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raku reduction media

updated tue 13 jun 00

 

Nancy Weckwerth on mon 5 jun 00


Has anyone tried pine and or cypress needles as a burning medium in the =
can for raku firing? If so what were the results? Do you recommend it?=20

Nancy
http:www.calstatela.edu/staff/nweckwe/resume/raku.htm

Brenda Z on mon 5 jun 00


Nancy,

Once when I taking a Raku workshop, we ran out of sawdust,
and used pine needles instead.
There were big yellow clouds of smoke coming from those
needles as they burned. The fumes from the pine needles
smelled awful and just looked very "unhealthy". I was
wearing a mask, but I still managed to get the smoke in my
eyes. I didn't feel great after the firing (but maybe it
was just a coincidence).

The results weren't bad, but I prefer the results that I
acheived using sawdust.

Brenda Z.

----- Original Message -----

Has anyone tried pine and or cypress needles as a burning
medium in the can for raku firing? If so what were the
results? Do you recommend it?

JONNUM2@AOL.COM on mon 12 jun 00


In a recent post Nancy Weckwerth asked if anyone had used pine needles or
cypress in a raku firing.
Dear Nancy (I like your name.)
I have not used these materials for raku, but I have used both in my
saggars. The pine needles just burned up--with no special effect. This may
be because pine is sappy and burns at a much lower temperature than I use for
saggar firing.
The cypress, however was very effective. I used Arizona Cypress, which
is a common tree here in the high desert. It left a mottled
grey-charcoal-white impression on the pots. A little looks really nice. Too
much looks rather overdone. If I were you I'd go ahead and try both
materials--on pots you don't mind taking chances with. I hope you will have
some nice surprises.
Nancy