Deborah Thuman on mon 13 nov 06
Hi,
I'm new to this list. Mostly, I'm a fiber artist, but I use a lot of
ceramic pieces in my art. I want to try raku in the spring. I'm not
fond of making my own clay, and I'm looking for a commercial clay
that's suitable for raku firing. Has anyone had success with commercial
clays? Anything special I should look for in a clay?
I have a commercial bead tree that I use for my low-fire beads. I've
been told that my bead tree may not be able to take the fast
temperature changes if I use it for raku. Has anyone tried this? I'm
also considering making my own special raku bead tree. Has anyone tried
this? How many times can I use a hand-made bead tree before it
dies/crumbles/shatters/self-destructs?
Thanks for your help.
Deb
http://debthumansblog.blogspot.com/
Craig Clark on mon 13 nov 06
Deborah, there are quite a few commercial clay bodies available that
will handle the thermal shock of a raku firing, some more sucessfully
than others. I have used about a half dozen different ones as well as
making my own. My favorite by far is Lagunas WSO. It is a nice white
burning body that throws well and will work on large as well as small forms.
Hope this helps
Craig Dunn Clark
619 East 11 1/2 St
Houston, Texas 77008
(713)861-2083
mudman@hal-pc.org
Deborah Thuman wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm new to this list. Mostly, I'm a fiber artist, but I use a lot of
> ceramic pieces in my art. I want to try raku in the spring. I'm not
> fond of making my own clay, and I'm looking for a commercial clay
> that's suitable for raku firing. Has anyone had success with commercial
> clays? Anything special I should look for in a clay?
>
> I have a commercial bead tree that I use for my low-fire beads. I've
> been told that my bead tree may not be able to take the fast
> temperature changes if I use it for raku. Has anyone tried this? I'm
> also considering making my own special raku bead tree. Has anyone tried
> this? How many times can I use a hand-made bead tree before it
> dies/crumbles/shatters/self-destructs?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Deb
> http://debthumansblog.blogspot.com/
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>
> 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.
>
Rogier Donker on tue 14 nov 06
Yo! Deborah,
Since I also have a wood shop, I have access to sawdust. Wedge a few
handfuls of sawdust into any kind of clay and you'll have an instant
Raku body that will withstand any kind of thermal shock... At my
annual demo at the Clay City Pottery Festival (see the website) I
take pots from 1850 degrees, let them cool in the straw for a little
while and then into a bucket of water without damage.... works every
time!
HMP!
Rogier( sucking the juice)
See us on the web at http://www.donkerstudio.org
Paul Gerhold on tue 14 nov 06
Deb,
There are many Raku clays out there and the best one for your use will
depend a lot on personal preference and on what you are doing with the clay. That
said I used to use Standard 295 and found it to be very strong and resistant
to cracking.
Along time ago when my wife used to make Raku beads I built a bead rack for
her out of 316 stainless steel. It was basically a four sided square (no top
or bottom) with a handle that could be hooked with a long rod to lift it out
of the kiln. I cut notches in the top of the box to hold stainless rods on
which the beads were strung. At that time we were firing at pretty low temps so
the stainless held up very well.
Paul
Snail Scott on tue 14 nov 06
At 10:31 AM 11/13/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>...I'm looking for a commercial clay
>that's suitable for raku firing.
Any clay that's rated above earthenware
temperatures will work. ^5, ^6, ^10;
any number that does NOT have an '0'
between the cone symbol and the number;
so NOT ^04 or ^06, etc. Those '0's are
like the minus sign in a negative number;
they indicate low-temperature clay. Also,
clay with fine sand or grog is a good
choice.
Raku IS a low-temperature process (at
least in ceramic terms) but if the clay
is too thoroughly melted ('vitrified'),
the raku process will shatter it due to
thermal shock. That's why raku is generally
done with clay that's rated for a higher
temperature - so it won't get too vitrified.
>...I've
>been told that my bead tree may not be able to take the fast
>temperature changes if I use it for raku. Has anyone tried this? I'm
>also considering making my own special raku bead tree. Has anyone tried
>this?
I've never had a bead tree break from
thermal shock, but I haven't tried it often.
It may have shortened the lifespan of the
tree, but I didn't do it enough to find out.
It's not tough to make your own. Just use
one of those above-mentioned high-temperature
clays, same as you'd choose for raku clay
generally. You can buy the rods from a
ceramics supplier.
-Snail
| |
|
