Raku Recipes from East West Pottery

This bowl in the  'Byzantine Crackle'  technique was cr eated like this:  On the inside of the  bisqued bowl I drew the dual leaf-frond pattern then applied wax resist carefully to articulate the design. Then 3 coats of White Crackle was applied with a wide hake brush to the entire piece. A small damp sponge cleaned off the waxed pattern if glaze stuck there. It was fired to 1750F and allowed to cool in the kiln.Then with a soft fan brush Blue Velvet was applied over the entire piece and right away you can see the crackles absorbing the glaze. This takes practice not to brush the glaze off the crackles. Be patient. Where the pattern was waxed and burned out, the bowl will have a pure Blue Velvet  glaze. Fire to 1800F and post fire. The design of the flying geese was made like this: First the geese were drawn to a scale that suited the size of the bowl in different flying configurations, then 3 coats of Mayco White glaze was carefully applied with a fine bru...

  This bowl is Naked Raku without the addition of other glazes. This bowl has Blue Velvet and Apple Red, with the Naked Raku. ' NAKED RAKU' is a technique that uses slip and a 'glaze' to achieve crackle effects on bisqued ware. It's called Naked because the piece is not glazed per se. Just smoked- patterned  bisque. The piece is painted with the slip (recipe to follow) then covered with a 'glaze' (recipe below). It's not rocket science once you get the hang of it so I wanted to see what else I could do.  The slip/glaze was applied to specific areas sometimes in a planned design, then 3 coats of Blue Velvet was applied to all other areas butting right up to the slip. Occasionally I applied Spectrum Apple Red to add more interest. The pieces were fired to 1700F then post-fired as usual, one quick 'burp' then lid on until cool.  Getting the slip off can be tricky but do not submerge in water no matter what you may read elsewhere. Things get gummy a...

The tea bowls you see here were all sprayed with Ferric Chloride and/or Stannous Chloride and if you look closely you can see the White Crackle glaze beneath as the base. This may be the most toxic way to achieve a particular 'look' but as I mentioned at the very  beginning, I've tried everything and if you have the same hunger to see what can happen read on!  The chlorides are available at chemical stores and are mixed with distilled water. The proportions need to be tested (by you) for the results you want and will like. You'll need a respirator, safety glasses,air compressor with painting attachment and heavy rubber gloves. The bisque is covered in White Crackle and fired to 1750F-1800F. It's removed from the kiln with tongs heading for the post-firing buckets, but before that it's sprayed with a solution of either  ferric chloride  for a go lden yellow effect or stannous chloride for a mother of pearl  effect, with an air compressor (use the p...

This may not be your cup of tea, but over the years some pieces just called out for a very dry textured look. It's flaky and fragile, but I used a mixture of Elmers Glue and water, painted over the entire surface and it stabilized the flakiness. The 'look' can be almost archaeological. Recipe:    Black Flake Frit  3110  10 Manganese Dioxide 70 Copper Carb. 30 Fire to 1750F for very dry look. Burp bucket once and let cool. Brush off ash and don't wash with soap and water. P aint over the entire surface with very diluted Elmers Glue to stabilize flakes.  

Spectrum Bronze Spectrum Bronze Spectrum Bronze/Heartwood and Ebony lids Spectrum Apple Red interior/Spectrum Holly Green exterior Spectrum Yellow   Spectrum Bronze above/Spectrum Pewter with Silver Nitrate interior below Commercial glazes especially in the metallics like Bronzes/Pewters/Gold all have oxides that reduce in Raku wonderfully. The Apple Red and Holly Green are also excellent choices and the Yellow crackles and looks like the lost yellow of ancient Chinese dynasty's. Follow application directions(3 substancial coats brushed on and dried between each coat). Fire to 1750F-1800F for options in how shiny a finish you want. Post fire, burp bucket once and let cool .

This vase and all the examples show the crackle effect I'll describe below.                   Because I 'discovered' this effect I figured I could call it anything I wanted!  It came about when I had a post-fired load of White Crackle that didn't ...crackle. Dang! They survived the post-firing with no cracks, so I slathered Blue Velvet over them figuring I had nothing to lose. To my surprise the Blue Velvet was absorbed into the invisible crackles that didn't show with smoke/carbon. Then with a soft fan brush I very,very gently swept over the piece only to see the crackles become even more visible. With too much enthusiasm I swept some of the design away and tried again.  So thereafter I applied White Crackle to pieces and fired to 1750F and let cool in the kiln then applied Blue Velvet as I described. Then when completely dry I fired them again to 1800F. and post-fired . This technique got a lot of mileage over the years and I...

The pink butterfly design is a commercial glaze. I stumbled upon this effect by accident when I was using a commercial glaze for a fan design. (See previous post picture).I drew the butterflies on the interior of the bisqueware, then applied 3 coats of a pink glaze  by Mayco. I fired the piece to 1750F and let it cool in the kiln.  I applied Blue Velvet over everything and poured extra into the base of the piece for a textured effect. I noticed that the crackles in the pink glaze were absorbing the Blue Velvet along it's crackle lines! The piece was dried completely. This articulated wonderful patterns. Then the piece was fired to 1800F and post fired.  

This piece is a combination of White Crackle on the outside and Turquoise on the interior. This bowl has Silver Nitrate on the inside and Blue Velvet on the exterior.* This small bowl has Turquoise over White Crackle. This bowl has Silver Nitrate with bands of a Mayco blue, a commercial glaze. This bowl is glazed with Spectrum Apple Red on the interior and Spectrum Green on the exterior. Using combinations of glazes,especially commercial glazes opens your palette to many possibilities. The Apple Red by Spectrum is excellent and often becomes lavender in heavy reduction. As you can see the green glaze peeled off in the most wonderful way creating texture. No need to remind you they are not food safe... *The bowl with the fan design was made like this:  Draw a design on your bisque. I use Mayco White glaze and apply 3 coats on the design then fire to about 1750F. No raku yet. Let cool in the kiln. Paint 3 coats of Blue Velvet over the exterior of the piece and clean off the design ge...

l This is a glorious glaze which needs patience and practice. With age it gets a lavender  luminescence. , The crows were waxed on to the bisque before glazing. The smoke articulates the shapes. This is an example of Silver Nitrate over White Crackle. The interior is a commercial glaze by Mayco. Design info below. SILVER NITRATE   is the most challenging glaze posted yet. To achieve a gold luminescent glaze is completely worth it. There are things you need to know in advance. Silver Nitrate can be purchased in crystal form at a pharmacy or chemical company. When dissolved in distilled water (yup, not tap water) it can stain your hands, clothes, tools,surfaces.. . everything a deep liver coloured purple.  Historically is was used medicinally, in photography and mirror making.  Weigh, mix and add to the glaze base outside . Store the extra liquid solution in a brown bottle. Wear clothes that are already stained, wear rubber gloves, and mix...

I'm going to give you 3 Glaze recipes for turquoise and a surprise picture. Get the Kleenex. Recipe one. Recipe 2 ; Recipe 2 Recipe 3 Recipe 3.....Potter's Tears....sniff.  Recipe One: Frit 3124   30 EPK      10 Frit 3110  55 Wollastonite    5 Copper Carb. 4 Recipe Two: Frit  3110   1000 grams Copper Carb. 30 grams Bentonite   20 grams Tin Oxide  30 grams    This glaze s ettles so add some vinegar when mixing. Recipe  Three: Frit 3110   70 Gerstley Borate   5 Silica   (flint)     10 Soda Ash   10 EPK    5 Copper Carb.   3  This glaze is a beauty but runny, thus the tears! Fire all glazes to 1800+ depending on your preference for shine. They are soft glazes so don't crowd the bucket or they'll stick together. Burp the bucket once then lid on until cool. Clean with soapy water and if smoke stain is stubborn I use Com...

This is Alligator with a taped design. 3 brushed coats will give a smooth, matte finish. This is the glaze applied more thickly, which gives texture. More on the 'wave design' technique la ter.                 Here is Alligator heavily applied and heavily reduced with tape design. RECIPE: Alligator is another glaze you mix by volume not by weight. Similar to Blue Velvet. Gerstley Borate  4 parts Neph. Sye.   1 part Bone Ash     2 parts Copper Carb.   1 part Mix with water and sieve twice. Apply 3 brushed coats for a smooth finish, more for texture.  Fire to 1750F and reduce heavily. That means put it in the bucket, lid on and leave until cool. Clean in soapy water with a non-abrasive scrubber.

                                 Classic Blue Velvet with a touch of gold leaf. This example is what happens when you pour a very thick amount of glaze in the bottom of the bowl. It dries and 'cracks' like a scorched desert, and fires with a fabulous texture.   This vase has a red interior (Apple Red by Spectrum) Again, a heavy pour into the bottom of the bowl and more on the 'butterfly technique' later. GLAZE RECIPE: This glaze is measured by VOLUME , not by weight! Gerstley Borate 12 parts Jackson Ball clay (or Bell substitute)  2 parts Copper carb. 1 part Bone ash  4 parts Cobalt carb.  1/2 part METHOD: Mix the ingredients together,  add water and mix. Sieve twice. I always applied these glazes with a wide Japanese hake brush. Three substantial  coats letting dry between each application. As mentioned beneath the pictures, for the textured effect, glaze the bowl then pou...