)  But this group was supportive and fun and restored my faith in trying something new.

Always something new.  Stay tuned!