Lee on thu 1 mar 12
Raku was invented for powdered tea. I think water quenching is what
makes raku less strong.
No, the whole point of raku, is that the body is unverified. That gives
the soft sound to the tea whisk. Traditional shino clay is high alumina
and does not vitrify. It gives a similar sound as Raku. That was the
appeal of shino.
On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 8:07 PM, jemuzu wrote:
> I have several Japanse-made raku tea bowls that are perfectly functional
> -- they have no problem holding water. Seriously doubt there's any tung
> oil, polyurethane, silicon, etc. on them (commonly applied to raku-ware
> made in the States, at least). So what is it about the process or
> materials that makes this possible? Judging by the almost wooden "thunk"
> when tapped with a fingernail, I'm assuming they are indeed low-fired. Is
> it the clay? Are they using a clay body that vitrifies at a low temperatu=
=3D
re
> and can also handle sudden thermal shock? Are they once or twice fired? I=
=3D
s
> it the glaze? Firing temperature? Firing ramps or length? Quenching in
> water vs. combustibles in a trash can? Please do tell.
>
> James
>
--=3D20
--
Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he land
of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent within
itself." -- John O'Donohue
Sumi von Dassow on thu 1 mar 12
jemuzu
isn't it just the fact that you drink the tea relatively quickly? If you
filled them with water and left them on a nice finished wooden table
overnight I'd expect water would leak through and damage the finish.
Un-vitrified pottery doesn't leak like a sieve.
Sumi
> I have several Japanse-made raku tea bowls that are perfectly functional =
-- they have no problem holding water. Seriously doubt there's any tung oil=
, polyurethane, silicon, etc. on them (commonly applied to raku-ware made i=
n the States, at least). So what is it about the process or materials that=
makes this possible? Judging by the almost wooden "thunk" when tapped with=
a fingernail, I'm assuming they are indeed low-fired. Is it the clay? Are =
they using a clay body that vitrifies at a low temperature and can also han=
dle sudden thermal shock? Are they once or twice fired? Is it the glaze? Fi=
ring temperature? Firing ramps or length? Quenching in water vs. combustibl=
es in a trash can? Please do tell.
>
> James
>
>
jemuzu on thu 1 mar 12
I have several Japanse-made raku tea bowls that are perfectly functional --=
=3D
they have no problem holding water. Seriously doubt there's any tung oil, =
=3D
polyurethane, silicon, etc. on them (commonly applied to raku-ware made in =
=3D
the States, at least). =3DA0So what is it about the process or materials th=
at=3D
makes this possible? Judging by the almost wooden "thunk" when tapped with=
=3D
a fingernail, I'm assuming they are indeed low-fired. Is it the clay? Are =
=3D
they using a clay body that vitrifies at a low temperature and can also han=
=3D
dle sudden thermal shock?=3DA0Are they once or twice fired?=3DA0Is it the g=
laze=3D
? Firing temperature? Firing ramps or length? Quenching in water vs. combus=
=3D
tibles in a trash can? Please do tell.=3D0A=3D0AJames
jemuzu on fri 2 mar 12
>Un-vitrified pottery doesn't leak like a sieve.
Goo=3D
Thanks, Sumi=3D0A=3D0A>Un-vitrified pottery doesn't leak like a sieve.=3D0A=
=3D0AGoo=3D
d point.=3DA0=3D0A=3D0A>=3DA0If you=3DA0filled them with water and left the=
m on a nic=3D
e finished wooden table=3DA0overnight I'd expect water would leak through a=
nd=3D
damage the finish.=3DA0=3D0A=3D0AI filled two with water this morning and =
when I=3D
got home this evening one indeed had leaked. It had an unglazed foot. Anot=
=3D
her with a black glaze that covers the bottom of the foot did not leak -- m=
=3D
aybe that's a factor.=3D0A=3D0AAnyway, it makes sense that they'd leak to s=
ome =3D
extent, but as you suggest, it really doesn't matter as the tea is drunk be=
=3D
fore it any leaking might generally occur.=3D0A=3D0AI'm not a fan of much o=
f th=3D
e raku I see in this country (USA). I do however love the more traditional =
=3D
style seen in Japanese chawan. Time to do some research into appropriate cl=
=3D
ay bodies, glazes, and firing techniques.=3DA0=3D0A=3D0ACan anyone point me=
in th=3D
e right direction?=3D0A=3D0AJames=3D0ABerkeley, California=3D0Ahttp://www.j=
ameswhit=3D
ingceramics.com/
Vince Pitelka on sat 3 mar 12
Low-fired utilitarian wares with crazed glazes have been used world-wide =
=3D
for
a thousand years. It is true that they will leak very slowly with
water-based liquids in them, but there is no evidence at all that this =3D
poses
any health hazard. As far as we know, no one has been sickened by =3D
bacteria
growing in the craze lines or within the claybody of a glazed low-fire =3D
pot.
It just doesn't seem to happen. Obviously it isn't very practical to use
crazed low-fire wares to store liquids if a little leakage is going to =3D
be an
issue. And obviously you shouldn't put a low-fired flower vase filled =3D
with
water on your prized antique sideboard. =3D20
I talked to my son Morgan about red raku and black raku. He's a scholar =
=3D
of
Medieval Japanese ceramics and tea culture at UNC Chapel Hill and the =3D
author
of "Handmade Culture: Raku Potters, Patrons, and Tea Practitioners in =3D
Japan"
- forgive me for bragging about him, but I cannot help it and will =3D
continue
to do so at every opportunity. All of the original Japanese raku glazes
were lead-glazed, and the black raku glaze of course contained iron. =3D
Both
black and red raku teabowls were fired in small charcoal-fired kilns, =3D
but
the one used for black raku had a bellows to achieve higher temperature.
Soldner was wrong about the firing temperature and the speed of firing.
Black raku was fired to around 2100 to get the black color, but it was =3D
fired
very quickly and the body remained as porous as low-fire. The quick =3D
firing
was no doubt also to keep the lead from volatilizing and ruining the =3D
glaze.
So it's true that the black raku is fired to a higher temperature than =3D
red
raku, but inaccurate to say it is high-fired or fired slowly.=3D20
Of course we are no longer using lead glazes, so assuming that a raku =3D
glaze
is fluxed with Gerstley borate or a frit, there is no reason the wares
should be considered non-functional, especially if the potter avoids the
folly of quenching in water (Japanese raku potters didn't quench).
Quenching serves no practical purpose and often causes the claybody =3D
itself
to crack, rendering the piece truly non-functional in modern Western =3D
terms.=3D20
There's a larger issue here, and since I am not adverse to playing =3D
devil's
advocate I will mention it. There is certainly nothing wrong with the =3D
idea
of a Western potter committing her/himself to studying the Japanese tea
ceremony and making authentic ware for the tea ceremony, as Richard =3D
Milgrim
has done. Such a potter might choose to make oxidation or reduction
high-fired ware, or wood-fired ware, or raku. But otherwise, why do =3D
raku?
I mean, the Western raku firing process is still a very exciting =3D
experience
for someone who has never done it before and is unaware that all the
standard Western raku glazes and effects popularized from the 60s =3D
through
the 90s have been completely done to death. Doing raku with kids (or
adults) is still great fun as an intense participatory experience, but a
large percentage of potters and aficionados of pottery see Western raku =3D
as
over and done. Raku has pretty much disappeared from academia, and when =
=3D
a
student comes to me asking about it, I say, "Sure, you can do raku, as =3D
long
as you come up with something original that avoids all the clich=3DE9s. I =
=3D
guess
anyone doing Western raku is facing that challenge. =3D20
Since raku is still being taught in some workshops, local art centers,
high-school programs, etc., of course there are still people getting =3D
excited
about it and interested in doing raku. I guess I am posing a question =3D
to
them. If you make Western raku pottery, how do you keep your work =3D
exciting
and new? Have you found interesting new effects rather than rehashing =3D
white
crackle, alkaline blue-green crackle, copper penny, and copper matt?=3D20
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
marta matray on sat 3 mar 12
vince, what about naked raku? its not as old (as far as i know) as the
western raku.... or is it? i love naked raku!
marta
."..how do you keep your work exciting
> and new? Have you found interesting new effects rather than rehashing wh=
ite
> crackle, alkaline blue-green crackle, copper penny, and copper matt?
> - Vince"
Vince Pitelka on sat 3 mar 12
Marta wrote:
"Vince, what about naked raku? It's not as old (as far as i know) as the
western raku.... or is it? i love naked raku!"
Hi Marta -
Hey, each to their own. Naked raku is a lot newer than other offshoots of
Japanese raku practiced in the US. Naked raku has very little connection to
Japanese raku, and is an example an original use of the raku process. It i=
s
pretty widely practiced these days, and I guess it is up to each potter to
decide whether it is still original and fresh enough to meet their demands.
I used to do a little naked raku but I kept getting burned in embarrassing
places.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Craig Edwards on sat 3 mar 12
Raku - What makes Japanese tea bowls functional? Tea
--
Make Good Pots
~Craig
New London MN
http://woodfiredpottery.blogspot.com/
Hank Murrow on sat 3 mar 12
On Mar 3, 2012, at 10:44 AM, Craig Edwards wrote:
> Raku - What makes Japanese tea bowls functional? Tea
Boy Howdy! My chawan changed radically once I began a two-bowls-a-day =3D
habit of matcha instead of coffee(equally elaborate! I was roasting my =3D
own beans). I love the mild lift without the precipitous drop that =3D
matcha offers the mind/body. The bowls are different because I make them =
=3D
very differently, and they're made pretty much one at a time. Whether =3D
gas or wood-fired Shino, or black hikidashi, the bowls each have =3D
something good to offer the hand, mouth, and eye.
Well put, Craig!
Cheers, Hank
Nefsigh@AOL.COM on sun 4 mar 12
test=3D20
=3D20
=3D20
In a message dated 3/3/2012 10:35:52 A.M. Central Standard Time, =3D20
vpitelka@DTCCOM.NET writes:
Low-fired utilitarian wares with crazed glazes have been used world-wide=
=3D
=3D20
for
a thousand years. It is true that they will leak very slowly with
water-based liquids in them, but there is no evidence at all that this=3D2=
0
poses
any health hazard. As far as we know, no one has been sickened by bacteri=
=3D
a
growing in the craze lines or within the claybody of a glazed low-fire pot=
=3D
.
It just doesn't seem to happen. Obviously it isn't very practical to use
crazed low-fire wares to store liquids if a little leakage is going to be=
=3D
=3D20
an
issue. And obviously you shouldn't put a low-fired flower vase filled wit=
=3D
h
water on your prized antique sideboard. =3D20
I talked to my son Morgan about red raku and black raku. He's a scholar o=
=3D
f
Medieval Japanese ceramics and tea culture at UNC Chapel Hill and the=3D20
author
of "Handmade Culture: Raku Potters, Patrons, and Tea Practitioners in=3D20
Japan"
- forgive me for bragging about him, but I cannot help it and will continu=
=3D
e
to do so at every opportunity. All of the original Japanese raku glazes
were lead-glazed, and the black raku glaze of course contained iron. Bot=
=3D
h
black and red raku teabowls were fired in small charcoal-fired kilns, but
the one used for black raku had a bellows to achieve higher temperature.
Soldner was wrong about the firing temperature and the speed of firing.
Black raku was fired to around 2100 to get the black color, but it was=3D2=
0
fired
very quickly and the body remained as porous as low-fire. The quick firing
was no doubt also to keep the lead from volatilizing and ruining the glaze=
=3D
.
So it's true that the black raku is fired to a higher temperature than red
raku, but inaccurate to say it is high-fired or fired slowly.=3D20
Of course we are no longer using lead glazes, so assuming that a raku glaz=
=3D
e
is fluxed with Gerstley borate or a frit, there is no reason the wares
should be considered non-functional, especially if the potter avoids the
folly of quenching in water (Japanese raku potters didn't quench).
Quenching serves no practical purpose and often causes the claybody itself
to crack, rendering the piece truly non-functional in modern Western=3D20
terms.=3D20
There's a larger issue here, and since I am not adverse to playing devil's
advocate I will mention it. There is certainly nothing wrong with the ide=
=3D
a
of a Western potter committing her/himself to studying the Japanese tea
ceremony and making authentic ware for the tea ceremony, as Richard Milgri=
=3D
m
has done. Such a potter might choose to make oxidation or reduction
high-fired ware, or wood-fired ware, or raku. But otherwise, why do raku?
I mean, the Western raku firing process is still a very exciting experienc=
=3D
e
for someone who has never done it before and is unaware that all the
standard Western raku glazes and effects popularized from the 60s through
the 90s have been completely done to death. Doing raku with kids (or
adults) is still great fun as an intense participatory experience, but a
large percentage of potters and aficionados of pottery see Western raku as
over and done. Raku has pretty much disappeared from academia, and when a
student comes to me asking about it, I say, "Sure, you can do raku, as lon=
=3D
g
as you come up with something original that avoids all the clich=3DE9s. I=
=3D
=3D20
guess
anyone doing Western raku is facing that challenge. =3D20
Since raku is still being taught in some workshops, local art centers,
high-school programs, etc., of course there are still people getting=3D20
excited
about it and interested in doing raku. I guess I am posing a question to
them. If you make Western raku pottery, how do you keep your work excitin=
=3D
g
and new? Have you found interesting new effects rather than rehashing=3D2=
0
white
crackle, alkaline blue-green crackle, copper penny, and copper matt?=3D20
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
Bonnie Staffel on sun 4 mar 12
Early on in my career, the subject of fixing leakage was found in the =3D
books
available at that time. I learned that tea was used to seal the pores of =
=3D
the
unvitrified pot as well as milk However, the milk left an undesirable =3D
odor
that is sometimes noticed in old pottery.
I now use WeldBond which is said to be a non-toxic sealer. I use it on =3D
my
smoke and pit fired pottery so that water can be readily use in the
container. I need to explore whether it is non-toxic in food use =3D
however.
Regards,
Bonnie
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Introduction to Wheel Work
Charter Member Potters Council
Rimas VisGirda on sun 4 mar 12
Vince, Vince, Vince, what you said below could very well be true, but it ca=
=3D
n also be true for ANY process or technique in ceramics... Replace the word=
=3D
raku with shino or sgraffito or copper red or neriagi or nerikomi and the =
=3D
same could be construed as true... Sometime early on I came across an old E=
=3D
skimo saying that goes something like "all the songs have been sung" but th=
=3D
at is no reason to stop singing... -Rimas=3D0A=3D0A=3D0A=3D0AThere's a larg=
er issue=3D
here, and since I am not adverse to playing =3D3D=3D0Adevil's=3D0Aadvocate=
I wil=3D
l mention it.=3DA0 There is certainly nothing wrong with the =3D3D=3D0Aidea=
=3D0Aof =3D
a Western potter committing her/himself to studying the Japanese tea=3D0Ace=
re=3D
mony and making authentic ware for the tea ceremony, as Richard =3D3D=3D0AM=
ilgr=3D
im=3D0Ahas done.=3DA0 Such a potter might choose to make oxidation or reduc=
tion=3D
=3D0Ahigh-fired ware, or wood-fired ware, or raku.=3DA0 But otherwise, why =
do =3D
=3D3D=3D0Araku?=3D0AI mean, the Western raku firing process is still a very=
excit=3D
ing =3D3D=3D0Aexperience=3D0Afor someone who has never done it before and i=
s unaw=3D
are that all the=3D0Astandard Western raku glazes and effects popularized f=
ro=3D
m the 60s =3D3D=3D0Athrough=3D0Athe 90s have been completely done to death.=
=3DA0 Do=3D
ing raku with kids (or=3D0Aadults) is still great fun as an intense partici=
pa=3D
tory experience, but a=3D0Alarge percentage of potters and aficionados of p=
ot=3D
tery see Western raku =3D3D=3D0Aas=3D0Aover and done.=3DA0 Raku has pretty =
much dis=3D
appeared from academia, and when =3D3D=3D0Aa=3D0Astudent comes to me asking=
about=3D
it, I say, "Sure, you can do raku, as =3D3D=3D0Along=3D0Aas you come up wi=
th som=3D
ething original that avoids all the clich=3D3DE9s.=3DA0 I =3D3D=3D0Aguess=
=3D0Aanyone =3D
doing Western raku is facing that challenge. =3D3D20=3D0A=3D0ASince raku is=
still=3D
being taught in some workshops, local art centers,=3D0Ahigh-school program=
s,=3D
etc., of course there are still people getting =3D3D=3D0Aexcited=3D0Aabout=
it an=3D
d interested in doing raku.=3DA0 I guess I am posing a question =3D3D=3D0At=
o=3D0Ath=3D
em.=3DA0 If you make Western raku pottery, how do you keep your work =3D3D=
=3D0Aex=3D
citing=3D0Aand new?=3DA0 Have you found interesting new effects rather than=
reh=3D
ashing =3D3D=3D0Awhite=3D0Acrackle, alkaline blue-green crackle, copper pen=
ny, an=3D
d copper matt?=3D3D20=3D0A- Vince=3D0A
Lee on sun 4 mar 12
On Sun, Mar 4, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Bonnie Staffel wro=
=3D
te:
> I now use WeldBond which is said to be a non-toxic sealer. I use it on my
> smoke and pit fired pottery so that water can be readily use in the
> container. I need to explore whether it is non-toxic in food use however.
You could buy a silicone sealant in Japan for food surface pots.
(There were two kinds: food and non-food, like vases.)
At my teacher's workshop, we treated the inside of all
vases with silicone. Not because they all leaked, but for
"insurance." Wealthy people bought the pots and you don't want it
wrecking their furniture.
In the MingeiSota show at Western Village in Nikko: Two
Mashiko potters were "imported" to smooth all feet (100 of MacKenzie's
pots and 10 X 12 of the other potters pots) and silicone was put in
all vases. These are just the standard precautions in Japan and foot
smoothness is more critical there.
We get the odd idea that all Japanese pots are crusty,
because of some of the wood fire we do here. The degree to which they
are finished is far higher than generally done in the USA.
--
=3DA0Lee Love in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
=3DA0"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D9=
7that is, =3D
"The
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
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