Raku Glaze Recipes

3110 Turquoise Raku Glaze
Also called Ferguson's Turquoise
Ferro Frit 3110 100
Tin Oxide 3
Copper Carb. 3
Bentonite 3

This is my favorite turquoise raku glaze because it can produce a lot of different results. To get a beautiful turquoise crackle I lightly reduce the pot, both in the kiln and in the reduction chamber. If heavily reduced you can get anything from polished copper to copper reds. Examples of this glaze can be found on my blog link "My Photo Gallery." One thing to keep in mind--This glaze will settle in the course of a few days and will harden like a brick in the glaze bucket. I try to make only what I need per firing.

Raku Glaze Recipe Of The Day

I thought it would be a good idea if I not only documented my glaze recipes but also share them with anybody interested. Not sure If I can stick to a recipe a day but we shall see.

Raku Patina Glaze
Gerstley Borate 1080
Bone Ash 270
Copper Carb. 75
Cobalt Carb. 75

This used to be my favorite raku glaze when I was attending Bemidji State University. It produces a semi-dry sandy textured surface that flashes, especially when quickly reduced. The container lid is lifted, fanned and resealed , "burped," to promote more brilliant flashing. Once a nice flashing is obtained , the pot is dunked in cold water to freeze the colors.

Barrel Kiln

Another barrel firing, long over due. This barrel is at my friends Jeri and Kerry's house just outside of Coon Valley. They live up on a ridge and it tends to be windy every time I want to fire.

Last Sunday was a perfect day, 75 degrees, sunny, and no wind.

I arrived at their house about one in the afternoon and once the pots and wood were loaded into the barrel, the fire was lit about 2pm.

At 5pm about 1/3 of the wood had been consumed and I filled it back up to the top of the barrel with more split hardwood, same kind of wood that can be seen in this photo.

At this point there is nothing more to do except crack a cold beer,or two, watch the fire, and wait till the next day when the fire has died out and the pots have cooled off.

Stay tuned for the results.

Raku Tea Bowl

This tea bowl is a beauty. I love the soft gray and the complimentary iron red coloring.

The colors came from a slip applied to the clay when it was leather hard. When the slip dried to the touch I carved the grass motiff marks through the slip and into the clay body. Once the pot was bisque-fired I glazed it with Paul Soldner's Clear Raku Glaze.

The gray color looks just like the ancient Japanese Shino called Nezume Shino (mouse gray).

I found the slip recipe on the internet when I was researching Shino.

John Baymore Shino Slip: EPK 25, OM4 25, G200 Feldspar 20, Flint 20, Borax 5, Zircopax 5, Add: 9% RIO and 0.25% Cobalt Carb.

In the original post I found on the internet it said that the slip would turn shino you put over it blue and that it works well with "Linda's Pink Shino." I've had the recipe for a couple years but just recently found a post on Potters.Org from John Baymore regarding this recipe. He said there's no big magic in the recipe and in fact, it isn't even his recipe. He found it in the book Clay and Glazes for the Potter by Rhodes. Whoever the source, this is a great slip for cone 10 stoneware and looks to have a lot of potential for Raku fired pottery. I can't wait to try it again.

A couple other notes: I found a studio to rent about 5 miles from my house. I started moving stuff into it a couple weeks ago and fired up the raku kiln last weekend. If all goes well I'll move an electric kiln and a wheel into it this weekend. Also I've been invited to participate in the 2nd Annual Viroqua Empty Bowls Project. The first one was held last October, I believe. There is an organizational meeting tonight in Viroqua at the Drifless Cafe. Stay Tuned. More to Come.

Temmoku Glazed Coffee Mug

I really liked the textured pattern on this mug and the Temmoku glaze really brought out the band of stamped impressions.

The impressions were created using a square leather tool stamp before the handle was added.

Stonware, cone 10 reduction fired.

The interior of the mug was glazed with Viterbo Chun.

BSU Temmoku Glaze Recipe
Potash Spar 3368gr, Flint 2176gr, EPK 800gr, Whiting 1400gr, Red Iron Oxide 1000gr.

Viterbo Chun Glaze Recipe
Potash Spar 42, Flint 29, Whiting 19, Talc 4, Kaolin 3, Colemanite 3. Add: Bone Ash 2 and Red Iron Oxide 1.

Carbon Trap Coffee Mug

Its a good thing I took photos of my last batch of coffee mugs. I made about 30 and they're all gone. This was one of my favorites. I just like the earthiness of the glaze, it was a good size (10-oz.), and it just felt really good in the hands.

This mug was glazed with a base coat of Carbon Trap and then the Rim was dipped in BSU Gloss Turquoise. This kiln was not heavily reduced. Had it been, the carbon trap would have trapped jet black carbon into the glaze.

Carbon Trap Glaze Recipe, cone 10 reduction

SodaSpar 30%, Neph. Sy. 30%, Spodumene 30%, EPK 10%, Add: Soda Ash 5%

BSU (Bemidji State University) Gloss Turquoise, cone 10 reduction

Custer Spar. 5570gr, Whiting 1000gr, EPK 300gr, Barium Carb. 480gr, Zinc Ox, 200gr, Flint 750gr, Cobalt Carb 40gr, Chrome Ox 80gr.

What Goes Into Making A Mug?

I get this question everytime somebody picks up one of my mugs and this step by step process of what goes into making a mug is an adaptation from Sam The Cat Lady's description.

1. Drive to studio--1/2 hour each way.

2. Dig out tools, bats, water bucket and prepare to throw.

3. Weigh out clay for each mug.

4. Wedge (knead) clay.

5. Center clay on wheel and throw mug shape.

6. Remove from wheel and let dry 24-48 hours.

7. Clean up mess.

8. Put mug back on wheel and trim.

9. Clean up mess.

10. Hand pull the handle (basic shape).

11. Attach handle to top of mug and let dry approx 1/2 hour.

12. Hand pull handle to final shape/form.

13. Attatch base of handle to mug.

14. Let mug dry approx. 3-4 days. If mug or handle cracks, re-cycle clay and start all over.

15. Bisque fire mug in electric kiln approx. 12 hours.

16. Prepare glazes, mix and sieve as necessary.

17. Clean up mess.

18. Wax the bottom of mug so it does not stick to kiln shelf.

19. Choose glaze, design, and glaze mug.

20. Clean up mess.

21. Let mug dry thoroughly.

22. Clean up glaze drip marks and wipe bottom clean.

23. Fire mug to 2400F. This takes approx 12 hours.

24. Wait 12-14 hours to kiln to cool down to under 400 degrees.

25. Remove from kiln and inspect the mug. If mug is cracked or glaze turned out butt-ugly, start the whole damn process over.

26. If mug has miraculously survived to this point, hand sand the bottom baby-butt smooth so it doesn't scratch or mar any tabletop surface and put up for sale.

27. Last but not least, try not to attack the foolish person who innocently asks "Why does this mug cost so much?"

Clayart Mug Exchange

Once a year potters from all over the world flock to NCECA (National Council On Education For The Ceramics Arts). This year its in Pittsburgh, PA. Potters who participate in ClayArt, a list serve for potters, get together at this convention and exchange a piece of pottery. For potters that do not attend the convention, ClayArt promotes the Mug Exchange for stay at home potters. This year my exchange partner is Penni Stoddart from London, Ontario. This is the mug I am sending to her.

Cone 10 stoneware coffee mug glazed with Viterbo Rutile Blue.

Viterbo Rutile Blue Glaze Recipe

Dolomite 790gr, Custer Spar 1500gr, Whiting 555gr, EPK 840gr, Flint 1315gr, Add: Rutile 400gr, Cobalt Carb. 50gr, Copper Ox. 30gr.

Mugs Mugs Mugs

Just some of the mugs that I've made the past month or so. Although I have neglected posting to my blog, I have not neglected my pottery.

Many of my new mugs have a lot of texture on the exteriors. I used found objects to stamp and impress images onto the surface as well as a couple different types of leather stamping tools. I also used the point of a can opener to create a nice triangular boarder around the mug.

I spent a couple hours yesterday glazing them. The glazes I used were Meloy White, Rutile Blue, BSU Temmoku, K-Shino, BSU Turquoise, and Viterbo Chun.

Once glazed they were loaded into the kiln and will be fired today.

Empty Bowls Project Update

A quick update from the Viroqua Empty Bowls Project held last October (Oct. '07 blog archive). I just recently found out that originally they were hoping to get about 200 bowls donated from local area potters. Well, they took in about 300 bowls and raised 8,000 dollars in three hours. The proceeds went to the purchaser's choice, either the local Food Pantry, International Hunger-Relief Organizations, or the Empty Bowls Project. Now we have a goal to beat for the 2nd Annual Viroqua Empty Bowls Project.

Foiled Experiment

Curses! Foiled Again.

I know it has been a while since I posted but bad weather delayed my last firing several times and then I just didn't update my blog.

Remember the tin foil saggar experiment with the cups? Well, here they are. I suppose it wasn't a complete failure, as I believe that I learned a lot from the firing.

First of all I didn't use heavy duty foil and probably not enough of it. When I shut off the gas and removed the lid from my raku kiln there wasn't much of a sign of the tin foil, just some ash residue around the base of the cups. I think this was because I fired the kiln too hot. I had another piece in the kiln, glazed with a Raku Clear Crackle glaze, and I fired the kiln till that piece was done. That piece is in the forground. I'll explain about that in a bit.

Anyway, with the cups, I think I fired too hot and did not use heavy duty tin foil. One artist I read about on the internet said she used a pyrometer and took her kiln to a certain temperature. I'm going to have to check back into that and perhaps modify my garbage can raku kiln with a port for the pyrometer. But, I see potential for the use of ferric chloride and cobalt sprays.

I wasn't too happy with either cup when I pulled them from the kiln and just tossed them into a snow bank. As they were sizzling I decided to toss a splash of ferric chloride on that cup just to see what would happen. I think some neat overlapping designs of verying intensity can be achieved this way. The cup that was sprayed with cobalt is a beautiful blue. I'm going to have to try both sprays again with pots that have been burnished.

Oh that broken piece in the forground, I accidently dropped it on my way to the car. Dang slippery ice! It was either the pot or me. Anyway. I was building several tall slab built vases and wanted to create contrasting paterns of glazed and unglazed surfaces. I loved the results, before I dropped the piece, but I had a bad problem with the vases cracking on the seams where I joined the pieces together. This was the only piece that made it through both the bisque fire and the raku firing, then I dropped it and broke it. I want to continue with these vases but am going to take a break (OOPS! Bad pun) from them for a while.

I have more research to do with the tin foil saggars, have a bunch of pots to burnish for my next barrel firing, and have a lot of exciting new projects to try. One of the projects is a wall sculpture based on a Mondrian painting. I also want to try making some terra sigillata to enhance my barrel fired pots, and I also have several other "secret" projects in my sketch books. Too much to do. We'll see what I can get done and in what order. Uffda!

Tin Foil Saggar Firing Notes

I don't know what the heck happened with this photo, but I'm not taking another one. Basically I just wanted to record what I'm doing so that if all turns out I'll remember what the heck I did.

These are two pieces of bisqueware that I have prepared for tin foil saggars. I didn't Throw the forms. These are just a couple of pieces that were going to be thrown out at the end of the semester. These cups had not been burnished.

The claybody is just a regular cone 10 stoneware, and probably bisqued to about cone 08.

The cup on the left was sprayed with a 50/50 mix of Ferric Chloride and water using a regular spray bottle. I think it was an old Windex bottle. The green markings are actually brush marks of Copper Carbonate and water, approximately 8 ounces water and 1 Tablespoon of Copper Carb.

The cup on the right was sprayed with a Cobalt Carbonate and water mixture, approximately 1 Tablespoon Cobalt Carb. and 8 ounces water. The same brush marks of the Copper Carb. and water were applied.

The next step is to wrap these pieces up in heavy duty tin foil. What I've read is that you crumple up the tin foil, uncrumple it and then wrap up the bique ware. In this case I am not adding any organic materials, although I might add some when it comes time to wrap them up. I'll keep notes. Stay tuned.

Many thanks to Aura Lee from Oregon. She has been reading my blog and also said she enjoyed reading it. Yeah! That's what I'm talking 'bout. Anyway she asked about my red raku glaze. I think the one she inquired about was a teabowl posted in Jan. 2007. I called it "Cabernet Red." No secrets here.

Cabernet Red Raku Glaze Recipe: as strange as it sounds it is approximately one handful of Burgundy Mason Stain to 3/4 of a plastic ice cream bucket of Soldners Clear Crackle Raku Glaze. I think I mixed a 2,000 gram batch of the clear, but it was about 3/4 full--80% Gerstley Borate, 20% Nepheline Syenite.

And once again, my raku firing has been delayed again. I usually get pretty fired-up when it comes to Raku-ing in the winter but lately it has been windy and cloudy. Oh! And cold too. I think the sun is supposed to come out today. Maybe today is the day.

Building A Raku Kiln

Once again, studying my site meter, I noticed that there is a huge search demand for people interested in building a garbage can raku kiln. So, I thought I'd just let people know if they hadn't found it on my blog that they need to search my archives for January and Febuary 2006.

This is an older photo of me firing up my first kiln but everything will look the same today when I fire up my new raku kiln, except maybe the sun. At least I hope to fire it up. Right now its 10 degrees and overcast.

I'm anxious to try tin foil saggers so today I am going to run around town and pick up some supplies. I haven't been able to find any Ferric Chloride but I was told to try etching solution, which I can buy at Radio Shack. I'm also going to try to find some seaweed (seaweed in La Crosse?????). Anyway I have some shopping to do.

I also have two vases to fire that I had previously glazed with Soldner's Clear Crackle. Lots to do. Don't know how much gas I have in my 80-pound tank????

Rutile Blue Glaze

I've been scrutinizing my site meter information a lot lately and I noticed that somebody came across my sight by doing a google search for Rutile Blue Glaze. Well, if you're still searching maybe you'll find this recipe.

Rutile Blue Glaze

Cone 10 reduction

Dolomite 790, Custer Feldspar 1500, Whiting 555, EPK 840, Flint 1315, Add: Rutile 400, Add: Cobalt Carbonate 50.

This is the recipe used at Viterbo College in La Crosse, WI. In the future I'll try to include the glaze recipes in the photos I post.

Upcomming projects: Tin Foil Saggars, more raku, and more barrel firing.

Pots by Jeff

Pots by Jeff. A group photo.

I don't have a favorite one. I like them all. I like the fact that each pot is "one of a kind," and that each pot tells its own unique story of how the fire created the markings and designs. Photos don't do these pots justice. These pots beg to be picked up. They really need to be touched and studied to understand the full story of their creation. Only then is their full beauty revealed. That's not a bunch of crap either. That's the way I feel and what I believe.

Barrel Fired Vase

This vase is approximately 14 inches tall and I didn't try any crazy experiments with this one. The only thing I did was fill the interior of the vase with sawdust and laid the pot on its side in the bed of sawdust.

Once I placed all all the pots in the bottom of the barrel I sprinkled an equal amount of MiracleGrow and Copper Carbonate around the pots. I then placed small pieces of scrap lumber around the pots and then started piling on the wood, smaller then heavier pieces till the barrel was full.

Once the fire was lit and the wood started to turn to coals and start dropping to the bottom of the barrel I began adding more pieces of split hickory to the barrel. I probably added about 10 pieces total, maybe one piece every 10-15 minutes. From that point on I just let the fire die down and out.

Twentyfour hours later there was only about 3 inches of ash on the bottom and the pots were still hot. I had to pull them out with leather gloves. I didn't know what to expect till I scrubbed the burnished pieces with some water and a green scrubby pad. Once I scrubbed them off I applied a small amount of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax and buffed each pot to a high glossy finish.

Barrel Firing Notes

Another experiment from my last barrel firing. This is the vase that I wrapped steel wool around the bottom third of the pot.

Before placing the pot in the barrel I filled the interior with sawdust. My professor at Viterbo University, Gerrard Ferrari, commented that he preferred a black interior to compliment the colors on the outside of the pot. My previous pots were white and light gray on the interiors.

Once the vase was filled with sawdust I placed it in the barrel right side up in the sawdust at a slight angle. Most of the steel wool was surrounded in the bed of sawdust.

I thought the steel wool would produce some really interesting patterns on the pot and I also thought the patterns would produce blacks and grays--black where there was air between the pot and the wool and gray where the wool was pressed against the pot. Well, it didn't turn out that way.

The reddish line markings one third up the pot is where the steel wool ended. I'm thinking perhaps the steel wool created air pockets that produced the pinks and reds and just above that is the black produced by the top layer of the sawdust. I'm happy with the pot and will continue to experiment with the wool.

Barrel Firing Notes

Remember the wire wrapped bottle? Well here it is after the firing.

You can see the vertical lines left by the 17 gauge wire. The wire was loosely wrapped around the bottle so I imagine that if tightly wrapped you will get more pronounced lines. The wire also did not melt during the firing and had to be unraveled off the bottle after it was pulled from the ashes.

I also wrapped a line of heavy gauge solder around the neck of the bottle and near the base. The solder did melt and there was no trace of it after the firing. I think the solder has some interesting potential.

On the back side of the bottle where the solder was wrapped around the neck there were small patches of metalic maroon and a couple shades of blue and purple. It was a small patch but it was only one strand of solder. In any case I think the solder might produce some real interesting and beautiful results.

I did a little bit of research and solder has a melting point of about 360F and most retail solders contain approximately 60% tin and 40% lead. Perhaps it is the tin that produced the metalic flashes.

This bottle was not burnished so it doesn't have the nice glossy marble look, but the flame patterns and the contrasting colors make it extremely interesting.

Barrel Firing Notes

Results are in from the Banana Peel Experiment.

This was the only pot that came out of the barrel firing that had red on it. I am attributing the red to the banana peels for two reasons: one being it was the only pot in the barrel to have red color markings, and two being the manner in which I draped the peels over the pot. On the inside of the pot the red markings go down about 1/3 of the way and then stop, probably because that is the way I draped the peels.

The black marking on the front is a result of how I placed the pot in the barrel. Before loading the pots into the barrel I dumped about 8 inches of sawdust into it to create a nice soft bed to place the pots. This pot was laid into the sawdust at about a 45 degree angle, the black area being the part that was in direct contact with the sawdust. This area got the least amount of oxygen during the firing and produced the jet black color you see.

A couple other things to note about this pot is the rough, dry matte surface, and the banana peel shadow on the bottom side of the pot. Since the pot was not burnished prior to the bisque firing, it produced the matte surface. I will post a photo of the banana shadow on my Flickr site. You can get there by "My Photo Gallery" link on the right hand side of this page.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with my 3rd barrel firing and especially the banana peel experiment. I'm still going to have to try it again, but all I can say is "Bring on the Chicken bones!"

Barrel Kiln Notes

Just some notes about the barrel kiln. This is actually a photo of me drilling holes into my first barrel kiln, but after yesterday's firing I felt the need to comment about drilling holes into the barrel.

This barrel burned really well, I believe, because holes 1/4 inch were drilled approximately every 6 inches in the middle section and the bottom section of the barrel. I also drilled several holes in the bottom of the barrel. So much wood is packed into the barrel during the firing that without the holes I think it would take forever for the fire to burn and quite possibly just burn out due to a lack of oxygen.

I say this because in my newest barrel kiln that I fired yesterday I wasn't able to drill enough holes because my drill batteries ran out of juice and as a result I had more smoke than fire. I won't know how well the newest barrel kiln fired until I can check it out after work today but I firmly believe, after my past two firings, that the more holes the better and what has worked well for me so far has been holes drilled appoximately every six inches around the exterior of the kiln.

Regardless, I'm drilling more holes.