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raku clay

updated wed 8 jun 05

 

Dan Johnston on thu 22 aug 96

Hello everyone:

Would anyone out there care to recommend to me a *very* white commercial clay
that would hold up under Raku firings?

Dan
Tahlequah, OK
DLJ57@aol.com

Ken Cowan on fri 23 aug 96


Have you experimented with your regular clay? I've used a wide
variety of clays for raku -- cone 6 and 10 stonewares, cone 5 and 10
porcelain, as well as 2 different raku bodies. None of the clays
withstood thermal shock any better than the others, as far as I
could tell.

I did have problems with the bottom of slab built pieces cracking
off. Preheating the piece by putting them near the burner didn't make a
difference. What finally worked was to put a room temperature brick
on the kiln shelf, then the piece on the brick.

I also only spray the pots lightly with water when I take them
out of the trash can (reduction chamber). Just lightly enough to
stop the reoxidation. I then let them air cool.

I've lost a few pots by having them tip over onto a pebble. They
seem to be very much more fragile when hot.

Guess I've rambled enough. I'm curious if other people have found
an advantage to using one of the raku bodies.

KC
------------------------------------------------------
Ken Cowan Thomson Software Products
cowan@east.thomsoft.com 200 Wheeler Rd
Burlington, MA 01803

SANTERRE ROBERT on fri 23 aug 96

AMACO makes a white raku clay. You can purchase it through The Brickyard in
Indianapolis, IN (800)677-3289. AMACO may have a local distributor closer to
you (317)244-6871. We've found the body to be a little short (they add a lot
of grog). You may need to wet the clay a bit and wedge it thoroughly to get
it to a useable consistency depending on what you'll be doing with it.

Bob
santerre_robert@lilly.com

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hello everyone:

>Would anyone out there care to recommend to me a *very* white commercial clay
>that would hold up under Raku firings?

>Dan
>Tahlequah, OK
>DLJ57@aol.com

Clyde Wynia on fri 23 aug 96

At 01:05 PM 8/22/96 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hello everyone:
>
>Would anyone out there care to recommend to me a *very* white commercial clay
>that would hold up under Raku firings?
>
>Dan
>Tahlequah, OK
>DLJ57@aol.com
>

Paoli Clay in Paoli Wisconsis has a talc clay that is very white which we us
for raku all the time. Seems to work great.
Clyde Wynia
M222 Sugarbush Lane,
Marshfield, WI 54449

Work 715-387-2580
Home 717-387-1653
Fax 715-387-1212

June Perry on fri 23 aug 96

Here on the west coast a lot of potters use a white cone 10 body called B-mix
for rakuing. It throws and fires well in Raku.

Regards,
June

Phil Davenport on fri 23 aug 96

Trinity Ceramics, in Dallas, has a white stoneware that works great with
the raku process.
Phil
Garland, Tx

On Thu, 22 Aug 1996, Dan Johnston wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hello everyone:
>
> Would anyone out there care to recommend to me a *very* white commercial clay
> that would hold up under Raku firings?
>
> Dan
> Tahlequah, OK
> DLJ57@aol.com
>

katie rose on wed 27 aug 97

thanks to everyone who so kindly responded to my querry regarding types of
clay to use for raku.

the concensus seems to be that any clay with some grog/sand will work. yet,
people specifically mentioned mid and high fire clay. so i am wondering why
low fire clay was not mentioned, as raku is a low fire process...

thanks, again.

katie rose



****************************************************
katie rose
raven@sedona.net

"Love is the reflection of God's unity in the world of duality. It
constitutes the entire significance of creation." (Meher Baba)

Sarah Barnes on fri 29 aug 97

I have used earthenware in raku and it seems to work. Red clay has a
tendency to crack, however very cleanly so its easy to reassemble. White
earthenware as well. Neither clay stands up well to the shock of water
after the reduction bucket. Hope this helps

Sarah

Gary Ferguson on mon 19 aug 02


The short answer is Yes. I have Raku-ed ^6 clay (that actually had very
little grog) and didn't have any problem. It all depends on how fast you
fire and how you reduce the piece and how the piece is shaped.

Gary Ferguson
Clay Artist
http://www.garyrferguson.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Mahoney"
To:
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 4:08 PM
Subject: RAKU CLAY


> Does anyone know if a stoneware clay(^6) with a good amount of grog can
> also be used for raku.
> If you know from experience please e-mail me at jfmah@juno.com
> Thanks
> Jim
> Mahoney
>
>

Jim Mahoney on mon 19 aug 02


Does anyone know if a stoneware clay(^6) with a good amount of grog can
also be used for raku.
If you know from experience please e-mail me at jfmah@juno.com
Thanks
Jim
Mahoney

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Marta Matray Gloviczki on mon 19 aug 02


jim,
i use 'raku' clay from 'continental clay' in minneapolis.
it is a cone 10 stoneware with grog and perfect for raku firings as well.
i like to use it, so i dont have to decide how i will fire the piece before
it is finished.
this way the piece can be raku fired, sometimes pitfired, or electric ^6,
or reduction to ^10... glazed or not...
i fired it in wood, soda, salt and anagama too.
hope this helps,
marta
http://www.mypots.com/Marta.htm


>Does anyone know if a stoneware clay(^6) with a good amount of grog can
>also be used for raku.
>If you know from experience please e-mail me at jfmah@juno.com
>Thanks
>Jim
>Mahoney
>
>________________________________________________________________
>GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
>Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
>Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
>http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
___
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

Jon Faber on tue 20 aug 02


as many have noted, a ^6 stoneware with grog (or even
something finer) should be fine. I wanted to add that
i took a ^6 porcelain bottle (standard's S213
Porcelain Clay without any grog added) out of a raku
can this summer, dunked it in water completely
incorrectly, and it did not break.
This was 5 pound, 13 inch high, 5 inch wide, with an
opening no longer wide enough for the potter's pinky.
First i dunked it, let go, it popped to the top.
then i held it under for 20 seconds, then i let the
mouth out of the water for a bit until the inside
filled with water.
Granted, we let the reduction can's get a little
cooler than I am used to but this goes against
everything i have learned about raku.

at the end of the day - you should feel safe with ^6
stoneware with grog. But of course - test, test,
test.
do a small test kiln with different clays (if you have
then) with and without grog.
we actually did use a test kiln and then carry it
outside and reduce there.

after testing the clay's you will have all the
definiative answers you could possibly need.

jon
cleveland


--- Gary Ferguson wrote:
> The short answer is Yes. I have Raku-ed ^6 clay
> (that actually had very
> little grog) and didn't have any problem. It all
> depends on how fast you
> fire and how you reduce the piece and how the piece
> is shaped.
>
> Gary Ferguson
> Clay Artist
> http://www.garyrferguson.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jim Mahoney"
> To:
> Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 4:08 PM
> Subject: RAKU CLAY
>
>
> > Does anyone know if a stoneware clay(^6) with a
> good amount of grog can
> > also be used for raku.
> > If you know from experience please e-mail me at
> jfmah@juno.com
> > Thanks
> > Jim
> > Mahoney
> >
> >
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change
> your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be
> reached at melpots@pclink.com.


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Lamar, Luke on tue 20 aug 02


Hi Jim,
I use Standard's 181 white stoneware or a ^6 porcelain for small to medium
sized pieces - especially those I terra sig. I find that unevenly thrown
pieces or pieces larger than about 10 inches (in any dimension) crack or
break. For larger pieces I use Campbell's Raku clay - very groggy, little to
no breakage. I also use a reddish stoneware from Standard (235??) that seems
to work well.

Luke Lamar
llamar@bacweb.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Mahoney [mailto:jfmah@JUNO.COM]
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 6:08 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: RAKU CLAY


Does anyone know if a stoneware clay(^6) with a good amount of grog can
also be used for raku.
If you know from experience please e-mail me at jfmah@juno.com
Thanks
Jim
Mahoney

________________________________________________________________
GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO!
Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less!
Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org

You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/

Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

RJ Shulenburg on tue 7 jun 05


Having never done Raku and after searching the ClayArt archives, can I raku
bisqued cone 8-10 porcelain? I'm just doing a (one time) quickie morning
workshop and I don't own any low fire clay. I just want to have the piece
survive. I read somewhere that you could use any clay, just wedge dirt into
it. This seems rather treacherous and I'm not sure it would work with
porcelain. Tips on throwing thickness and shapes would be appreciated.

Thanks, Ronda Shulenburg
Waiting for the next thunderstorm in coastal Virginia