amy on sun 12 mar 00
hello!!
i am new to raku (and a poet, too)...i'm struggling with some black marks
that seem to be residual burnt paper that i'm having a hard time washing
off. i was wondering if anyone has an ideal method of washing their pots,
also what people's experience is with can reduction. i've been putting the
pots in beds of hand-shredded newspaper (often get flashy on the bottom,
where they sit in the paper, but more uniform where they don't touch paper
directly)and covering the cans with lids that have a wet paper gasket
seal. i wonder about people's experience, want something flashy and
exciting. also, i'm using a glaze that is 100% gerstley borate (plus
oxides) which i thought was interesting (simple, if endangered, recipe).
i've gotten some recipes off the archives, but am interested in people's
favorite recipes, if you have some and the time and energy to share.
thank you!! i love this website!!!
Marvin Flowerman on mon 13 mar 00
Hi Amy:
While newspapers may be a good source of ink and cheap, the general opinion I
have heard over time is that newspaper tends to stick to the pots and is
difficult to remove! So your experience is consistant with that opinion.
And--I do not use newspaper for that post-firing-reduction process.
Most full time rakuers that I know use things like hard wood shavings,
sawdust, dried leaves and glossy (magazine type) paper as a top layer, not in
direct contact with the pots in the post-firing-reduction chamber. That's
what I use.
There are any number of good raku glaze recipies in books by Branfman,
Piepenberg, and others. I'm sure you will find what you need or want in
those sources.
Good luck!
Marvin Flowerman
marvpots@aol.com
Patricia L Porter on mon 13 mar 00
Amy
What you are so diligently trying to clean from the rakued pots are the
markings that so many raku potters wish to keep. I just try to wash the
loose dirt (ashes) orr the piece. T hose little paper marks are part of
the process and Part of the pot. If you watch carefully with both the
hard shapes and the softer shapes, the direction thet those shapes flow
correspond to the direction of the flame upon the pot. It's like the God
of ceramics was given the chance to work with you and he signed his part
in flame.
That's a personal feeling, but I'm sre a lot of clayarters have had a
similar one. Just a guess.
Pat Porter
http://www.geocities.com/windy_pines_2000/html My New WebPage
pporter@4dv.net
pporter6@juno.com
Aurora CO USA
On Sun, 12 Mar 2000 20:38:04 EST amy writes:
> ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> hello!!
>
> i am new to raku (and a poet, too)...i'm struggling with some black
> marks
> that seem to be residual burnt paper that i'm having a hard time
> washing
> off. i was wondering if anyone has an ideal method of washing their
> pots,
> also what people's experience is with can reduction. i've been
> putting the
> pots in beds of hand-shredded newspaper (often get flashy on the
> bottom,
> where they sit in the paper, but more uniform where they don't touch
> paper
> directly)and covering the cans with lids that have a wet paper
> gasket
> seal. i wonder about people's experience, want something flashy and
> exciting. also, i'm using a glaze that is 100% gerstley borate
> (plus
> oxides) which i thought was interesting (simple, if endangered,
> recipe).
> i've gotten some recipes off the archives, but am interested in
> people's
> favorite recipes, if you have some and the time and energy to share.
>
> thank you!! i love this website!!!
WHew536674@cs.com on mon 13 mar 00
Amy,
I have used paper, sawdust, and hay, for reducing. The paper seems to leave
the worst in terms of black markings, so I stopped using it. It depends on
the glaze that I am using what I reduce in. For a shiny copper, that tends
to be runny, I use fine sawdust and get the least marks. For some others I
use a courser sawdust, and if I want markings, I use a combination of hay and
sawdust. Hay alone burns too quick for me, and doesn't always blacken the
unglazed areas, so I use a combination, but I do not like paper.
LITHIUM VARIANT
colemanite 400
Lithium carb 120
Spodumene 558
Ultrox 200
Copper carb 40
Takes a long time to get tired of this glaze because it hardly comes out the
same twice, but always looks good
Joyce A
Mission, TX
Diane G. Echlin on tue 14 mar 00
> i am new to raku (and a poet, too)...i'm struggling with some black marks
> that seem to be residual burnt paper that i'm having a hard time washing
> off. i was wondering if anyone has an ideal method of washing their pots,
> also what people's experience is with can reduction.
Amy, I use Comet and a scrubber meant to clean a barbecue grill. It has a
handle and measures about 3" x 5". I also get a lot of residue that I prefer
to wash away, and this method works pretty well. Also, for nooks and crannies
try using a wire toothbrush from the paint store in conjunction with the
Comet. It works wonders!
Di (using abrasives and trying not to be abrasive!)
Bruce Girrell on tue 14 mar 00
Amy,
We use Comet cleanser and sometimes flexible sanding blocks to remove the
black marks. If your glazes are good, the abrasives will not touch them. If
your copper flashing is scratched by the abrasives, you have too much
reduction and the copper colors will turn brown and drab after a short
time - maybe weeks, maybe months. As others have mentioned, you might want
to try other reduction material. We have been using shredded newspaper for
some time, but I'm starting to lean toward sawdust now - we got better
reduction and less scarring of the glazes in some experiments last year.
Bruce and Lynne Girrell
in northern Michigan, itching to get back to some of those experiments
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