Ned Ludd on sun 12 jan 03
>I encountered 'crank clay' this summer in England - as far as I could tell,
>it's just very heavily grogged clay - but I was using a commercial body, an=
>d
>don=B9t know the exact chemical composition. Perhaps some our UK clayarters
>can give a more thorough answer?
>
>Kira
Hi Kira
I used Crank Mix, wet and out of the bag, at art school in England in
the seventies, with gusto. With it I did all my slab pots, and made
saggars. On the wheel it was so hard on the hands that I tried
throwing it with gloves, out of sheer self preservation! I made up my
own blend of one part crank mix to three parts of a smooth grey
stoneware, and threw all my final assessment (graduation, to
Americans) show work with it. It was a good blend too, with just the
degree of tooth I like in stoneware.
I used an extremely dangerous large vertical pugmill to blend the
clays... no protection whatever between the hand and the auger
blades, not even a plunger, so I chucked in the lumps of clay from a
safe distance, standing on an upended crate. Closer, had anything
gone wrong it would have had my arm off in a jiffy. Those were the
days, eh!
As to its composition, Crank Mix certainly _felt_ to me like one
equal parts grog and fireclay, or close.
For more answers, I'd ask around the Stoke on Trent companies.
good luck, and keep your hands out of the hoppers!
Ned
in northern California
lela martens on sun 12 jan 03
Hello Clayarters,
I am interested in a technique I found in a book from the U.K. The pot is
burnished and bisqued to 950 degrees C., then masking tape is applied in a
decorative fashion and the pot is covered with a thick layer of slurry mixed
from `crank clay`. After smoke firing the dried slurry is removed by
chipping and peeling. Dark lines appear from the carbon left by the tape.
Could someone tell me what `Crank Clay` is?
The effect is quite nice, one I`d like to try.
Thanks from Lela on the Canadian prairies where we`ve hardly had snow, shirt
sleave weather today (very unusual)till the wind came up.(very usual)
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Julie on sun 12 jan 03
I have tried this Jane Perryman technique. I diluted Laguna WSO (my
throwing body) to slip consistency and applied it with a brush to a terra
sig. coated bisqued pot...it worked very well. After firing, most of
this "crank slurry" came off very easily. The rest scraped off with
dental tools.
Kira-Umich on sun 12 jan 03
I encountered 'crank clay' this summer in England - as far as I could tell,
it's just very heavily grogged clay - but I was using a commercial body, an=
d
don=B9t know the exact chemical composition. Perhaps some our UK clayarters
can give a more thorough answer?
Kira
Started working in the U of M's new grad studios yesterday - 200 square fee=
t
all to myself, skutt oval up and running, and almost sad that I'll be
graduating in April. . .
phil davenport on sun 12 jan 03
Would this be the same as 'naked raku"?
Phil Davenport
lela martens wrote:
> Hello Clayarters,
> I am interested in a technique I found in a book from the U.K. The pot is
> burnished and bisqued to 950 degrees C., then masking tape is applied in a
> decorative fashion and the pot is covered with a thick layer of slurry mixed
> from `crank clay`. After smoke firing the dried slurry is removed by
>
Snail Scott on sun 12 jan 03
At 08:34 AM 1/12/03 +0000, you wrote:
>Could someone tell me what `Crank Clay` is?
'Saggar Clay' is a term also used to describe the
same type of clay. It was used originally (and maybe
still is) to make saggars (or 'cranks') for firing.
It's not a very specific term; it doesn't need to
be. Any coarse-grained high-temperature clay with
grog should do the job.
-Snail
kruzewski on mon 13 jan 03
Hi Lela,
I've done this. I was taught by a great potter Jacqui Atkin - she makes the
most beautiful pots.
You don't need crank clay. I used - very successfully - a mixture of clay
slop - the one I'd been thowing with, which at the time was terracotta -
mixed about half and half with sand - Jacqui's method. I lived in a village
right by the sea, I had no garden then but there was a park behind the house
which had once been sand dunes, so the sand there had some soil, plus roots
and other stuff in it, but it worked fine. In other words - any sand.
I would paint the mix on thick, dry it off in my Aga (huge cast iron solid
fuel range) then fire it in the hearth in my lounge. The most important
things to have were plenty of newspaper (to set fire to), a pair of tongs so
you could move the pot about to "catch" the flames and get it done all over,
and a pair of Raku gauntlets. Jacqui fires in a dustbin outside - her pots
are quite large. It takes practice - not to under heat and get poor carbon
development, and not to overheat and burn that carbon out.
Getting the shell of slurry off was the greatest fun - it would peel off
like eggshell to reveal the pattern beneath. I could never wait for the pot
to cool. The "shell" can come away in quite large pieces, and I was always
amazed that the pattern from the carbon was also on the inside of this shell
which was so rough on the outside and so delicate within.
The best clay to use for these pots is porcelain, it takes up the smoke
really well, including "veins" which form where there are tiny cracks in the
slurry "shell", it also has a lovely finish.Burnished coloured slips can
also be very effective.
I would wash the pot after peeling, then reheat in the Aga till it was
completely dry then apply (hot) some furniture wax and polish it off.
It's an effect that is well worth trying.
Jacqui
North Wales
----- Original Message -----
From: "lela martens"
To:
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 8:34 AM
Subject: Crank Clay?
> Hello Clayarters,
> I am interested in a technique I found in a book from the U.K. The pot
is
> burnished and bisqued to 950 degrees C., then masking tape is applied in a
> decorative fashion and the pot is covered with a thick layer of slurry
mixed
> from `crank clay`. After smoke firing the dried slurry is removed by
> chipping and peeling. Dark lines appear from the carbon left by the tape.
> Could someone tell me what `Crank Clay` is?
Russel Fouts on mon 13 jan 03
phil
>> Would this be the same as 'naked raku"? << >> I am interested in a technique I found in a book from the U.K. The pot is burnished and bisqued to 950 degrees C., then masking tape is applied in a decorative fashion and the pot is covered with a thick layer of slurry mixed from `crank clay`. After smoke firing the dried slurry is removed by <<
I think Lela is describing the work of Jane Perryman
http://www.janeperryman.com
Have a look at her gallery page most of those pieces are decorated using
this technique. It's not like naked raku, there is no glaze applied over
the slip. She uses lots of things underneath the crank slip; tape, wax
resist, string, etc.
I think any coarse slip would work in place of the crank slip.
Russel
--
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
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May Luk on mon 13 jan 03
Hiya;
From an old clay catalogue (Spencroft ceramics, New Castle, Staffs)
Crank Body (1150-1280 C)
This body has a high proportion of heavy gorg (23-30) making it ideal for
large scale work whilst still retaining good throwing properties. Fires to a
warm tan colour in reduction cooler in oxidation. Its low shrinkage and
resistance to thermal shock make it ideal for raku firing.
Hope this helps
May
London, U.K.
on 1/12/03 9:34 am, lela martens at lmpots1@HOTMAIL.COM wrote:
> Hello Clayarters,
> I am interested in a technique I found in a book from the U.K. The pot is
> burnished and bisqued to 950 degrees C., then masking tape is applied in a
> decorative fashion and the pot is covered with a thick layer of slurry mixed
> from `crank clay`. After smoke firing the dried slurry is removed by
> chipping and peeling. Dark lines appear from the carbon left by the tape.
> Could someone tell me what `Crank Clay` is?
> The effect is quite nice, one I`d like to try.
>
> Thanks from Lela on the Canadian prairies
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