Raku Sorcery

[sorce]

This is my Second Tea Bowl. A White Crackle Glaze on Porcelain. Removed from my new Baby Kiln at 1850F and Reduced in a nest of WoodChips in my compost pile, snuffed with a larger pot.



I am thoroughly in love with this process and what it creates.

more....much more.....

 

[Lazylightningny]

Sorcerer, how does one get in line for your pots?

 

[sorce]

This is my First Tea Bowl. Utilizing Obvara, or "Baltic Raku", these are removed at 1650F and submerged in a Flour, Yeast, Sugar and Water brew, which has been allowed 3 days fermentation. The pots are then dunked into cool water, to lock in the pattern of the combination, burning flour, and resisting gluten strands. I thought the texture of this bowl would look good utilizing this technique, for a first go at it, I'm quite pleased with these too.


Porcelain as well.

This process is meant to seal low fire clay. It holds Water. Though you're "not supposed to drink out of em".
We Do.

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[sorce]

Sorcerer, how does one get in line for your pots?

I will probably sell everything here until my website is flawless.
One good lightning strike can takeout a line!

Sorce

 

[Nybonsai12]

These look very cool. Nice work.

 

[substratum]

Haven’t done any kiln ceramics since High School in the ‘70s, so the process is far in the rear view mirror. I am a little familiar with raku. How cool (temperature) does the piece need to be to not crack or shatter when it is plunged into a liquid?

 

[sorce]

Magical Mishaps. At 1650F, it's hard to tell what has glaze and not. This was Obvara'd on accident with the White Crackle glaze with Chrome Tin Mason Stain added. It was supposed to mature at 1800F. Most of the Chrome Tin Must Volatilize between 1650F and 1850F, cuz there are only faint traces of it elsewhere. Like one the top points of that first bowl.

I love this because the pretty is ugly and the ugly is pretty and it is wrong.


This is a smaller version of my flame vase.
This is a buff stoneware that I wedged Silica Sand and Kyanite into, this helps with the thermal shocks.
First time doing that, and working with this clay at all.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Haven’t done any kiln ceramics since High School in the ‘70s, so the process is far in the rear view mirror. I am a little familiar with raku. How cool (temperature) does the piece need to be to not crack or shatter when it is plunged into a liquid?

It Depends on the clay. Porcelain tends to deal with it well, being so fine. My groggy stoneware works well. Above, was rolled with sand and kyanite for thermal shock.

Some folks quench em, but in my compost pile, it was cool enough to not have to, a little to cool perhaps, as I got some cracks.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Another of the Seven sided series. Porcelain. The patch was my red river clay, high iron. I burnished it in, then burnished more Porcelain over the top.
Some Sand too.

The Black Panels and inside are so black due to the Terra Sigillata. This is an ancient technique as well, utilizing the finest of clay particles in a slip(surface cover) which can be easily burnished. In this case, Kentucky Old Mine #4 Ball Clay. Sodium Silicate, or "water glass" is added to a slurry of the clay as a deflocculant. This causes particles to more rapidly separate, after 21 hours, the mixture has 3 distinct layers of water, fine clay, and larger clay. The middle fine particles are siphoned for use.


May or may not notice this was altered from the last time we saw it, broke a bit, but saved, but, broke again. But Beautiful.

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[sorce]

These 2 bowls were made 2 wheelless ways.
The left made with hands and kneecap and no other surface. So if you are ever in the middle of a lake, you can still make a pot.
The right coiled on the banding wheel.
My Red/Purple Stoneware.



These have a small white crackle glaze, which, since they are heavier, didn't cool much to crackle the glaze.
Seems they got overspray from something akin to them green balls while drying, reckon that's where the color came from.


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[penumbra]

I love Raku. It is my favorite method but I have not done any in a year or more because I wore my small kiln out and I have another larger one under construction. I can't afford the roof right now for my raku shed but hopefully by winter. I have quite a bit of experience with raku, matt copper raku, naked raku, horsehair raku and sager raku. Unfortunately I am not talented enough at the wheel to throw large graceful pieces that I prefer. Of course raku will never hold up to winter weather and even in an indoors planter it will degrade finally. Therefore nothing I have done in raku has been for plants.

 

[sorce]

Another Small Flame Vase. Obvara. The one that was supposed to be dunked! This too is stoneware rolled with sand and kyanite. I love this shape, love love love. It's so nice to be able to express these things that can't be expressed under the strict structural performance of a bonsai pot.



And a glazed cup of Red Stoneware. Black, it's black, with an oil sheen. This was reduced in wood shavings, dry pine needles, and dry dog food, in a closing rectangle cookie tin you will see later.


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[sorce]

Red Stoneware. This one is interesting. The Bottom and Handles are Terra Sig'd, Black, since it excepts the smoke so well. But you can see where it dripped off the handle, being a white clay, it took the Crackle White Glaze and made it perfect white. Where near everywhere else, except the design final splashes which included some colorants, it came out more red, being affected by the iron in the clay. The terra sig creates a barrier from the iron. Cool.


The Taller, Original Flame, or Lap Vase.

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[sorce]

Original Shape that is....This, is the OG flame vase. The one that cracked so I fixed it with Iron! lol. It cracked more, just too thin and not put together well enough for raku. It is wonderful though, thinking about a low expanding foam on the inside to hold it together.



And the beginning of the Raku Trinket Army, to be included with 2020 purchases.


Thanks For looking, I hope you find the Enjoyment in these Raku pots as I have!

Stay well Friends.

Sorce

 

[penumbra]

Looked around but I hardly have a raku thing left. Nothing for sale. I would not normally post anything like this here because these don't relate to bonsai or plants, but since the door is open, here is a few I have.
This is an example of my copper mat but most have more color.

Naked raku , vase thrown by Hawaiian potter Ramon Camarillo and glazed by me.

misc pieces

 

[sorce]

When I got up in the morning, I knew it was going to be a good day.

I got all my trees set out, built a rain roof for my kiln, cleaned the rabbit cage I found....
Had my daughter shoot and edit!







By nightfall, I knew it was in fact a great day.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

large graceful pieces

I love the lid handles on those. I would delight in just making the top peices!
Let someone else labor those large shapes out! Hehehe!

Great Work!

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Some tasty morsels there, @sorce

 

[justBonsai]

Very cool @sorce !!

 

[Sekibonsai]

Great stuff! Very excited now as I had the clay store throw in raku clay in my "just under the wire" supply run as they closed Houston down!