Raku Firing

This week I experimented with Raku Firing. I used 50/50 clay and threw some pots and made some tiles that I hung up as a finished mobile. 

My pieces in a Raku kiln- I fired to cone 06 fast. It took about 4 hours to reach temperature.

I had two metal garbage cans with holes in the sides and layered sawdust on the bottom. Then I ripped up strips of newspaper and crumbled them up. 

In the larger garbage can I added pine straw and more sawdust.

Once the pots reach temperature you take them out hot and immediately put them in the garbage cans.

The combustible material immediately combusts and then there is the fire.

Big fire...

The small can had the smaller tiles in it.

I had a hard time getting the flames to go out in the larger can. So we banged the lid to make sure the oxygen wasn't getting in.

After 20 minutes this is what it looks like inside when you take the lid off.

The pots were still really hot.

One of the pots finished cooling off.

The test tiles finished as a mobile. 

My cylinder finished.

My bowl finished.

Over all I enjoyed the Raku process and will definitely try it again but maybe with a figure or a large head next time. Its a very physical process and I enjoyed the work.