Raku Tuesday...

Tuesdays are warming up! Thankful for some warmer weather, spring has been kind so far. We've re design our firing nights and kiln setup, so much so that the results are really starting to show. Some lovely surfaces, subtle and strong. The lustres are really working nicely with the pots from last week showing strong reduction and some covered with shiny copper surface.

So some more details, the kiln 'little rocket' has been quite the trooper, the air holes required for wood firing have been filled with old bits of kiln shelf. Inside the firebox we use a small piece of kiln shelf to deflect the flame. The burner itself has a fab new stand made out of bits of metal from the garage stash ;) we raised it to the height of the fire box and angle slightly so it hits the small pice of shelf in the back of the firebox. The flue is a bit large for gas firing so we damp that with a kiln brick on top and adjust for temperature climb. The reduction tins are getting a bit filthy so wet newspaper goes inside the lid which stops unknowns dropping down on the work and helps to seal the lid too. We also are using wet towels to cover the tins and stop any escaping smoke.

And that is the journey so far my friends, more adjustments are sure to come and we are about to make a bigger kiln so that will change everything again. :D :D :D