Raku Rainbows and Fish

On Saturday I had the opportunity to raku fire some pottery. This was the best raku session I've had (see previous results here). I thought I would post pictures of the best two pieces. This first piece was textured with "Steve's Tool," and then I glazed it with Dan's Blue. I got some great color from the glaze. I glazed the fish vase with white crackle, and sprayed it with ferric chloride to give it the coppery orange color. Then I smoked the piece with saw dust to bring out the crackle.

He turned out pretty nicely, huh?

I accidentally broke the stopper I had made, but I think the fish is okay alone.

I found it interesting that the ferric chloride went to the edges and extremeties. The lips, fins and eyes, for example, are darker.

We had a great time on Saturday, even if it was incredibly hot with the sun and the gas kilns firing through the morning.

Everyday Extraordinary

Every day on my way to work, I pass this dilapidated old building. The sagging roof always catches my eye, and every day I think, I should stop and take a picture. For several years, I haven't gotten out to take a picture. I knew that I needed to take one soon, though, because the land was rezoned a few years ago, and they will demolish the existing buildings and build a new neighborhood. Yesterday, it was a strange, wet, balmy January morning, with rain off and on. As I approached the sagging roof, I thought to myself, maybe the clouds will be doing something interesting, and I should stop and take a picture... I then thought that the conditions were about right for a rainbow, and before I could even finish the thought, there was a giant rainbow. I had to pull two U-turns to park my car safely, and walk a good ways down the road to get back to the buildings, and by that time, the rainbow had faded away. I took some pictures anyway. As I was finishing up, another rainbow appeared in a different part of the sky. I'm telling you, the weather was strange yesterday. This one was much smaller, and less bright, and through utility lines, but hey, a rainbow is a rainbow. I'm glad I finally got around to stopping to take some pictures. I would have regretted not having some to remember the sagging roof. Because one morning, I will drive to work and it won't be there. And we need to remember to appreciate the little things in our everyday lives that are actually extraodinary.

Raku Deux

On Saturday I did raku for the second time (see images from the first time here). Fran of Tin Barn Pottery and Manassas Clay is kind enough to host us at her little piece of heaven for the raku firing.

I took pictures of four of my pieces after they were glazed but before they went into the kiln. One was already in the kiln. And if I do say so myself, it's better than any of the five pieces I fired last time:

And speaking of rainbows...

The bottle above was fired in Dan's Blue glaze, and the two below were fired in Luster Duster. The bottle below came out a teal green, and the vase came out a metallic green with other colors mixed in.

The two pots in the foreground below are mine - on the left is another bottle glazed in Dan's Blue. I left the neck of the bottle unglazed, and it turned black due to the smoking process. The larger vase on the right is glazed in clear crackle, and right after I pulled it out of the kiln, I sprayed it with ferric chloride (which gives it a metallic sheen and golden orange color) and applied horse hair from my violin bow that needs to be re-haired.

The black lines that appear between the crackle comes from the smoking process. The smoke particles get into the cracks and adhere to the porous clay underneath the glaze.

You can see all of the smokey carbon inside the rim of the pot. Note also the smaller crackle lines inside the pot, and the white color without the ferric chloride.

After cleaning up the pots a bit, I took some pictures at home.

Detail of the Dan's Blue glaze.

You can see the reddish copper color at the bottom of this bottle. This is closer to the color that Luster Duster typically comes out.

The bubbles on this side indicate that the piece probably needs to be re-fired, and the glaze will probably react the way it should have.

Detail of the coppery section.

I think it was a good day. Despite the torrential rain and despite my relative inexperience, somehow I coaxed a grin from the raku gods.

Everyday Rainbows

(Needle felted acorns by WishingTreeCreations.) I have an affinity for rainbows, dating back to my grandfather's funeral in early high school. It had been a sad, dreary day. After two funeral services (he was a very popular minister) and the burial service, the weather began to clear up. As we drove away from the cemetery, a gigantic rainbow spanned from one horizon to the other, and it appeared that one end of the arc ended at the cemetery. Afterwards, my grandmother and I would send each other rainbows - cards, mementos, anything that reminded us of each other and my grandfather. Even after her passing, I continue to look for rainbows, and I have seen them on other difficult days. They have become a sign for me, reminding me that this difficult time shall pass, and to look for and appreciate the beauty around us. I see rainbows in everyday items, not just in the sky after a rain shower. Recently I've noticed this ring in an advertisement on craftcult. I finally broke down and clicked on it - I was so curious to know what kind of stone transitioned from such a clear, bright blue to a rich amber. kimsjewels' citrine ring inspired me to look for other items that morph in color and can lend us a subtle rainbow in our everyday lives. Glaze on pottery can offer an infinite array of colors, and when you combine them and let the kiln gods perform their combination of science and magic, you can get amazing results. This soup cup from JDWolfePottery is an excellent example. And don't even get me started on their plaid pattern below...

Wooditis has some incredible tiles. The detail below is blue, but can't you see a range of colors peeking through their floating blue glaze?

Redhotpottery has a set of ice cream bowls that show us another rainbow palate.

I am a huge fan of khphillips' wood and soda fired pottery, and I couldn't choose which of his colorful pots to share. Below is his wood fired tea cup and saucer.

His wood and soda fired bowl below features some of his stenciled designs, adding layers to the colors.

His single stoneware bowl below packs just as much whallop in a smaller package. Raku firing offers additional opportunities for the kiln gods to show off their color prowess. CandaceMcCollough's copper vessel displays a full range of colors.

Duskier colors shine through in artyardstudio's copper flash raku pumpkin.

Glass is another favorite medium of mine, and the magic of borosilicate gives ample opportunity for skilled artisans like Paula at Venbead to make glass-enclosed rainbows. I've mentioned before how I have several of her pieces, and I continue to lust after her beaded skeleton keys.

My very favorite stone is labradorite. I think that's partially because of my dearly departed soul-mate labrador, but it's also because of the astounding flash in the stone. The flash can range anywhere between violet, bright blue, green, yellow and an amber orange. Today I am wearing a pendant very similar to the ring below by MsRose.

I did a search on labradorite housewares, and these bookends from resaresa22 took my breath away.

The combination of metal and time can yield lovely results. Check out the colors on these tarnished silver spoons below from SAGEOLIVE.

I love the tarnish on this creamer and sugar set below from milkglassandmetal.

The name of this urban decay 6 drawer organizer from oldcrowfarm gives an indication of the fantastic patina of this non-traditional rainbow of colors.

Rust may slowly take metal away, but in my opinion it gives back more in terms of color and interest. Vintage metal frogs by ionesattic.

Some artists can harness the power of oxidation and create beautiful, colorful works of art. Below is a hand raised copper bowl by silversister.

You can probably tell I am a sucker for copper, especially if it has a bit of verdigris. I love this Old World copper watch by foxygirlboutique.

Copper presents so many opportunities for changing color, creating texture, adding depth... instilling joy. Etched metal artwork below by CopperLeafStudios.

astrokeofgenius will create a custom clock with this gorgeous piece of oxidized copper. I would name mine Aurora Copperalis.

I hope these artists have inspired you to look for the rainbows where we can find them. It brightens even your darkest days, I promise.